Antec NSK 2400 Case $100:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129014&Tpk=nsk%2b2400

Frys In-store ECS Geforce 6100 & AMDX2 4200 $100:
http://newspaperads.mercurynews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=32664&adid=4721678&subid=16726142&type=

Western Digital 500GB HDD $110:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

ATI 2400 Pro $60:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102100&Tpk=ati%2b2400pro

Kingston 2GB Ram $73:
http://shop2.outpost.com/product/5049505

Have a spare DVD drive and OS. Use Tivo for HD Recording (No tuner cards needed).

Earlier this year, I started looking into a dedicated HTPC server/frontend. At the time, I was more interested in the server capabilities, but I wanted the machine to have decent specs to be an HD frontend. My price point was $500, given that I had some parts that I felt could be recycled.

In the end, I got an HP SlimLine PC with a 16x PCI-E slot that I could possibly exploit later for a frontend. However, I never took my eye off this configuration over at NewEgg:

tiny url com/2qakoo

Although the case demands an optical drive designed for a laptop, you may find some of the components to your liking. Just swap the MCE keyboard/mouse for your hard drive. That might give you the headroom to beef up the CPU.

-SUO

Your setup looks great. I use the arctic cooling apline 7 (or 64 if it is a 3 pin header) for my cpu heatsink. It is quieter than the stock heatsink and works very well at low rpm. It is only $10

What software are you using? Do you need a remote?

Looks fine from a hardware perspective, at least for XP/MCE 2005. Put it together and start configuring your audio/video playback, and you should be set.

- Steve O.

Looks pretty nice, similar to what I have I mind, though I'm not getting an ECS mainboard, a little faster CPU (AMD 4800+ 65 Watts) and 2 Gb CL-4 memory.

NSK2400 for $92 w/ free shipping

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140134

I personally would get a Core 2 Duo rather than AthlonX2, because I think it gives you a better upgrade path.

Also, if you want to do gaming, you'll need something better than the HD2400 (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3023).

Why does Intel give you a better upgrade path? AMD has historically stayed with chip packages longer than Intel. In fact, many motherboard makers and computer makers complain about the constant socket changes.

The new AMD chips called Phenum will be compatible with AM2 motherboards. There is only one thing lacking and that is Hyper Threading 3, and that is not required on single socket boards anyways. Also, there has been some news that the new 2nd generation of stars processors with DDR3 support will also fit in AM2 boards. So, upgrade path? AMD has that one covered. Also, currently there is really no reason to need more cpu than an AMD X2 3600+ when you use an ATI card with UVD unless you do lots of encoding which is mostly pointless IMO anyways.

Frys In-store ECS Geforce 6100 & AMDX2 4200 $100:
http://newspaperads.mercurynews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=32664&adid=4721678&subid=16726142&type=


Maybe you are planning on using HDMI for sound as well, but if not and you need digital sound out, you are stuck with this MB. Does not have optical or coaxial spdif out. You'd have to buy a separate soundcard.

NSK2400 for $92 w/ free shipping

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=140134

I personally would get a Core 2 Duo rather than AthlonX2, because I think it gives you a better upgrade path.

Also, if you want to do gaming, you'll need something better than the HD2400 (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3023).

No gaming. I decided to upgrade the case to the Antec Fusion Black $182:

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=15739

At Amazon you have to search for Media Center Case Black to find it. (Strange?)

I have XP Media Center 05 with Remote and the XGene Wireless Keyboard from PC Alchemy:

http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_info.php/pName/xgene-24ghz-wireless-keyboard-with-800dpi-optical-trackball/cName/keyboards-and-mice

Maybe you are planning on using HDMI for sound as well, but if not and you need digital sound out, you are stuck with this MB. Does not have optical or coaxial spdif out. You'd have to buy a separate soundcard.

Well there goes my $500 budget. I definetly want Optical Out. I stopped by Frys and all of the AMD chips were returns. They didn't bother to tell me that up front I just happened to notice in checkout. The case is on order and the Vid Card has arrived (love Newegg when it comes to shipping). Any suggestions on mobo and processor combo?

I'm in the same dilemma as you. I'll probably end up buying this board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128052

( GIGABYTE GA-MA69G-S3H Socket AM2 AMD 690G ATX AMD Motherboard)

It's a bit more than I'd like, but I can temporarily at least live without a separate graphics card, as it has hdmi+optical. It's a gen older than the HD 2400 so it won't offload as much processing of videodecoding to the GPU though. Manual recommends 4200+ cpu but even that may not be enough for certain formats at high bitrates that hddvd/bluray uses.

Well, I think I'll just buy a soundcard after all, as I need a M-ATX board. I'm looking at the Maya 7.1 on eBay for < $50 shipped.