Multimedia PC - What spec?

[Devilfish]

Hi folks,

I'm thinking about getting an HTPC for the living room but I'm unsure what spec to get?

Will be wanting to play HD movies, etc., probably use it as a normal PC too as well as recording to hdd.

Also, been having a look through ebay but not convinced...does anyone know any websites to browse?

Cheers

[Erazor786]

Don't know much about building HTPC personally, but u could have a look here and see if that helps.

Click Me (http://www.avforums.com/forums/blog.php?b=134)

[Devilfish]

Cheers m8, avforums is always a good place to start.

Here's what I've come up with so far...

Antec Fusion | Cases | Reviews | Custom PC (http://www.custompc.co.uk/reviews/93213/antec-fusion.html)
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H AMD 780G Micro-ATX (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-115-GI)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5200+ 2.70GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-189-AM&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=803&name=AMD%20Athlon%2064%20X2%20Dual%20Core%205200+% 202.70GHz%20%28Socket%20AM2%29%20-%20Retail)
LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray Reader HD-DVD ROM Serial ATA Drive - OEM (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-080-LG&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=314&name=LG%20GGC-H20L%20Blu-Ray%20Reader%20&%20HD-DVD%20ROM%20Serial%20ATA%20Drive%20-%20OEM)
Samsung SpinPoint F1 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502IJ) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-058-SA&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=940&name=Samsung%20SpinPoint%20F1%20500GB%20SATA-II%2016MB%20Cache%20-%20OEM%20%28HD502IJ))
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x1GB) (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-119-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817&name=Corsair%202GB%20DDR2%20XMS2%20Dominator%20PC2-8500C5%20TwinX%20%282x1GB))

I've not added it up yet lol...to scared to! lol

Just gotta convice the wife it's a good thing now! :withstupid:

[Erazor786]

That looks pretty good to me, but then again i don't know much about PC's.

find it hard to keep up with all the latest trends.

Lol convincing the missus should be easy, ur still a newlywed :)

[beady]

I liked the look of the Antec Fusion as well, but I flat out refused to spend ?120+ on a case, especially one I was just going to stick under the TV. Hence I found this (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130945), which was cheaper when I got it (I think it was less than ?50 about a year ago).

It's the same case as the fusion, but doesn't have the display or volume control thingy (and a slightly lower spec PSU, but that won't matter for a media centre). I decided the volume control would be useless anyway, and if I wanted a VFD, I'd just buy a better one (not bothered yet).

The case is really quiet, and keeps things fairly cool. I did swap out the case fans for alternatives, but that's only because the ones that come with the case connect straight into a 5V supply, with only 3 speed settings (off, slow and fast), the changing of which requires opening up the case. They're pretty quiet, and I've found I could get away with just one fan running at slow speed (and that's with a passively cooled CPU). Still, it's nice to be able to control the fan speed in response to temperature, hence the fan change.

There's a reasonable amount of space in the case, and you should be able to get a decent size GPU into it (I had a 7900gtx in it for a test), but for a media PC that's probably not an issue as you'll most likely use onboard VGA.

A possible problem, although not in my experience, is that the HD bays are well separated from the rest of the components. It means that they don't get hot from the rest of the system, but it also means they get zero cooling themselves. I've not had it happen myself, but I imagine it could get pretty hot in the hard drive enclosure if the drives get thrashed a lot. That said, the drive mounts 'suspend' the drives on rubber mounts, so there's zero resonance noise.

Further plus points is that there's plenty of space for expansion boards on the back interface, and the PSU is excellent for the price. I might get round to changing it one day, but it's quiet enough for me at the moment. I've read a howto somewhere about changing the fan to make it even quieter, but I don't really want to go taking the PSU apart.

The CPU you selected should be okay, but if you want quiet, you might look for a slightly lower spec energy efficient one like this (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135663). I think mine is a 3800 ee, and it'll run at only 40 degrees on full load under passive cooling.
For me, HD playback is a little iffy (no x264 acceleration in linux yet :(, and haven't got around to sorting out coreavc, so the cpu sometimes struggles with software decoding at 1080p. As I haven't got a HDTV it isn't a problem though, just what I observed in some tests). On windows though you should be fine, since the gpu will handle decoding.

The spinpoints are the quietest drives I've found, so that's a good choice.

I assume you'll be putting windows on it, so the MB should be fine. If you wanted to play with linux, you'd have a nightare with the ATI graphics. Definitely go for nvidia if you want mythtv or similar.

As for memory, 2gb seems like overkill for a media pc, but thenagain it's so cheap these days you may as well.

Hope this helps.

