[Primevi1]

Here's what im looking at getting:

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD
$99.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$79.99

CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
$124.00 - $40.00 Mail-in Rebate = $84.00

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
$19.99

Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1250 MC - White Box 1187
$49.99

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard
$89.99

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black Computer Case
$79.99

MSI Raden HD 2600XT RX2600XT-T2D512EZ Silent Heat Pipe Video Card
ATARI Gift - The Witcher PC Game

$112.99 - $20.00 Mail-in Rebate = $92.99

XCLIO STABLEPOWER 500W 500W Power Supply
$61.99

Grand Total: $718.92

That price is before S+H and Intel E8400 processor (or new quad core 45nm)

What you think?

Edited by Primevi1, 08 March 2008 - 01:15 AM.

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[BravoZulu]

Everything looks fine you're cleared for takeoff

[james_8970]

I'd seriously consider changing that PSU.
James

[SOORENA]

I'd seriously consider changing that PSU.
James

True I've never even heard of that brand.

Soorena

[BravoZulu]

Hey guys, the PSU is actually pretty a good power supply I used that brand in around 10 builds myself and not one came back as defective. It's a fairly popular brand with the enthusiast class of builder as a budget option. While it's not top quality - it's also not low quality. About in par with Antec actually, but not as good as most models of FSP, PC & Power Cooling, Silverstone. Corsair. That said if the OP knows for sure that and upgrade to an 8800 - 3870 class card will be done anytime soon I would prefer to see a 520-650W PSU of top quality, like Corsair or PC & Power Cooling in the system.

[Primevi1]

Yeah the reviews for that PSU were pretty good and it came with a free extra fan, but you guys might be right with getting a bigger PSU. Also should i splurge and get a better graphics card? I def. need one with at least 1080p support and some way to plug an hdmi cable into the back, and then also have a vga to the computer monitor.

[james_8970]

Upon further inspection, they do seem better then what I previously thought, though because they do not seem to support their products when something goes wrong, I'm going to have to suggest the Silverstone 500W PSU.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817256037

Also the card you choose is being replaced by ATI's newer HD3xx0 series.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814161221
Please note, that if your monitor is DVI, you're going to need an adaptor.

Lastly, if I were you I'd get a 2x1GB memory kit and invest more into your GPU and get a 9600GT.
James

Edited by james_8970, 08 March 2008 - 07:54 PM.

[james_8970]

I'd edit my post, but you'd likely miss it.

Also should i splurge and get a better graphics card?

As I mentioned in my last post, I'd personally recommend you get a 50$ 2x1GB memory kit and a 9600GT.

I def. need one with at least 1080p support and some way to plug an hdmi cable into the back, and then also have a vga to the computer monitor.

If your intentions are to use this computer as a HTPC, I strongly recommend you stick with ATI (get a HD3870 or HD3850) as the cards have a built in sound card. If you don't intend on using this for gaming, then the card I suggest in my last post will be plenty, you could probably get away with even less graphics power. Again, I strongly recommend the HD3xx0 series from ATI for 1080p play back if the intended use for this machine will be a HTPC, but if you want to play games, the 9600GT is a great buy but lacks the sound card functionality that you may want for your HTPC (if these are your intentions).
HTPC = Home Theatre Personal Computer
James

Edited by james_8970, 08 March 2008 - 07:56 PM.

[BravoZulu]

James has some fantastic advice about sticking to an ATI based card if you plan on viewing HD content often - however your LCD-Monitor will have to be capable of true 1080p for you so see 1080p. Most 16*10 LCD's -- even the better ones like the one I use (LG L226-WTQ) will only do 720p HD max. You might gave a TV though that's capable of true 1080p. If you plan on gaming on the same unit, then you're going to want a combination of GPU power that will get you decent frame rates at 16*10 resolution, so a 3870 would be a great idea, or if you want really good frames per second then a G92 nVIDIA based 8800GTS 512MB might be better for you, and in either case (even if you just get an ATI based 3850) a good 550W Corsair power supply with a good single +12v rail would be a great idea.

In any case, good luck with your build and components! You did a good job with asking questions and taking the time in selecting parts.

