My HTPC build

[KirinIchiban]

well I tried to do this cheap, but still give me something to build off of later without throwing out too much. for right now i want to use it to record tv and play videos off my home network from my other PCs, later i'd love to convert it to HD quality stuff with a blu ray or HD DVD drive as well as the power to record HD material. so any thoughts on my plans or recommendations on how to go about achieving this, or have i just utterly screwed myself?

PC:
AMD Athlon X2 4200+
Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H motherboard
Patriot DDR2 PC 800 1 gig
WD 320gig SATAII hard drive
Avermedia 7 PCI-e 1x tv capture card.
Lite-on 20x dvd burner SATAII
D-link wireless G card

and Windows XP media center edition for the OS

 

[CrimandEvil]

Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H motherboard
Patriot DDR2 PC 800 1 gig

Should have went with two one gig sticks; these kinds of IGPs work better when in dual channel mode.

Avermedia 7 PCI-e 1x tv capture card.

I can't say for certain if that was a good choice until you post a link to the card it's self.

and Windows XP media center edition for the OS

Should have went with Vista cause you'll have to later one when you want to upgrade to Blue Ray/HD DVD. Anyways, Vista is mostly just an update to MCE but it's a much needed update.

Otherwise, with the exception of the tuner card, it will work for what you want but you could have made some better choices.

 

[JC634]

I have that Avermedia card in Vista Ultimate x64. Gives me a very good picture in standard format and HD. This is my first TV card, so I have nothing to compare it to, tho.

I needed a card for tranferring VCR tapes. I bought this was one of the few current generation cards compatible with Vista. PCI-e was a nice bonus.

Avermedia liink: http://www.aver.com/mpd/combopcie_mce.html

Newegg link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815100014

 

[KirinIchiban]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815100015

thats the tv card. I'll be putting a second stick of ram in it a bit later, I was just trying to cut cost for right now by just getting one initially. oh and the XP was because my other two PCs are XP as well and i didn't want to risk any problems in trying to get them all networked.

 

[JC634]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815100015

thats the tv card. I'll be putting a second stick of ram in it a bit later, I was just trying to cut cost for right now by just getting one initially. oh and the XP was because my other two PCs are XP as well and i didn't want to risk any problems in trying to get them all networked.

The link I posted is for the one with the remote. If you already have one, np. If you don't, I recommend you get the one with remote. The one that comes with the card looks just like the MS remote, and does not seem "cheap" to me.

 

[KirinIchiban]

yeah i do, i got the retail box. the white box was just the first link i came to.