[Devilfish]

As always, thanks Beady for the extensive reply.

Most of your assumptions are correct...

I already have a spinpoint in my main PC so I know how quiet they are.
Yes, Windows for the OS.
The motherboard has onboard VGA/DVI/HDMI so no additional graphics.
Good point about the CPU, I'll probably go with the 5000+ now that you mention it, and it is a tenner cheaper lol.

Now we come to the case, I know it's a little expensive but I like the silver finish at the from and I don't a cheap and nasty looking case staring back at me every day. :)

Thanks again for your reply, it's made me much more confident in my choices. :)

[westkill]

im quite intrested in a project like this never built on my self
been following this thread myself :)

heres some more cases to browse through :)
HTPC Cases - After Hours Computers (http://www.afterhours.co.uk/cases-htpc-cases-c-330_178.html?page=1&sort=2a)

[The Strangler]

This is the setup I have. It does everything I want it to and the case is
31 x 20 x 18.5 cm (LWH), it also has HDMI built in as well as a monitor port.

Case - Shuttle SN68PTG5 (Glamor Series)
CPU - AMD AM2 Athlon 64 6000+ AM2 , Windsor Core, Dual Core 3.0GHz
HDD - 750 GB Western Digital
Memory - 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800)
TV Card - Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1100 PCI Analog+Digital TV Tuner Card
Bluray - Pioneer BDC-202BK 5x Blu-Ray Reader Combo

[Devilfish]

Nice spec Stranger...I think it's abot overkill for a media PC but components are dirt sheap just now so why not lol. That's more like a gaming PC you got there. :)

@westkill - just do it! lol I'll hold yer hand! lol

[The Strangler]

Its al things to all men. Its my main pc as well as media centre got it hooked up to a 38" plasma so i have a nice big monitor. Dont do much gaming on it as i've got a 360, went overboard on the memory but it was only ?13 dearer for 4gb than 2gb.

[Devilfish]

Hehe...exactly...why not? ;)

[westkill]

Nice spec Stranger...I think it's abot overkill for a media PC but components are dirt sheap just now so why not That's more like a gaming PC you got there.

@westkill - just do it! lol I'll hold yer hand! lol
hold my hand lol
and i thought you had just got married :dancing:
wait till mrs devilfish finds out :)

[riptoff]

Have just built HTPC using very similar components.
Everything is fine but hte stock HSF is noisy would suggest you use zalman etc
playback on X264 using the ATI3200 is a little ropey.
I added ATI3450 card for 30 quid now getting far better results

[Devilfish]

Thanks riptoff, I'll look into that! :)

[Raven]

My PC isn't the latest or greatest in terms of gaming, but my setup is brilliant for HD multimedia.

Let's see I have 2gb of Kingston RAM. I have a 3ghz AMD 6000 dual core cpu....I also have a 256 mb Nvidia Geforce 8600GT - as I say not the latest or greatest, but that graphics card and memory are quite cheap now.....to tell you the truth my PC always played 720p perfectly fine but always struggled with 1080p quite badly in that seeking took a fair amount of time and the audio was almost always out of sync.....this was until I did two things....I got PowerDVD Ultra the latest one which not only plays blu ray rips but also plays HD content through the graphics card but it doesn't support MKV files unfortunately....but CoreAVC does....I got CoreAVC on my PC too and now I can play any 1080p file be in blu ray, wmv or mkv and it all plays what you would consider normally. Now as far as I know CoreAVC is just a fast decoder so I think it still uses the CPU with that but it's just optimising the playback so it's probably about 200% faster and playing at a normal rate and not struggling at all.

Need a good CPU and a decent graphics card though to play HD stuff on the PC, I fell short in trying to build a gaming rig but as it turns out I have a great rig for playing HD content, need another hard drive now though lol.

[Devilfish]

Well I eventually got round to buying the components. Just need to wait on them coming in now and get stuck in.

ANTEC FUSION V2 (http://www.cyberorange.co.za/images/AntecFusionPC.jpg)
AMD Phenom? quad Core 9350e, Socket AM2+, 2.0MHz (http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=849690)
Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-DS2H, AMD 780G Motherboard with onboard HDMI and 7.1 audio (http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=855947)
Zalman CNPS9500-AM2 AMD Aero Flower Cooler (http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=405603)
1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 SATA2 7200RPM 32MB cache (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Hard+Drives/Serial+ATA/1TB+Samsung+Spinpoint+F1+SATA2+7200RPM+32MB+cache+ ?productId=30998)
Corsair 2GB PC2-8500 C5 XMS2 Dominator (2x1GB) (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR2/DDR2+1066+%28PC8500%29/Corsair+2GB+PC2-8500+C5+XMS2+Dominator+%282x1GB%29+?productId=2551 6)
LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray/HD DVD-ROM, DVDRW SATA Black Retail Kit (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/CD%2FDVD+Drives/Internal/SATA/LG+GGC-H20L+Blu-Ray%2FHD+DVD-ROM%2C+DVDRW+SATA+Black+Retail+Kit+?productId=2992 3)

[davemac82]

Hi folks,

I'm thinking about getting an HTPC for the living room but I'm unsure what spec to get?

