New HTPC that I didn't intend to buy.
#1
Poking around at NewEgg and I ended up buying a new HTPC setup I didn't know I needed.

Got the following for $150 US:
MB: BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3 80W
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (Got a free 4 GB SD card with it.)

This will go along with the following items I just bought:
Video: MSI GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3
for $18 AR AC

SDD: Patriot Torqx 2 32 GB SATA II SSD for $30 AR AC

I have the case (Antec Fusion), PSU, IR Receiver already.

$198 isn't too bad for the upgrade from the AMD Athlon 64 x2 4000 setup I currently use.
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#2
dvdapex Wrote:Poking around at NewEgg and I ended up buying a new HTPC setup I didn't know I needed.

Got the following for $150 US:
MB: BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3 80W
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (Got a free 4 GB SD card with it.)

This will go along with the following items I just bought:
Video: MSI GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3
for $18 AR AC

SDD: Patriot Torqx 2 32 GB SATA II SSD for $20 AR AC

I have the case (Antec Fusion), PSU, IR Receiver already.

$188 isn't too bad for the upgrade from the AMD Athlon 64 x2 4000 setup I currently use.
How did you get 32gb ssd for $20? i want one too.

you'll enjoy your new hardware!
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
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#3
bluray Wrote:How did you get 32gb ssd for $20? i want one too.

you'll enjoy your new hardware!

Sorry, double counted a discount coupon. NewEgg had it for $65 - $25 and I had a $10 off coupon. So the real total was $30 AR AC.

Sorry about the confusion. NewEgg has it for $45 AR now and I think you can still use the "NEWCUSTOMER10" coupon with a new NewEgg account.
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#4
Biostar is not my fav mobo brand but, doesnt mean it wont work Tongue

even tho i have GSKILL ram, i recommend avoiding it if u can...

MSI GT430 seems amazing

Patriote SSD is perfect

Your CPU is a tiny faster then my Athlon X2 250, so, you should be happy with it

overall, looks good! bring in some pics or a tiny vid Tongue
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#5
Given the new power, I'm wondering if I should go W7 or stay XBMC Live (installed to HD). I'd like to use the PVR on rare occasions and I've never had good luck with getting anything Linux to resume on schedule for a recording.

Also, anything I should move to a RAM disk to make things faster?
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#6
I'm doing just that.. Well, moving away from Linux to Windows for my TV server. As you said, Linux just wasn't helping me in terms of PVR ability. What I did is went with MediaPortal for their TV Server (which appears to have support under the PVR Branch) and I actually do employ a RAM disk for the timeshifting buffer.

I'm pretty happy with it. Still tweaking though... Aren't we all...
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#7
dvdapex Wrote:Given the new power, I'm wondering if I should go W7 or stay XBMC Live (installed to HD). I'd like to use the PVR on rare occasions and I've never had good luck with getting anything Linux to resume on schedule for a recording.

Also, anything I should move to a RAM disk to make things faster?
nothing better and more flexible than w7!
>Alienware X51- do it all HTPC
>Simplify XBMC configurations
>HOW-TO Bitstreaming using XBMC
I refused to watch movie without bitstreaming HD audio!
Reply
#8
w7 rocks!
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New HTPC that I didn't intend to buy.0