First HTPC build, advice welcome!

Otaku Punk

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I'm about to build my first HTPC, primarily to playback files but also to indulge in some retro gaming. I plan to mainly play standard def avi's and 720p mkv's, as well as playing a few old games. I've been looking through this board for some time now and have made a proposed spec based on the general hardware reccomendations.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e
Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-DS2H (the version with sideport memory)
2GB Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 CAS 5-5-5-18
400W Silverstone ST40EF+ PSU
Antec Remote Fusion Black Case
1TB Samsung HD103UJ Spinpoint F1 (already bought)

I currently also have the MCE remote and the Wireless receiver for 360 pads to controll the pc. I plan to use my existing keyboard to set it up and then run the PC with only the remote and gamepad to controll it, adding a MCE keyboard later. All the media will be handled via Mediaportal on an OS that is to be decided (either vista home premium or XP MCE 2005).

As far as i can see this all should work together as planned, but any opinions are welcome! Thanks for any feedback!
 
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I realise there a few of these style threads but i really would appreciate any advice or even just reassurance i've picked the right parts.
 
It looks fine for 1080p bluray playback :thumbsup:.
 
Looks fine. Could have a look at the Corsair CX400w psu which I think's around the same price.
 
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Almost the same as my system........

Not played any games on mine as i have a custom built gaming rig and i can't get on with games console controllers.......need a good keyboard and mouse!!

You may want to go with 4GB of ram.....as the mobo can use upto 512meg as graphics memory.

Not had any issues with mine so far and it has played everything i have given it.

:thumbsup:
 
Definitely consider the LG Blu Ray/HD DVD combo as per my link.... as for the OS, if you're planning on running MediaPOrtal, you don't actually need a Media Centre edition of Windows - that's only if you plan on using the MS Media centre, so you could get away with XP SP3 or Vista Basic if you want it...
 
The LG drive is a definate purchase, but i'm going to get it at a later date to save on the initial setup cost. In the mean time i'm going to use an old DVD drive to get by.

The only reason i'm swayed by a media centre OS is the ability to connect my 360 as an extender, i doubt i'll use it much but currently its niggling me that its the only part of my 360 i havent used yet!
 
the 360 is a good media extender if you have a pc in another room, to stream files to etc, but if you have a full blown media centre, you prob wont use that biut of your 360
 

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