Building a system - advice

[woolybully]

I'd like to build a system and have some requirements:

1) must be quiet and cool
2) easy to use (non-techie wife must be able to figure it out.)
3) total cost < $1000
4) be stable
5) run WinXP pro.

Beyond those I want the following:

1) dual pvr-250 (avoiding 250/350 combos due to problems)

2) Xcard for playback (see above)

3) 200-250 Gig harddrive + another drive for OS (already have a spare 60 gig drive I can use for the OS)

4) I want to connect it to a Hitachi 51 inch HDTV though the DVI port (not interested in recording HD yet) for menus. I have two spare input ports, one that supports ybPbr (or whaterver) and s-video. (the other three inputs have HDTV, DVD and VCR inputs, though the DVD and VCR inputs can be replaced with this in the future)

5) I will connect to internet via 11g wireless (using 11g for future video distribution), not included in above costs - I have to do this anyway for other reasons. Suggested access points/network card recommendations appreciated.

6) I'd like to be able to connect to a surround sound system in the future.

With the SageTV + 2 tuner cards = $285
XCard = $90
Harddrive = $170
that leaves $455 for the rest of the components.


I understand that this would not require a powerful CPU, perhaps a Duron or a Pentium III. I have a spare, old Celeron 300 overclocked to 450 and MB that still works I think - is that enough? ( but it's old enough that it may not support LBA addressing).


So I would like advice for the following:
1) motherboard/cpu combinations
2) memory - 256 should be enough?
3) video card
4) sound card, if needed?
5) wireless keyboard/mouse combos for couch surfing?
6) a DVD burner (possibly future expansion).
7) powersupply ( I think I have 350 watt supply that still works, but it may not be the quietest).
8) cooling
9) case that doesn't look like it's from Jupiter.

Separately, I'll get a UPS for the system.

Also, I don't have surround sound now. I'd like to add it. Any recommendations for that would be helpful. I'd especially like to have wireless satellite speakers so I don't have to run ugly cables. The TV can act as the center speaker, but it may not be that good of quality. It needs to accept input from the TV as well as the above system. Not sure on what I want to spend on this, perhaps $300 or so.

Anthing else I need to know?'

Thanks for your help in advance.

Woolybully.

[stanger89]

Originally posted by woolybully
I'd like to build a system and have some requirements:

1) must be quiet and cool
2) easy to use (non-techie wife must be able to figure it out.)
3) total cost < $1000
4) be stable
5) run WinXP pro.

Beyond those I want the following:

1) dual pvr-250 (avoiding 250/350 combos due to problems)

Doable.

2) Xcard for playback (see above)

This would impede WAF since there is no Sage UI on the Xcard output, you'd need two inputs on the TV, a switch, or a monitor next to the TV.

3) 200-250 Gig harddrive + another drive for OS (already have a spare 60 gig drive I can use for the OS)

Sounds good.

4) I want to connect it to a Hitachi 51 inch HDTV though the DVI port (not interested in recording HD yet) for menus. I have two spare input ports, one that supports ybPbr (or whaterver) and s-video. (the other three inputs have HDTV, DVD and VCR inputs, though the DVD and VCR inputs can be replaced with this in the future)

You don't want an Xcard then since it doesn't have a DVI out. Plus, the Xcard/350 are really only beneficial on SDTVs.

5) I will connect to internet via 11g wireless (using 11g for future video distribution), not included in above costs - I have to do this anyway for other reasons. Suggested access points/network card recommendations appreciated.

You'll hate me for this. Go Orinoco all the way, it's good stuff, it's expensive, I wish I'd gone that way. Also Wireless is not the best way to go for Video distribution, two streams could chew up all the bandwidth available, remember you'll only get ~20Mbps over 802.11G.

6) I'd like to be able to connect to a surround sound system in the future.

No big deal I do this with my M-Audio Revolution with both 5.1 (or 7.1 if my RX handled it) analog connections or coaxial digital.

With the SageTV + 2 tuner cards = $285
XCard = $90
Harddrive = $170
that leaves $455 for the rest of the components.


I understand that this would not require a powerful CPU, perhaps a Duron or a Pentium III. I have a spare, old Celeron 300 overclocked to 450 and MB that still works I think - is that enough? ( but it's old enough that it may not support LBA addressing).


So I would like advice for the following:
1) motherboard/cpu combinations
2) memory - 256 should be enough?
3) video card
4) sound card, if needed?
5) wireless keyboard/mouse combos for couch surfing?
6) a DVD burner (possibly future expansion).
7) powersupply ( I think I have 350 watt supply that still works, but it may not be the quietest).
8) cooling
9) case that doesn't look like it's from Jupiter.

Separately, I'll get a UPS for the system.

Also, I don't have surround sound now. I'd like to add it. Any recommendations for that would be helpful. I'd especially like to have wireless satellite speakers so I don't have to run ugly cables. The TV can act as the center speaker, but it may not be that good of quality. It needs to accept input from the TV as well as the above system. Not sure on what I want to spend on this, perhaps $300 or so.

The only thing I'd recommend in that pricerange would be something like the Klipsh Promedias:
http://store.klipsch.com/details.asp?ProdID=56
However if you can manage to do more like $1000-1200 you could get a very nice Paradigm Cinema+Denon receiver setup. Definitely look hard at what you'd get before defining your budget, and don't use the TV as a center channel you'd be better off without one than doing that. Sorry that's the answer you get from a home theater snob.