Will be wanting to play HD movies, etc., probably use it as a normal PC too as well as recording to hdd.

Also, been having a look through ebay but not convinced...does anyone know any websites to browse?

Cheers


may i reccommend this m8 all from ebuyer.com
just built one a couple of weeks ago and runs a treat!!

Antec NSK 2480 MATX Desktop Case Black & Silver - With 380W EarthWatts PSU - Ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130945)
ASUS P5VD2-VM SE P4M890 Socket 775 onboard VGA 6 channel audio mATX Motherboard - Ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143220)
Intel Pentium Dual Core E2180 2GHz Socket 775 800MHz FSB L2 1MB Cache Retail Box Processor - Ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132064)
LG Electronics Blu-Ray & HD-DVD-Rom Combo 16x DVDRW Black SATA - Retail Box With Software - Ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139985)
Samsung HD502IJ SpinPoint F1 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache - OEM - Ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146252)
OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800Mhz/PC2-6400 Memory GOLD DUAL CHANNEL Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-18) - Ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146049)
Hauppauge Win TV Nova-S Plus Digital Satellite Card TV And Radio Card PCI - Ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/100017)


all of this for only ?328 quid including delivery, as far as i know pentium cpu's do not build up as much heat as amd's and are more reliable in media centre pc's. If you.ve already got a tv card thats you saved ?42 and if you wanna stick with 2gb ram rather than 4 theres another ?26 saved you got yourself a media centre for ?260 BARGAIN goodluck devilfish :jiggin:

shit a bit l8 me thinks lol

[Devilfish]

Yeh m8, I've already ordered it lol but thanks anyway.

I've already got a tv card and I'll be using Vista 32bit so no need for 4GB ram.

I know my spec is more than I need but I really bought to future proof it a little as well.

[Devilfish]

Damn it!

Everything came in this morning except the case!

Stupid Amazon and their expected delivery of 26th September 2008!!!!!

:dontknow:

[davidharvey75]

Serves you right Mr Fish!!!
Only kidding, I'm just extremely envious!

Don't post on here when you have completed the build ..........cause you might hear a knocking at your door.!!

[Devilfish]

Or you standing at my front window with your tadger in your hand! lol :reddy:

Still to get a nice wireless keyboard, there's so many out there. Want one with a trackball for media centres, etc. Oh and I forgot to buy thermal compound for the cpu fan, d'oh! Will need to go to maplin and pay through the nose for that!

[Devilfish]

AAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!1

Amazon have cancelled my order because they're out of stock! Mutha Fckers!

[shady77]

Keysonic Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad - Cheap at Ebuyer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/104608) not used myself, but reviews say its good. they discontinued the ?19.99 one i bought

[chrisistheking]

when choosing the hdd i would go with a samsung F1 1TB they are amazingly fast and beat all the western digital drives including most of the raptor drives. You can pick them up for around 75 - 85 quid

[Devilfish]

I ended up going for the 1TB Spinpoint, a better motherboard (same as in first page but with onboard sideport memory for graphics), and went for the 2.0GHz AMD Phenom Quad core instead of the dual core. Got it all in and working sweet. Blu-ray is amazing and my rapidshare account is already max'd out downloading HD movies lol.

I've got some pictures and I'll write a wee review when I get a chance. :)

Thanks everyone for their suggestions and advice. :)

[sivhead]

The spin points are quieter and its quietness you need to go for in a HTPC, so good choice. Just curious. do you intend on having a dvb-c or dvb-s2 card in your htpc. Or are you not going to bother ?

[westkill]

im still thinking of the best way to build a media centre for my lounge at home
ive got a good idea what i need
the only thing trouble in me is the sound card with decent speakers with 5.1 0r 7.1 with wireless rear speakers
which has optical ports so i can wire up my dreambox and ps3 for the sound if possible
at the moment i have a fairly good amp with floor standing speakers 5.1 fully wired but want to minimize the size of them with good sound :)

any ideas please for a
mobo
blue ray drive
ram x2
hdd 500gb
processor
and a black case
im on a budget of about ?350
thanks westkill :)

[Devilfish]

How about this...

