[willj12]

The parts for my first HTPC build came today (well most of them).

I started with the idea of using an old computer I had lying around with a 1.6ghz amd (single core) processor, 64mb of onboard graphics, and 256mb of DDR ram, I had a look at the prices of 2gb of DDR RAM and an AGP graphics card that would do the job for 720p material, that was going to come to about £80!
I decided that for an extra £20ish I could get this build off the classifieds on here:
ATI Radeon X1600 Pro
Hauppauge WinTV DVB-T PCI Card
Intel Pentium D 915 2.8ghz Dual Core
ASUS P5VDC-X ATX Motherboard
2gb DDR2 4200 533mhz Ram
And my old wifi, hdd, dvd drive, psu and a spare draw to store it all in!
I then posted on here (http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-...fair-htpc.html) for advice on this build, the general consumption was that it may just play 720p material, but I had no chance playing 1080p , but I was advised to save a bit more money and buy a 780g motherboard and a 5050e CPU.
I was also advised not to keep it in the draw since the lack of air flow would have meant the components would have probably burnt out, or maybe worse cause a fire!

After many days of reading the HTPC sticky (http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-...-apr-09-a.html), for ideas on what to put in the build and which front end to use, I finally decided to use Vista Media Centre with Media Browser to manage all my movies, and TV programs, I defiantly recommend reading this thread about how to make the most of Media Browser (http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-...mised-vmc.html)

My final build ended up being:

Gigabyte MA78GM-UD2H (Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-UD2H, AMD 780G, AM2/AM2+, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 800/1066/1200, SATA 3Gb/s, mATX - Scan.co.uk)
AND Athlon X2 5200 2.7Ghz (ADO5200DOBOX - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ AM2 Dual Core 2.7GHz, 512KB x 2 Cache, Retail - Scan.co.uk)
Western Digital Caviar 250gb IDE
Sony DW-U10A DVD-RW IDE
320gb SATA Hard Drive
2GB DDR2 800mhz RAM
Some old Foxconn case
And a 350w PSU
This brought my total build cost to £162.34, but then all I did buy was a motherboard, CPU, RAM and a Philips 5100 remote.
I decided not to buy a TV tuner just yet as I couldn’t afford one, but I have got one in my mind, only £34 for a dual tuner (8202-26240-91 - Pinnacle PCTV 2000i Pro Dual DVB-T Pro TV-Tuner PCI OEM (*Card Only*) - Scan.co.uk)

The day the parts came...
I had to phone India (Dell) and attempt understand an Indian woman’s accent, she was telling me that my laptop was out of warranty so I had to pay for them to fix it, I was having an argument with her about how poorly built it is since it has had to be sent back to Dell twice and an engineer come to the house twice to fix it (all hardware issues), the doorbell went so I put her on hold, it was my remote control for my HTPC! I signed for it and got back to the women in India, I described the problem to her again and the doorbell went. So I put her on hold and opened the door, lo and be hold it was my CPU and motherboard from SCAN! so I signed for it and has a little chat with the delivery man, then got back on the phone to India, maybe she had got bored with being on hold or just couldn't be bothered to argue with me anymore, but she suddenly decided that I didn't have to pay for my laptop to be fixed!

The build (so far) has gone totally to plan, apart from screwing down the motherboard, putting all the wires in, plugging the front panel in probably then realising I forgot to put the I/O plate into the back of the case, so having to take the motherboard out very carefully and put the I/O plate into place.
I did notice that my new motherboard only has one IDE slot, so my plan to use an amalgamation of old IDE hard drives has gone out the window, so I will use the 250gb IDE and IDE DVD drive and take a 320gb SATA hard drive from my laptop (yes the one that caused me to phone India).
Now all I have to do is wait for the RAM to arrive (ordered from the classifieds on here) bah I'm so impatient.

So the moral of the story (well so far) ... if your laptop is out of warranty and they want you to pay to get it fix, put them on hold!

[willj12]

The RAM arrived yesterday, got it all up and running. Have ripped 60 dvd's so far

[Theydon Bois]

I would amend your main post to add that you started with this:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-...fair-htpc.html

...and then got to where you are, maybe adding other linmks to threads that where relevant in your build process.

It makes it more as a coherant 'story' for others to follow as well.

I will be adding this to the sticky under budget builds as well - what was your overall cost?

[willj12]

Originally Posted by Theydon Bois

I will be adding this to the sticky under budget builds as well - what was your overall cost?

Have done!
Total cost of new parts was £162.34 but I alrady had a case and hard drives.

[Theydon Bois]

Excellent, just the kind of thing that I was looking for and gives other budget builders the ideas behind your choices to give them an idea on what to look for - and I think I will update the sticky to reference the fact that our own forums can be a source of components for those on a tight budget.

[willj12]

Originally Posted by Theydon Bois

Excellent, just the kind of thing that I was looking for and gives other budget builders the ideas behind your choices to give them an idea on what to look for - and I think I will update the sticky to reference the fact that our own forums can be a source of components for those on a tight budget.

Guess it was! I have just had a PM from someone asking how to rip a DVD in simple step by step terms. Can I post it here? or is it against the rules?