Windows MCE 2005 PC Parts - Bulk Buy

[Anonymous]

I might be interested, depending on costs. I've been testing MCE 2005 on a test platform for a few months, but have no tuner card as yet. Based on a lot of research and discussion, my planned spec will be as follows (in case some of the items are transferrable to your BB):

1. Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-8I915P-D Pro
2. CPU - P4 3.0GHz
3. RAM - 2 x 240Pin DIMM 512MB DDR2 PC2-4200
4. HardDrive - Samsung SpinPoint P80 160GB SATA150
5. DVD Burner - LG GSA4160B
6. Case - TBC (hard one this!)
7. Video Card - TBC (prefer one without a fan)
8. TV Tuner Card - 2 x Black Gold Digital
9. MCE 2005 OS
10.MCE Remote - Microsoft Media Centre remote

plus...

11. CPU fan - Zalman CNPS7000B-ALCU
12. Quiet/silent PSU - Zalman Ultra-Quiet ZM400B-APS
13. HDD cooler - Zalman Heatpipe Cooler ZM-2HC2

Hope this helps, and if the spec is right (cost and parts), i'm in.

Cheers,

Keith

Thanks for the list Keith. Are those components recommended from your research/mce forums etc?

M.

[Anonymous]

Very tempted - could be my xmas present -

If its not my xmas present then I will need it split into lots of small bits so that I can smuggle it past SWMBO!

John

[Anonymous]

Yes, put me down for the whole thing, or media specific parts if you decide to do it that way

[Anonymous]

I'd be interested in a MCE 2005 remote control.

[Otto-Mate]

Just received the follow list from James Hoye. Anyone got any comments on this spec?

http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/mce2005.html

Thanks

M.

[NickS]

We can supply all the QuietPC parts too !!

Nick.
http://linitx.com

[Otto-Mate]

Thanks Nick.

Any comments on the spec?

Obviously his is a top machine and at the price not for everyone.

M.

[Anonymous]

Not only did i not reply to Mark after I posted a suggested spec, but i've also made some amendments since!!! The stress of having too many forums to monitor these days....

So, Mark - in answer to your questions, the spec was based on a lot of research. However, i've refined it yet further after discovering the AOpen Pentium M motherboard - one thing I was keen to do was to remove all noise, and using a Pentium M is obviously a way to achieve this.

Moreover, you get really good performance compared to an ITX solution and get SATA and 3 PCI slots for the tuner cards.

The other benefit it that although the motherboard is a little more expensive, there's no expensive cooling kit required. Anyway, here's my current spec:


1. Motherboard - AOpen i855GMEm-LFS Socket 479
2. CPU - Pentium M 725 Socket 479 1.6GHz 2MB
3. RAM - 1 x 1GB 184pin DIMM PC2700 DDRRAM NP Unbuffered CL2.5
4. HardDrive - Samsung SpinPoint P80 160GB SATA150 SP1614C
5. DVD Burner - LG GSA4163BA
6. Case - CoolerMaster Cavalier 4 300W ATX Aluminium Silver CAV-T04-UWB
7. Video Card - GeForce FX5200 256MB AGP DVI-I VO
8. TV Tuner Card - Black Gold Digital dual pack
9. MCE 2005 OS
10.MCE Remote - Microsoft Media Centre remote


I've priced this up and reckon on £808 excluding the OS.

Cheers,

Keith

[Otto-Mate]

Thanks Keith.

Can you give us some idea of the performance of the M class Pentium compared to the 3.2GHz Prescott in James spec?

M.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Keith.

Can you give us some idea of the performance of the M class Pentium compared to the 3.2GHz Prescott in James spec?

M.

Specifically with the remit of being able to playback 720p HD material....