Scan Computers UK: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H, AMD 780G, S AM2+, PCI-E 2.0, DDR2 1066MHz, SATA II, SATA RAID, HDMI1.3, ?ATX (http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=775308) - ?59
Scan Computers UK: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4850e AM2 Dual Core 2.5GHz, 512KB x 2 Cache, Retail (http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=807038) - ?54
500GB Samsung Spinpoint F1 502IJ SATA2 7200RPM 16MB cache - Aria Technology (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Hard+Drives/Serial+ATA/500GB+Samsung+Spinpoint+F1+502IJ+SATA2+7200RPM+16M B+cache?productId=33024) - ?42
AriaNet Elite 2GB PC2-8500 CL5 (2x1GB) - Aria Technology (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR2/DDR2+1066+%28PC8500%29/AriaNet+Elite+2GB+PC2-8500+CL5+%282x1GB%29+?productId=33593) - ?32
LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray/HD DVD-ROM, DVDRW SATA Black Retail Kit - Aria Technology (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/CD%2FDVD+Drives/Internal/SATA/LG+GGC-H20L+Blu-Ray%2FHD+DVD-ROM%2C+DVDRW+SATA+Black+Retail+Kit+?productId=2992 3) - ?67

The case will be a personal choice because of obvious reasons. Have a google for 'htpc case' you will get a few sites. Overclockers.co.uk have a few too but have a look at this site KustomPCs - HTPC, Gaming, CarPC, Cooling and Modding Products in the UK ! (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/HTPC_Cases.html) they are in Ayr so I just picked the case up personally but I think you are further away.

Watch out, some cases come with a PSU and no media remote control and other have a remote and no PSU. You want at least a 450W power supply. The mobo has onboard HDMI so you won't need an additional graphics card which keeps the power of the supply down. If you can get a case with everything for ?100 then that's ?354. ;)

You'll also need a keyboard, this (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Emprex-9039URF-wireless-2-4G-Keyboard-mouse-TRACKBALL_W0QQitemZ300261622669QQcmdZViewItem?hash =item300261622669&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C 240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14) is the one I got.

I also bought a better CPU fan (?30) but the cpu comes with a fan but I wanted it to be extra quiet.

[westkill]

thank you df will have a proper read of it alll later , lokks good
thanks for your time looking this all up :)

[birkenhead]

What OS are you going to us, funny.... over the last two weeks in work, been playing MythTV.... WOW, and WOW again.... its a must, trust me it really is a must for a HTPC, picked up old (IBM) Intelistation for free, 1.7mhz and bought a DVB-S (?21), DVB-T (?1.20p) :), both from the bay, done a scan today, and started to play,was able to pause and record live TV, it also as a web interface... truly brilliant, the web interface very similar to dreambox and was able to broadcast across the corp network, with full multiple streaming of various movies, MP3's etc.... a true web media server, you have just got to try it to believe it.

Setting up was breeze, i used MythTV Ubuntu 8.04, found it very responsive, easy to setup, the great plus was it found all the hardware straight away and plugging in the DVB cards was also very easy, it as a back office for MythTV were you setup the DVB cards then scan the channels.

Now looking to setup the additional files for the sat side of things and possibly for CS client, Newcamd, gbox etc....

if anyone as got any info in area.... please.

[westkill]

How about this...

Scan Computers UK: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H, AMD 780G, S AM2+, PCI-E 2.0, DDR2 1066MHz, SATA II, SATA RAID, HDMI1.3, ?ATX (http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=775308) - ?59
Scan Computers UK: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4850e AM2 Dual Core 2.5GHz, 512KB x 2 Cache, Retail (http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=807038) - ?54
500GB Samsung Spinpoint F1 502IJ SATA2 7200RPM 16MB cache - Aria Technology (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Hard+Drives/Serial+ATA/500GB+Samsung+Spinpoint+F1+502IJ+SATA2+7200RPM+16M B+cache?productId=33024) - ?42
AriaNet Elite 2GB PC2-8500 CL5 (2x1GB) - Aria Technology (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory/DDR2/DDR2+1066+%28PC8500%29/AriaNet+Elite+2GB+PC2-8500+CL5+%282x1GB%29+?productId=33593) - ?32
LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray/HD DVD-ROM, DVDRW SATA Black Retail Kit - Aria Technology (http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/CD%2FDVD+Drives/Internal/SATA/LG+GGC-H20L+Blu-Ray%2FHD+DVD-ROM%2C+DVDRW+SATA+Black+Retail+Kit+?productId=2992 3) - ?67

The case will be a personal choice because of obvious reasons. Have a google for 'htpc case' you will get a few sites. Overclockers.co.uk have a few too but have a look at this site KustomPCs - HTPC, Gaming, CarPC, Cooling and Modding Products in the UK ! (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/HTPC_Cases.html) they are in Ayr so I just picked the case up personally but I think you are further away.

