spec me a media pc!

[Glaucus]

I probably can't afford it, but lets see how much it'll cost.

Need a computer to connect up to a normal 28" crt tv.
All it needs to do is play xvid files from my main pc.

So what would I need?

I have a spare copy of xp64 prof, can you just put a flashy front end onto it?
Obviously something as cheap as physically possible.

 

[thefishdude]

ok i thnk this should do it. was just reading this article on toms hardware the other day about a new amd onbaord gfx chipset that can run full hd play play back at 1080p using a really cheap cpu as it has built in hd decoders, anways shoud run xvids i would have thoght

article here
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/AMD-780G-HDTV-Blu-Ray,review-30420.html

and here is system i cam up with dint know if you need keyboard and mouse soo left them out.

OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P800R22GK)
(£28.19)
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H AMD 780G Micro-ATX (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
(£64.61)
Samsung SH-S203D 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM
(£17.61)
Antec NSK 4480 Mini Tower Case (Silver) - 380W Earth Watts PSU
(£46.99)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 80GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (ST380815AS)
(£28.19)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3600+ 2.00GHz (Socket AM2) - OEM
(£24.66)
Sub Total : £178.94

Shipping : £9.95
VAT : £33.06
Total : £221.95

 

[Glaucus]

Wow that's a lot cheaper than I thought, that boards ideal. Good article as well.
Don't need a cd drive got plenty of them lying about. And should be able to get things like case and hdd second hand. I'll have to see what I scratch together over the coming months.

How do most people control a media pc? Is there special wireless keyboard/mouse combo's for sofa sitting?