Htpc noob seeking help!

[BaNksY IV]

Hello people,

Straight to the point really

I currently have this system sitting in a corner gathering dust

Dell xps
Dell mATX mobo
8gb ram
Ati 5770
I7 860 cpu
2 tb segate baracuda
Psu is whatever dell fit to their systems
Windows 7

Was thinking of turning this into a htpc machine
What could i do transform this into more of a home entertainment system for a sub 200 pound injection

Will be plugged into hd tv
Have a spare mouse and keyboard but i like the look of that htpc keyboard

Also what sort of movie file is the best to look for for image quality

Many thanks in advance

 

[paradisiac]

that should play most things without any need to change any components. as long as the 5770 has a HDMI out then it should play all films at 1920x1080 without issues. would imagine it will be quite an expensive HTPC on electric though.
H.264 and MKV seem to be the preferred rip formats.