[rob40wilson03]

Hey guys, first post here... been doing quite a bit of reading though.

Here's what I'm about to do... I have decided to repurpose my desktop PC as a HTPC since I primarily use my laptop now. This HTPC will be mostly used as a DVR for cable tv but also some movie and bluray playback. I'm getting a Ceton Infinitv 4 tuner.

Specs so far:
Form Factor: ATX
Asus P5B Deluxe motherboard
Intel Core2Duo (E6420) CPU
4GB (2x2) RAM
a pair of 320GB hard drives (these are getting upgraded for sure)
GeForce 8800GTS 320MB graphics card (getting upgraded because no HDMI and it's loud)

I know I'm going to get:
-Ceton Infinitv 4 tuner card
-SSD for boot drive
-Fresh Win7 install


So what I need some advice on:

1. What graphics card is recommended?
-Doesnt have to be low profile
-MUST be quiet or silent
-much prefer one with protected audio path for bitstream DTS-HD Master / True-HD audio
-MUST have HDMI (obviously)
-will only need to run one display
-prefer not to break the bank...

2. What hard drives are recommended? (I'm thinking 2 x 2TB Green drives for starters)
-I will start with my storage inside the HTPC (maybe upgrade to a NAS server later?)
-What RAID, if any? (these drives will mostly hold recorded TV, so data loss wouldn't be the end of the world for me)

3. What else do you experts recommend for my setup?



Thanks so much in advance for your expertise/opinions/etc.

[poofyhairguy]

This GPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814500221

That can do live TV well and is fanless.

This HD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6822136514

Worry about RAID when you get a NAS, which should happen when you move past 3 or 4 drives in space.

[bluray]

Case-APEVIA Black SECC Steel / Aluminum X-MASTER-BK/500 ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

GPU (you'll not break the bank with this one)- MSI N430GT-MD1GD3-OC/LP GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3

SSD- Corsair Force CSSD-F40GB2-A 2.5" 40GB

HD (2.5TB should be plenty of space)- Western Digital Caviar Green 2.5 TB SATA III Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bare/OEM Desktop Drive - WD25EZRX

you should be able to bitstream dts-hd/truehd with this- blu-ray in 1080p with dts-hd and truehd

[rob40wilson03]

Thanks for the help guys!

.... waiting on UPS at this point

Is there a good tutorial out there for setting up (and transitioning my data to) a NAS media server? I know there are the hardware guides, but I mean more in terms of the software side of it? Just want to go ahead and research it more to get an idea of what I'll be doing in the future

Thanks again