Advice on my planned setup (1 Viewer)

[TassieTonka]

G'day everyone, I'm TassieTonka from Australia.

I'm looking to build a new system to replace my aging socket-A single tuner HTPC.

I'm aiming for cheap as possible but still able to do:

*Dual-HD operations eg record one HD channel whilst whatching and time-shifting a second HD channel.

*HDCP protected HD content playback (for later when I get a Blueray or HDDVD player.)

*Easily be controlled using remote.

Processor:
Intel Core2 Duo E2140 1.5GHz 1MB LGA 775
AUD$102.00

Cooler:
Zalman ZM-CS1 adapter (I already own a CNPS7000-Cu)
AUD$6.00
http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/view.asp?idx=143&code=009

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-8I945GCMS-S2
AUD$75.00
http://www.gigabyte.com.au/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2521&ModelName=GA-9

RAM:
1 GB Generic DDR2 PC5300 667MHz
AUD$55.00

Graphics:
Gigabyte GF 8400GS 256MB 64-bit GDDR2, DVI, VGA, TV Out, HDCP, PCI-E x16, Heatsink [GV-NX84G256H]
AUD$89.60
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/VGA/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2578

TV Tuner:
DVico Fusion HDTV Dual Express + ir remote
AUD$219.00
http://www.lakopacific.com/page/Cat...ual_Express_PCI_Express_Hybrid_Dual_TV_Tuner/

Case:
Boring recycled case from old HTPC - nothing special here

PSU:
Recycled from old HTPC - 400W "Duluxe" (nice and quiet).

HDD:
Recycled from old HTPC - IDE 7200RPM 80GB (I'll get something bigger and SATA later on)

DVD RECORDER:

Some plain-jane liteon model recycled from old HTPC. It works not much more to say.

OS:
MS WindowsXP SP2

PVR Software:
Mediaportal (latest version)

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. I wanna keep this cheap but functional, lol don't we all?
Thanks for reading my post!

 

[ThaClown]

Did you look at the new ATI HD 2400 and 2600?
I just ordered the HD2400 (should arrive today) and to me it should be all you need for HD playback (just as long you don't play games on your HTPC....)

 

[TassieTonka]

Thanks for the suggestion ThaClown.

I've just had a look at them but the only fanless one i can find is a bit dearer than the 8400gs.

 

[walkerx]

aren't the HD's still a bit buggy with their software

also from what i've read it will turn off any other audio device on your system, so you will need to use the hd for audio output

 

[TassieTonka]

Hi Walkerx

Thanks for your reply, I'm interested in your comments.

Can you please elaborate?

When you say "HDs" are you referring to the HD tuner card? If so, do you mean that card specifically, HD cards generally or dual HD cards generally?

Also, I'm not sure what you mean about the audio, I thought that the onboard audio chip would handle the audio stream passed from the tuner.

Finally, regarding the software, I was planning to use mp, not the bundled software. Did you mean that the bundled software was buggy or mp's support for hd is buggy or that the drivers for the hd card are buggy?

Thanks again for your comments.

 

[ThaClown]

I have almost everything up and running, and the HD2400 is great!
Very cheap, quiet (there are silent versions coming soon, but no need imo) and great playback.
Tonight I will test it with the Cyberlink Power DVD decoder to take full advantage of the hardware HD decoding.

I'll let you know how it goes, but I am already very happy with this card.
If you have a nice HD TV, use your HDPC only for video (not for games) and need a small (it's low profile), low energy costing card, the HD2400 is great!

walkerx: The audio is fine, is still use the audio out on my motherboard with FFDshow Audio to make it 5.1