diduknowthat

Wattage wise it's pretty low, but it can put out 33 amps on the 12v rail, which is more than enough for a home theater PC. Plus it is a higher quality unit.

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Silent Tuned | 3D Marks 06: 11566
Q6600 2.4ghz CPU | Gigabyte GA-P35 LGA 775 MB
EVGA 8800gt 512mb Video Card
G.Skill 4GB Ram | Western Digital 400GB HD
X-Fi Xtrememusic Sound Card
Antec P180B Case | Scythe Ninja HSF
CM Real Power Pro 650watt PSU

paratwa

No, there is a lot more to a HTPC system than just the graphics and case. You have to consider noise, heat, tv tuner, graphics card ( which usually has no need of a state of the art card). There is no need for a extremely fast CPU if it is going to be strictly a HTPC and not a gaming system.

Heat and noise are the 2 main factors. You want it as silent as possible but still want the parts to be cool. Usually you want to use fan less components and use very quiet fans for the case. Remember, a HTPC is designed to sit in the main TV watching room where you do not want fans making a lot of noise.

didyouknowthat: I would use a micro atx motherboard with that case. A standard ATX will fit, but make things very tight inside the case. Otherwise some nice choices.

Corey020

Thanks for the responses.

To answer the earlier question, I am not looking for the latest and greatest of everything, as long as it gets the job done. By getting the job done, I mean render awesome picture and sound to go with my tv. If this means I spend $500 then that is great, if I have to spend $1000, well that's fine too.

Would the suggested system be able to handle PVR type actions. Record and edit video?

I want to become a knowledgeable customer. Are there any really good FAQ's around that would help a person learn the basics of components? I mean, I know the role of everything in a computer, but couldn't tell you the difference between motherboards even with the specs sitting in front of me.

twitchtwice

Oscar is right, you can never have too good a of a power supply.

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CPU: C2D e8400 @ 3.6 HSF: Arctic Freezer 7
MOBO: Gigabyte P35-DS3L
RAM: 4GB Corsair XMS2
GPU: XFX GeForce G92 8800 GTS
HDD: WD Raptor 150GB
PSU: OCZ GameXStream 700W
CASE: Antech 900
OS: Win XP x64
MON: Samsung 932BW
All this for CS:S? Why not :)

footballdude2k3

i would think that this is more of a baseline system, in order to edit video, i think that there would be things that have to be upgraded farther

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case- antec 900 Dell d840
cpu-intel e8400 @3.00ghz p4 2.0ghz
memory- 4gb corsair 800 mhz 512 mb ram
hdd- 500 gb western digital
psu- 700 ocz
video- evga 8800gt
speakers- logitech 5.1 X130
dvd- lite on 20x
os-vista home premium
if anybody has any input on the left column thats what i want to get right now.

PabloTeK

I'm going to disagree on the PSU for two reasons Oscar.

1. Quality, the Corasir is slightly higher quality.
2. Power, my sig is powered by the 520 watt version and the power needs of that system should be much lower, espcially with an 8600GT.

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oscaryu1

The hec Orion 585W is also another choice to look at. No matter how crappy it seems because of the low price, it powers my rig perfectly. And, it's OC'd greatly!

39A on the 12V rail too.

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