Purpose: Upgrade an existing computer for (in order of importance)
Home Theater/DVR duties
Media center capabilities
Mid/high range gaming at some point in the future
Price range: Not firm, preferrably in the <$500 range
What I have that I won't be replacing:
ATX Aluminum case w/ 2x 120mm inflow fans
Gigabyte GA-MA790GPT-UD3H (2x PCIe x16 slots - will run at x8 with 2 video cards)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128398
gSkill Ripjaws 2x 2GB (OC'ed to 1600)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276
AMD Phenom II X2 (550be) Callisto @3.1 GHz (all 4 cores are unlocked & running but not OC'ed)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680
Maxtor 160 GB SATA I (7200 RPM w/ 8MB cache)
DVD ROM (ATA100)
AZiO AWD102N PCI Wireless Adapter (however the router is only a "g" router) and my broadband connection is 921 Kb/s tops (and is often significantly less)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833340013
[my only DVD RW (no blu-ray) currently resides in another much less capable system but it can be moved]
Windows 7 Home Edition
What I have and am willing/will need to replace:
Stock AMD Phenom II Callisto CPU cooler
Antec EarthWatts 380W PSU EA-380
Sometime in the next 12-18 months I will probably purchase an HD TV that will serve as one of the "heads" for this system. Until that time, one head will drive a conventional 32" TV. I'd also like to get a dedicated video card to drive a separate computer monitor so that the same system can be used to play games.
Will I need any special software to support DVR capabilities? How about commercial skipping? I have a friend that recommends MPG4 encoding over MPG2. The HW listed below encodes in MPG2, are the video input cards that encode in MPG4, or should I just let the CPU handle that workload?
Will I need to upgrade my Win7 Home Edition?
Also my current system is very quiet. I would prefer that all additional components are also quiet.
My NewEgg wish list looks like this (roughly in order of importance):
Vi: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 ATSC?? $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116010
DVD: LG Black 8x BD-ROM 16x DVD-ROM 40x?? $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136162
Total $200
Optional
PSU: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D?? $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371034
Vid: Radeon HD4850?? $100+
HSF: Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm?? $40 (-$10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004
HD: 3x Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB?? $90/ea
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
Total >$465+
I suppose that if I'm not getting a dedicated high-end graphics card, then I won't need the new PSU either.
I won't need the after market HSF unless I plan to over-clock.
Ultimately I will need/want the RAID 5 capability because I have nothing that even approaches the ability to back that data up. However, $270 for such a system seems pretty steep. I could go with cheaper drives (say 0.5T for $55) but that's not nearly as good a price point for the amount of storage I gain.
If only money wasn't an issue
Home Theater/DVR duties
Media center capabilities
Mid/high range gaming at some point in the future
Price range: Not firm, preferrably in the <$500 range
What I have that I won't be replacing:
ATX Aluminum case w/ 2x 120mm inflow fans
Gigabyte GA-MA790GPT-UD3H (2x PCIe x16 slots - will run at x8 with 2 video cards)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128398
gSkill Ripjaws 2x 2GB (OC'ed to 1600)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276
AMD Phenom II X2 (550be) Callisto @3.1 GHz (all 4 cores are unlocked & running but not OC'ed)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680
Maxtor 160 GB SATA I (7200 RPM w/ 8MB cache)
DVD ROM (ATA100)
AZiO AWD102N PCI Wireless Adapter (however the router is only a "g" router) and my broadband connection is 921 Kb/s tops (and is often significantly less)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833340013
[my only DVD RW (no blu-ray) currently resides in another much less capable system but it can be moved]
Windows 7 Home Edition
What I have and am willing/will need to replace:
Stock AMD Phenom II Callisto CPU cooler
Antec EarthWatts 380W PSU EA-380
Sometime in the next 12-18 months I will probably purchase an HD TV that will serve as one of the "heads" for this system. Until that time, one head will drive a conventional 32" TV. I'd also like to get a dedicated video card to drive a separate computer monitor so that the same system can be used to play games.
Will I need any special software to support DVR capabilities? How about commercial skipping? I have a friend that recommends MPG4 encoding over MPG2. The HW listed below encodes in MPG2, are the video input cards that encode in MPG4, or should I just let the CPU handle that workload?
Will I need to upgrade my Win7 Home Edition?
Also my current system is very quiet. I would prefer that all additional components are also quiet.
My NewEgg wish list looks like this (roughly in order of importance):
Vi: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 ATSC?? $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116010
DVD: LG Black 8x BD-ROM 16x DVD-ROM 40x?? $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136162
Total $200
Optional
PSU: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D?? $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371034
Vid: Radeon HD4850?? $100+
HSF: Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm?? $40 (-$10 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004
HD: 3x Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB?? $90/ea
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
Total >$465+
I suppose that if I'm not getting a dedicated high-end graphics card, then I won't need the new PSU either.
I won't need the after market HSF unless I plan to over-clock.
Ultimately I will need/want the RAID 5 capability because I have nothing that even approaches the ability to back that data up. However, $270 for such a system seems pretty steep. I could go with cheaper drives (say 0.5T for $55) but that's not nearly as good a price point for the amount of storage I gain.
If only money wasn't an issue