Watch out, some cases come with a PSU and no media remote control and other have a remote and no PSU. You want at least a 450W power supply. The mobo has onboard HDMI so you won't need an additional graphics card which keeps the power of the supply down. If you can get a case with everything for ?100 then that's ?354. ;)

You'll also need a keyboard, this (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Emprex-9039URF-wireless-2-4G-Keyboard-mouse-TRACKBALL_W0QQitemZ300261622669QQcmdZViewItem?hash =item300261622669&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C 240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14) is the one I got.

I also bought a better CPU fan (?30) but the cpu comes with a fan but I wanted it to be extra quiet.

if i do this setup and get some decent pc speakers can i still conect my dreambox and ps3 for the sound on the motherboard read up it says
"spdif in out head" at the bottom of the page
any ideas will pc speaker be good enough
thanks westkill :)

[cimi1234]

if i do this setup and get some decent pc speakers can i still conect my dreambox and ps3 for the sound on the motherboard read up it says
"spdif in out head" at the bottom of the page
any ideas will pc speaker be good enough
thanks westkill :)

First,it depends on the power of sounds that you like to hear.I think that the sound cards on markets are not so powerful with their embedded amplifier. The best way I think is to use an amplifier or to reuse a home cinema or TV amplifier.

On all posted replies is not specified what OS and media software are compatible with the suggested hardware.
I'm curios especially if that hardware is compatible with Linux since I like to setup my one with LinuxMediaCenter or MythBuntu or boxee-tv.

Regards!
Cimi

[Barryboy]

The spin points are quieter and its quietness you need to go for in a HTPC, so good choice. Just curious. do you intend on having a dvb-c or dvb-s2 card in your htpc. Or are you not going to bother ?
I to am seriously thinking of building a HTPC and would like to instal a dvb-c card instead of using a dreambox (less cluter and cables under the telly) or are they just to much of a problem to set up?

[Devilfish]

You will either need to use softcams or an actual cam with a funcard to get the premium channels.

I've never used one myself but know of people that do. You can use things like MyTheatre to watch the channels.

[birkenhead]

worth a noise if you thinking about buy a cheap barebones HTPC setup.
http://www.digital-kaos.co.uk/forums/f8/htpc-barebones-scaleo-e-10531/#post59553

[waxhead38]

i have a 4200x2 cpu 2gb of ram and hd2400 graphics on my htpc and plays hd and blurays smoothly and also plays games very well. so anything about the same spec or above will be good for a htpc

[datmjd]

i got that antec case that you pointed out in your first post, very smart lookin case. the vfd craps out at times but when its workin its fine. the set up is:

400gb x 2
geforce 7300gs > gonna upgrade this bit shit
2gb ram
amd 4200

overall it plays everythin i throw at it. got ffdshow to upscale all programmes to 1080p with 5.1 sound.
coreavc handles the x264, blue ray, hd-dvd stuff very well.

if your gonna use vista media center get the media center remote. much better than a keyboard and mouse. also I have media center set up to monitor the folders so everythin like music and movies is organised.

also i use the microsoft wireless 8000 keyboard and mouse if i need to, the mouse though is a bit useless as the keyboard has a small touch pad built in.

its also set up as a server for my 360 which is set up as an extender. for doin this i also recommend grabbin MCE Standby Tool. allows you to configure the sleep settings of the media center much better than vistas settings.

[lamby]

Hi All
Just a quick question what do you think is the best Media software ?. I have tried a few and found Mediaportal as being the best for fare !!!!.

I have a Windows MCE remote and would like to use it for youtube any ideas.

If this post is in the wrong place please forgive.

[Ultim8]

Devil fish can you wait a month or 2? If you can then there will be a new mobo out with a nvidia 9400gt onboard, Otherwise PM me what you want to spend and i spec it up, also for HTPC you really want to go ATI for graphics due to there capability of VC1 and H.264 decoding....Nvidia claim they do them all but the do not do VC1 which still makes up 30% of Blu-ray disks so this ofloads the decoding to your cpu and cpus are pants at decoding video.

Also if you go for a new 4000 series ATI you have 7.1 audio through the card which it pulls from the southbridge without anything else and allows you to have hdmi with sound.

PM with a price you have in mind i work for the largest independant IT disti in the uk and i will sort it for you or get one of my customers to sort you out ;)

Cheers

Ulti