Newbie new build

[Aareco]

Hello Guys, Finally decided to move up into the htpc world.
Well i have been using my old pc for some time watching dvd's and tv rips of some of my favourite shows. Have spoke to a member here for some advice , and have decided to ask all for assistance.
I am after watching blu ray movies with 7.1 lpcm sound and 24 fps (Sony Bravia 46 x series) Epson emp 1000 does not support 24fps i belive ( i know bitstreaming is not possible).Will only be using this pc for surfing the web watching ripped tv shows and blu ray,hd dvd and dvd.

Here is a list i made up and basicly wonder if it will do what i want.

Processor (CPU)
AMD PHENOM™ X4 9950 (2.6GHz) 4 x 512K L2 Cache (Socket AM2+)

Memory (RAM)
4GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR 1066MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY (2x2GB)

Motherboard
ASUS® M3N78-PRO: DUAL DDR2, S-ATA II, PCIe x16, 2 x PCIe x1, 3 x PCI

Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista™ Ultimate + SP1, CD & Licence (£119)

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS (4 REAR + 2 FRONT) AS STANDARD

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
80GB SERIAL ATA II HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)

2nd Hard Disk
NONE

RAID (HDD 1 & 2)
NONE

1st CD/DVD Drive
6x BLU-RAY ROM & HD-DVD ROM Drive, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£75)

2nd CD/DVD Drive
NONE

Graphics Card
Integrated NVIDIA GeForce® 8 Series GPU

2nd Graphics Card
NONE

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Modem
NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND

Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT

Floppy Disk Drive
NONE

Memory Card Reader
NONE

Case
Stylish Silver Aluminium Trigon Case + 2 Front/Side USB

Power Supply & Case Cooling
450W Quiet Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£22)

Processor Cooling
STANDARD CPU COOLER




Warranty
1 Year Return-to-Base incl 1st Month Free Collect & Return

Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)

Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 9 to 13 working days

Quantity
1
New Total Price
£686

My current setup



pc is in the loft but hopefully i could move the new one down to the room if it is quiet enough.

 

[Andy98765]

CPU, GPU are complete overkill for a basic HTPC unless you intend playing powerful games.
See http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cinema-pcs/843062-my-new-htpc-build-components-potentially.html far better. Also look into storing all your movies on hard drives My Movies - Home

 

[thepharcyde]

4GB will not be compatible with your version of Windows either. 3GB max is used in the 32bit version

 

[Aareco]

Thanx ,

Ok so i move upto a 64bit version of vista.

Overkill is ok anything under £1K is all good by me, rather have the extra power there just incase.

Thanks will keep a eye on your thread to Andy

 

[devo]

Thanx ,

Ok so i move upto a 64bit version of vista.

Overkill is ok anything under £1K is all good by me, rather have the extra power there just incase.

Thanks will keep a eye on your thread to Andy

It will increase cost, noise, heat and power consumption unnecessarily.

As a start, I would suggest sticking with 32bit vista (why ultimate btw?) and just getting 2gb of ram as well.

 

[Theydon Bois]

4GB will not be compatible with your version of Windows either. 3GB max is used in the 32bit version

Not entirely correct - 4Gb is compatable, just that 4gb does not register correctly in a 32bit OS, and onboard graphics etc use this RAM, and so the OS reports 3.2Gb or so instead.

Also, no one has come up with a definative reason why a 64bit OS is suitable for a HTPC. You need different codec support, and no HTPC apps are utilizing 64 bit, (or quad core really) to make it a worthwhile purchase for a project.

So, a 32Bit OS and 2Gb RAM is fine, but 4Gb is so cheap now (even if it does only report 3.2Gb) and if you have the extra cash, then why not?

 

[Stephen Neal]

I'm sure Vista 32 bit is a bit "odd" when it comes to reporting RAM.

I started with a 2Gb install of Vista Ultimate 32 bit when I first built my current HTPC. I then added a second 2Gb - and got the 3.75Gb reported RAM or similar in Windows.

I then re-installed Vista from scratch with the 4Gb installed, and Windows now reports 4Gb of memory. I haven't changed video cards or any other hardware.

Do you think Vista does a bit of checking on first install to "hide" the missing RAM that can't be used in 32 bit set-ups (due to other areas of the computer using that memory mapped area) from the end user?