Vista - Recommandation for Media Center PC - custom build

Hello I wanted to ask people recommendations about the media center pc that I wanna build.

CPU: Intel E6700 Dual Core, Boxed processor, 2.66 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 2 MB Cache, Socket T, LGA-775
RAM: 2GB 800MHz DDR2 Non-ECC 5-5-5 DIMM
Mobo: ASUS P5E-VM HDMI
Graphic Card: XFX Geforce 8600GTX
Tv Tuner: WinTV-HVR-1800
HardDrive: 500GB-SATA-Seagate DB35 Series 7200
Player: Pioneer BDC-2202 Blu-ray Disc/DVD/CD Combo Drive
Case: Fusion Black 430 Media Center Case

Also if someone else got a better custom build please share it here.

The pc will be used as home pc as well for games.

Hope to get some help cause I am really confused

OK, some recommendations:

• Go with 4 GB of RAM (2 x 2 GB PC6400 non ECC RAM) and then Vista x64. You'll thank me later when you realize how much RAM Vista eats even for HTPCs.
• Your TV Tuner is the same one I have - stick with that one and none else (of course you're getting the one with the remote....)
• HD - Ummm, You're buying a motherboard that supports SATA II and want to buy an IDE interface drive? Bad idea. Go with these: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB Hard Drive - 7200RPM, 32MB, SATA-300, OEM ST3500320AS at TigerDirect.com
• Graphics - Ummm, you *do* realize that the motherboard has onboard graphics, with 1 SVGA (D-sub 15) out and 1 HDMI output? Since you want to game, I'd personally suggest you look into a GT260 - a much newer card, and MSRP is $299 USD, so you should be able to find some deals here and there, quite possibly as low as $269

Those are just my opinions - of course you never mentioned what sort of price range you need as well....

I tried searching for current prices on 8600GTX cards and really could not find a lot - I suspect they are dirt cheap for being so old, though....

Hello price is not a problem can you give more information about the graphic card and the fuill name of it.

And about the cpu is it good enough or maybe upgrade doesnt matter the price.

EVGA | Products

What about CPU can I get a better one?

Well, here's the deal - unless you plan on doing intensive video editing / Office application / programming, most of the time avid gamers will tell you to avoid Quad Core CPUs - I personally say it is better with Quad Core as you're future proofing the machine in case you decide to take it in a different direction, but that is my personal opinion.

Also, I notice that I am pretty much the only one replying, so perhaps it would be better if a few others replied as well - but it seems no one is responding here for whatever reason....

Hello John I was reading graphic card recommendations.

I wanna go for BFG nVidia GeForce 9800GTX OCX 512MB DDR3 2DVI/HDCP PCI-Express

Will my motherboard support such a card?

Ok, I'll throw my suggestion in here.

I would choose a different Motherboard and GPU based on a few advantages IMO.

ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 Crossfire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN eSATA Motherboard

This Motherboard does not have on board graphics, has a slightly better chipset, and has two PCI-E16 slots, which would be good for your HTPC build, as you can use one slot for your GPU, and the other for your TV/Video capture card.

Visiontek Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E Video Card


This GPU is around $200 US/CDN, and it will outperform the 9800. After a long slump, ATi has come up with a great product for a decent price.


The great thing about this card is the fact that with HDMI it will carry the 7.1 audio tracks (like HDMI should), a feature that is not yet available from nVidia.


If you wanted a better GPU, you could look at the 4870 series card, which is about $300 US/CDN. This simply an amazing card with GDDR5 memory that will provide in the area of 3200mb of bandwidth.


Building an HTPC and a gaming machine in one can prove to be difficult, as you are going to need the best of both worlds.


Have you looked at a case yet? I don't believe a standard HTPC case will provide the kind of cooling you may desire, but I'm not positive on that so look around.


Keep us posted, AL

i know this thread is a couple of months old......but anyways....

i have a semi htpc setup that i use for gaming (when noone esle is watching tv) and im looking for a nice htpc case......

my problem is every case ive looked at is
1: too small
2: peripherals (volume knob) dont work with my soundcard (over optical cable)
3: remotes only work with media centre or their own dodgy software

i cant use media centre cos i have too much media (15000 songs, 800 avis) and it takes way too long to scroll through such a big list and choose something......(and besides that media centre looks like it was designed for the mentally handicapped)

does anyone have any suggestions? know of any cases/solutions that might overcome these sort of problems?

on a side note, the remote that came with my fusion hdtv card was very handy, but you had to be in the application to use the buttons.....ie keyboards have song skip and play/pause buttons, but you cant get a remote that has that sort of thing hardwired into it - you have to actually be in the application you want to use it....

any help/suggestions would be helpful....thanx!