United States of America
I'm about too build my first HTPC and it's going to be "Powered by MediaPortal" (You should offer little case stickers 
I won't be using it to record TVs, it will be strictly used to play ISO movies, minor net surfing and to stream video from online.
Anyway, I have a few questions about the hardware I have picked out and the setup.
The system will connect to the 'net via my router that is less than 50 feet way. Currently, it's a Netgear 802.11b and I get, on average, between 8-10meg/sec.
Q. Should I get an 802.11g? I've read that b isnt very good for streaming movies.
Q. Should I upgrade my net connection to 16meg? My plan now is for 10meg/sec and I don't reach that as a general rule so I don't think it will make much of a difference.
Below is the hardware I have chosen. Does it look ok?
GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Athena Power AP-MPS3ATX55E 550W Micro PS3 / ATX V2.2 / EPS-12V (I'm not sure this will work for the board/case)
AMD Athlon X2 4050e 2.1GHz Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor
Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel -
Western Digital Caviar GP WD10EACS 1TB 5400 to 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive x2 (I already have 500+ DVDs to go on it.)
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA
Logitech diNovo Mini
EDIMAX EW-7318USG USB 2.0 Wireless LAN Hi-Gain Adapter
XP Home SP3
CyberPower CP1500AVRT 1500VA 900Watt UPS (Want to hookup the TV and HTPC)
For a case, I'm considering the SILVERSTONE Silver Aluminum front panel, GD01S-R ATX BUT I'm not certain as I would like to find one that has a sensor and doors.
A few more questions...
Q. What are some good remotes to use that are compatible w/ MP and XP that include a sensor?
Q. How big should I make the C drive partition? It will only have XP, ripers, media portal, 'net aps like flash, and will be used to rip movies to but not store them. 80gig? Or should I just get a 3rd drive, 160gig WD, to use as a C?
Q. Lastly, what will allow this server to stream movies to a different room? I'm not planning on doing this but if the cost is minimal and it doesn't change the current setup, I might go ahead and add it.
Sorry for so many questions and such a long post.
Any thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated.
-G
PS MediaPortal is the best software I have tested.
I won't be using it to record TVs, it will be strictly used to play ISO movies, minor net surfing and to stream video from online.
Anyway, I have a few questions about the hardware I have picked out and the setup.
The system will connect to the 'net via my router that is less than 50 feet way. Currently, it's a Netgear 802.11b and I get, on average, between 8-10meg/sec.
Q. Should I get an 802.11g? I've read that b isnt very good for streaming movies.
Q. Should I upgrade my net connection to 16meg? My plan now is for 10meg/sec and I don't reach that as a general rule so I don't think it will make much of a difference.
Below is the hardware I have chosen. Does it look ok?
GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Athena Power AP-MPS3ATX55E 550W Micro PS3 / ATX V2.2 / EPS-12V (I'm not sure this will work for the board/case)
AMD Athlon X2 4050e 2.1GHz Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor
Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel -
Western Digital Caviar GP WD10EACS 1TB 5400 to 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive x2 (I already have 500+ DVDs to go on it.)
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA
Logitech diNovo Mini
EDIMAX EW-7318USG USB 2.0 Wireless LAN Hi-Gain Adapter
XP Home SP3
CyberPower CP1500AVRT 1500VA 900Watt UPS (Want to hookup the TV and HTPC)
For a case, I'm considering the SILVERSTONE Silver Aluminum front panel, GD01S-R ATX BUT I'm not certain as I would like to find one that has a sensor and doors.
A few more questions...
Q. What are some good remotes to use that are compatible w/ MP and XP that include a sensor?
Q. How big should I make the C drive partition? It will only have XP, ripers, media portal, 'net aps like flash, and will be used to rip movies to but not store them. 80gig? Or should I just get a 3rd drive, 160gig WD, to use as a C?
Q. Lastly, what will allow this server to stream movies to a different room? I'm not planning on doing this but if the cost is minimal and it doesn't change the current setup, I might go ahead and add it.
Sorry for so many questions and such a long post.
Any thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated.
-G
PS MediaPortal is the best software I have tested.