[james_8970]

James has some fantastic advice about sticking to an ATI based card if you plan on viewing HD content often - however your LCD-Monitor will have to be capable of true 1080p for you so see 1080p. Most 16*10 LCD's -- even the better ones like the one I use (LG L226-WTQ) will only do 720p HD max. You might gave a TV though that's capable of true 1080p. If you plan on gaming on the same unit, then you're going to want a combination of GPU power that will get you decent frame rates at 16*10 resolution, so a 3870 would be a great idea, or if you want really good frames per second then a G92 nVIDIA based 8800GTS 512MB might be better for you, and in either case (even if you just get an ATI based 3850) a good 550W Corsair power supply with a good single +12v rail would be a great idea.

In any case, good luck with your build and components! You did a good job with asking questions and taking the time in selecting parts.

It's also important to not that the sound card feature is useless if your display device doesn't have any HDMI inputs.
James

[Primevi1]

Yes I plan on having this hooked up simultaneously with the dual dvi ports on the GPU, one to my monitor and the other via hdmi to a 42" 1080p samsung lcd. I also already have a sound card i plan on putting in this as well as a dvd-burner. I really like the idea of using my computer as a hddvr to record TV straight to the HDD. (If anyone knows how this is to set up let me know) On the other side I want it to hold up and never slow done or skip.

So what GPU will do the job then?

[james_8970]

So what GPU will do the job then?

Anything. I personally would get a HD38x0 series card because of two things. There is an onboard sound card, so if your TV has an HDMI input, you can use a single HDMI cable to feed your audio and video to your TV. The second reason and primary reason is UVD. Basically this is a feature on all the newer generation ATI cards that puts all the video rendering on your GPU and CPU utilization drops significantly. Because HD content is so taxing on your hardware, this is great as some CPU's struggle at times. Remember, high end GPU's are much more powerful then high end CPU's.

I really like the idea of using my computer as a hddvr to record TV straight to the HDD.

Just a heads up, you cannot record true HDTV content (1080i, no HDTV content is broadcast in 1080p) with any TV tuner currently on the market that I'm aware of. Though something may have changed as I do not pay enough attention to this market.

If anyone knows how this is to set up let me know

It shouldn't be too difficult, I want to do this myself. Though that won't be happening till I leave university. You're going to want a tuner that has a remote if you want to watch from the comfort of your coach. ATI released their 650 Wonder cards that received a lot of praise but that cost significantly more then others. Honestly, I don't know enough about TV tuners to suggest one at the time nor do I know enough to help guide you set up your system. Though, if you want to create a HTPC, it's limited greatly by the functionality of your TV tuner, I know some can record two channels at once, another handy feature.
James

[Primevi1]

Apparantly a TV tuner card at this moment in time is not all it could be. After doing some research (very hard to find credible info on the web for some reason) I have decided that I dont want to purchase one yet. The cards that are available today are only for use with antenna based services. This means you can only get over the air TV (like 5 HD channels where I live). Supposedly in the future they are coming out with cable card devices, which seems to be the best option for HD. However current cable card technology is a one way deal, but interactive (2 way communication) cards are on the horizon. The interactive card is definetly the way to go as you get the guide, ppv, and ondemand programming, basically all the stuff that makes digital cable worthwhile. Alot of these new devices have copy restrictions now, but hopefully someone will release an unrestricted, non subscriber fee version.

Hopefully this helps anyone else who was lookign in to buying one of these devices.

P.S. I hate all of this copy protection BS that every company seems to be doing now-a-days, seems like big-brother is winning

[james_8970]

Yes it is hard to find creditable information as the market is still very small, the problem is the encryption used for HDTV. As for the PPV features and guide (not sure what you mean by ondemand programing) I'm pretty sure that this can already been found within the media center edition of XP and Vista home Premium/Ultimate.

I hate all of this copy protection BS that every company seems to be doing now-a-days, seems like big-brother is winning

Big brother will never win if all the little guys work together Never fear the government, the government should always fear you
James

Edited by james_8970, 10 March 2008 - 08:10 PM.

[kamille316]

I believe on-demand programming are those movies, TV shows, concerts, sport events that you can rent.