(I will list my machine specs at the end of this...)
Well, I have had a HTPC built and running for quite a while and through my experience, Van is incorrect about several things.
First of all, you do not need a high end video card with HDMI out to do 1080p and audio from your video card. I have a $69 ATI 2600 XT 512mb card and it plays 1080p and puts audio to the TV perfectly (although I do use a receiver for sound). No need to pay for a HDMI output card. ATI includes an adapter to go from DVI to HDMI and it works flawlessly.
http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=179&grp=3Secondly, you do not need a Fast as fuck raid or hard drive set up at all for an HTPC to work perfectly. In fact, most are pieced together from parts lying around and most HTPC sites out there agree; amount of storage > speed of drives. As a matter of fact, when I first built my HTPC, I used an Seagate Freeagent Pro eSATA external drive for movie storage and it worked flawlessly.
Thirdly, there are serveral 'Must Haves' for your Vista 64 Ult HTPC. My Movies, Cyberlink's software suite that came with your BD Drive, Any-DVD, Deamon Tools Lite and DVD Shrink. Let me explain why you need these.
My movies http://www.mymovies.dk/ is an advanced plugin for Windows Media Center and keeps a running .db of your movie collection, downloadable DVD box covers and lets you choose your movies via the box picture, name, category and several other ways. It pulls down actor, director and movie info and keeps it there for review. It IS a must have for your HTPC.
Any-DVD http://www.slysoft.com/en/ Any-DVD removes the protection from your DVD's that you are going to copy to your HDD for "Backup". It IS a "Must Have".
DVD-Shrink http://www.dvdshrink.org/ Allows you to remove the FBI warnings, previews, multi-language sound and commentaries from your DVD movies that you are "Backing up" on your HTPC. It also has it's own unique compression engine that will reduce down the size of the output if you want to keep your movies small. It is free, do not fall for the adds for DVD-Shrink 08 that cost money.
Daemon Tools lite http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/download.php is a drive emulator allowing you to mount your HD-DVD movies and Blu-Ray moveis that you have "Backed Up" as .iso files on your HTPC as a drive. It is Free and also a must have.
I have to recommend a visit to the My Movies Forum
http://www.mymovies.dk/forum.aspx and reading through there for other tips and tricks for your HTPC. Any-DVDs forums are also very helpful.
My current HTPC specs are:
Intel DX975XB Mobo
Intel C2D E6400
4gb DDR2 6400
Sapphire HD2600 XT 512mb VC
LG 16x BD-RW/HD-DVD-R drive
On Board sound
C: 500gb Seagate SATA-II O/S and program files
D: 500gb Seagate SATA-II Media drive for Pictures, Music, HD Camcorder Videos etc.
For Movie storage I have an AMS DS-2340SES eSATA VENUS T4S External Enclosure
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817332013 populated with
2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drives
The AMS enclosure comes with it's own PCIe eSATA controler in case your machine doesn't have eSATA capabilities.
Samsung HL-T5687 LED DLP
Crappy old Surround sound tuner and Klipsch speakers.
Gyration Media Center Remote
http://www.gyration.com/p-68-media-center-universal-remote-control-windows-media-center-compatible.aspxGyration GYAM1100CKUS Keyboard
http://www.gyration.com/c-5-accessories.aspx200+ SD, HD and BD movies, 2500+ songs, 4000+ pictures and probably 25-30hrs home movies.
My system backs up to an 1tb Seagate Free Agent Pro External HDD
This setup allows me to watch movies, listen to music, play games and surf teenage asian bukaki sites without a single problem, all from the comfort of my recliner.
Hope this helps!
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"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." -Henry Louis Mencken
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VEGETARIAN -Noun (vej-i-tair-ee-uhn):
Ancient tribal slang for the village idiot who can't hunt, fish or ride.