Anthing else I need to know?'

Thanks for your help in advance.

Woolybully.

OK I'll do my best with a grocery list:
Antec Overture: $99
Abit IS7-E: $89
2x256 Corsair PC 3200: $85
P4 2.4C 800MHz: $164 (2.8's will be $178 in February)
Geforce FX 5200: $64
Subtotal: $498 (Remember no xcard and 200Gb drives are ~150)
All this is at Newegg
Pioneer DVR-A06 $140
Logitech Wireless varies.

That should take care of all your requirements. Frey even had 2x250s+1USB2 in an overture at CES. This will also get you most/all of the way to playing back HD down the road too.

[phenixdragon]

Here is what I would go with:
-SimpleMax 101 Case (200 Watt PSU) - $50
-ASUS P4R800-VM - $91
-Any 478 based Celeron
-1 250 gig HDD - $200
- Corsair Value Select 512 PC3200 - $75
-PVR-250 cards - $200 for both
-X10 Universal Remote - $40
-CinePlayer CODECs - $15

Forget about a 2nd drive only for the OS. It is just added heat and you can spare 2 or 4 gigs for your OS. I suggest dumping the X-Card if you are going with DVI. It will be a wasted card when you can go with DVI on a RADEON. One of the models supports 1080i but I can not remember which one. The motherboard has Digital COAX out but you also can add in another sound card with optical digital out. You are looking around $900 (on the high end) including a new copy of XP.

The SimpleMax case is one of the best looking that I have seen. It stays very cool compared to other Micro ATX cases and is rated one of the best, if not the best. I pretty much run this setup at home and it is close to what I am selling. I have a pic of the case on the site if you want to check it out. Also you can through in an ACER wireless keyboard. It is nice and small and I also sell it and it is listed on the site. It has mouse built in. With RAM, this mobo is picky but Corsair should be fine and you could even go with 256 and it will be enough.

[DynamoBen]

I spent a lot of time selecting my components. I really wanted a good machine but keep costs low. I wanted to come close to what a Tivo would cost but with greater funcationality.

Motherboard: ECS L7VTA KT400
CPU: AMD XP 1900+ (got MB and CPU as a combo)
Memory: 333-256MB DDR MEMORY 184 PIN PC2700
Video: ATI RADEON 9200SE, 128MB DDR, TV OUT
**All of the above was about $270.00
Tuner: 2 PVR-250 Cards (from Sage online store)
IR: USB-UIRT
Case: Antec Overture (paid $130 at compusa)
HD: 160 gig
HD2: 1.5 gig (for swap file)
CPU Cooling: I ended up getting a "silent" 80mm fan at compusa and a 80mm to 60mm adapter. It keeps the processor at a decent temp and didn't cost very much.

This setup has been running for a few months and I'm happy with it. I have more than enough headroom to get everything done. The only thing I wish I had was firewire on the motherboard. Although I don't own any firewire devices

Something I noticed is a lot of the sage users have "huge" computers. (2 gig processors, tons of ram, and huge HDs) I really didn't want to go down this route simply because the sage computer was going to have a single purpose. Plus I didn't want my sage computer to be better then my desktop Personally I think you can cut corners on processor, memory, and HD and still have a sweet Sage machine.

[stanger89]

Yeah, one drive for OS+data is plenty, just be sure to make a small (5-10Gb) partition for the OS. That way you can reinstall/restore the OS without destroying all the data stored on the drive.

[stanger89]

Originally posted by DynamoBen
Something I noticed is a lot of the sage users have "huge" computers. (2 gig processors, tons of ram, and huge HDs) I really didn't want to go down this route simply because the sage computer was going to have a single purpose. Plus I didn't want my sage computer to be better then my desktop Personally I think you can cut corners on processor, memory, and HD and still have a sweet Sage machine.

There are a couple of good reasons to consider going with a "huge" computer:

Postproccessing:
Things like dscaler deinterlacing and ffdshow postprocessing can take a lot of horsepower.

HD:
This is the biggie, I can't wait for Sage to add HD support. My 2.4 is about bare minimum to play HD well. It's barely enough to play the WMV-HD version of Coral Reef Adventure in 720p, and when Sage finally supports HD it will be nice to have extra power for software HD playback.

[DynamoBen]

I guess I can see your point if your doing HD stuff.

I am running the Elecard descaler /w greedy plugin. I'm also doing a double refresh rate.

The PC is only doing about 40% utilization when watching and recording at the same time.

Really depends on what you are using your PC for and how much you want to spend. My philosophy is go with middle range purchases for now and upgrade if need be later.

BTW....I also opted to use the on-board sound card which is unheard of for some ppl. The reason is because I'm not playing DVDs on this machine. I leave DVDs to the stand-alone player I own. Some day I may put a burner in but not yet.

[mikbro]

Take a look at our systems, the A4201 is almost exactly what you want. If you want to stay under $1000, we have the TapeItAll Systems A4201 that Frey used at CES for sale - $949. Meets or exceeds all your specs.

Check out my post in the General Forum for the complete specs of the machine!