Help with MediaCenter Spec

Khrest · 6 Jul 2007 at 20:35

Can somebody help with a spec for a mediacenter please? Ideally, costing below £300? Just base unit, no OS or any peripherals and I already have a spare DVD drive.

Looking to use an NSK2400 desktop case as a base but then I need 5.1 SPDIF and that's where it starts to get complicated matching stuff. Specs would be really appreciated guys.

Alex UK · 6 Jul 2007 at 20:52

How's this mate...

Samsung SpinPoint T HD160HJ 160GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM
(£35.24) £29.99

Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Soundcard (PCI) - OEM
(£27.01) £22.99

OcUK GeForce 8500 GT 256MB DDR2 HDTV/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
(£51.69) £43.99

Crucial 1GB (2x512MB) DDR2 PC2-5300C5 Dual Channel Kit (CT2KIT6464AA667)
(£27.01) £22.99

Abit IP-95 Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£37.59) £31.99

Antec NSK2400 Desktop Case - 380W SmartPower PSU
(£61.09) £51.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E2140 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.60GHz (800FSB) - Retail
(£54.04) £45.99

Sub Total : £249.93
Shipping : £10.95
VAT : £45.65
Total : £306.53

The 8500GT is an ideal media centre card, and combined with 1GB RAM and a C2D should be plenty for a media centre. Also managed to squeeze a sound card in there, along with a Samsung Spinpoint drive, which are the quietest.

Growlingfish · 6 Jul 2007 at 21:03

That xfi doesn't have optical out though - you'd need a breakout box or front panel to use the digi outs. There's an Auzentech card with digital out for £60 ish. It might be worth looking around elsewhere for a mATX with onboard digital out or another (cheaper) sound card with the right output.

Khrest · 6 Jul 2007 at 22:29

After looking around I think that spending abit (pun intended) more on a Fatal1ty F-I90HD might make sense.

It has HDMI out and SPDIF so I save on a seperate soundcard and have a good onboard connection.

Any comments before I hit the button? The spec now looks like this:

Antec NSK2400 Desktop Case - 380W SmartPower PSU Antec NSK2400 £51.99
(£61.09)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 5000AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £50.99
(£59.91)
Crucial 1GB (2x512MB) DDR2 PC2-4200C4 Dual Channel Kit (CT2KIT6464AA53E) £23.99
(£28.19)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2140 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.60GHz (800FSB) - Retail Intel £45.99
(£54.04)
Abit Fatal1ty F-I90HD ATI Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 £61.99
(£72.84)

Alex UK · 6 Jul 2007 at 22:43

Looks perfect mate, can't disagree with that.

blun · 7 Jul 2007 at 14:37

I've heard that lots of people have had problems with that particular abit board failing. Have a look for some user reviews online before you purchase.

Anyone here had one for a while with no problems?