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<blockquote data-quote="Tech Geek" data-source="post: 39559" data-attributes="member: 18181">You are being a bit optimistic with wattage ratings and I have a hunch that Mobo + CPU + HD + DVD + TV Tuner + RAM + cooling fans = more watts than that power supply will handle. MediaPortal is going to take 80% CPU time or better when you actually do something.&nbsp; And some people are experiencing 100%.&nbsp; I haven't checked my machine to see what mine is doing.&nbsp; So CPU use won't be on the light side.&nbsp; I think it's something like 30% sitting still.Also take into consideration that the watt ratings of those drives is AFTER they have spun up.&nbsp; They require more while spinning up.A 120W might work but what happens when you build it and the power supply goes POP because you are drawing too much?200W is *supposedly* enough for a system according to the info in one of the sticky threads.&nbsp; However, the article it refers to states that their measuring device doesn't measure spikes in power usage or peak power.I will also point out that they didn't put the measuring device to any tests to verify it's calibration or accuracy so we don't know what level of error is in those tests.&nbsp; So 200W continious would probably be a good minimum for a power supply.&nbsp; It also gives you the ability to add more to the system later.If you are going to attempt this use a Turion or Sempron 754.&nbsp; The smaller cache and as a result smaller die will draw less power.&nbsp; MSI makes a heat spreader for the Turion for use with standard desktop CPU coolers.&nbsp; The 2600+ Sempron of mine overclocked to almost 2GHz or very near 3300+ levels and was a lot cheaper than a 939 CPU.Go with 512MB RAM.&nbsp; Less and XP is slow.&nbsp; More draws more power.The integrated NVidia 6100, 6150 or ATi 200 will all draw less than a graphics card + board.&nbsp; I've now built several systems that use the ATi and 1 that uses the 6100 and I don't think you can go wrong with either.&nbsp; My Jetway has good TV out capability but it isn't as good as my X1300 card with Avivo so don't expect miracles.Just remember if the TV isn't that great it's not going to improve your output.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Tech Geek, post: 39559, member: 18181"] You are being a bit optimistic with wattage ratings and I have a hunch that Mobo + CPU + HD + DVD + TV Tuner + RAM + cooling fans = more watts than that power supply will handle. MediaPortal is going to take 80% CPU time or better when you actually do something. And some people are experiencing 100%. I haven't checked my machine to see what mine is doing. So CPU use won't be on the light side. I think it's something like 30% sitting still. Also take into consideration that the watt ratings of those drives is AFTER they have spun up. They require more while spinning up. A 120W might work but what happens when you build it and the power supply goes POP because you are drawing too much? 200W is *supposedly* enough for a system according to the info in one of the sticky threads. However, the article it refers to states that their measuring device doesn't measure spikes in power usage or peak power. I will also point out that they didn't put the measuring device to any tests to verify it's calibration or accuracy so we don't know what level of error is in those tests. So 200W continious would probably be a good minimum for a power supply. It also gives you the ability to add more to the system later. If you are going to attempt this use a Turion or Sempron 754. The smaller cache and as a result smaller die will draw less power. MSI makes a heat spreader for the Turion for use with standard desktop CPU coolers. The 2600+ Sempron of mine overclocked to almost 2GHz or very near 3300+ levels and was a lot cheaper than a 939 CPU. Go with 512MB RAM. Less and XP is slow. More draws more power. The integrated NVidia 6100, 6150 or ATi 200 will all draw less than a graphics card + board. I've now built several systems that use the ATi and 1 that uses the 6100 and I don't think you can go wrong with either. My Jetway has good TV out capability but it isn't as good as my X1300 card with Avivo so don't expect miracles. Just remember if the TV isn't that great it's not going to improve your output. [/QUOTE]

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