Help me build my first PVR

[hindukid]

I've had enough with Comcast. Our rates are outrageous. I have decided to drop cable completely and build a PVR. I am building from scratch and have no spare parts. I am hoping to do this as cheap as possible. However I don't want to spend too little and get something that has bad picture or is jittery. I am hoping to have two ATSC tuners to record whatever I can get over the air. I will watch that plus I am planning on streaming from netflix and sites like hulu. I plan on keeping comcast internet and will probably have a hard wired connection to the router.

So how much CPU and motherboard do I need. I would like to be able to record on two tuners (I could drop to one tuner) and watch recorded content at the same time. I had picked out the cheapest one at newegg with an HDMI out but the I read that the radeon 3200 video is bad and I should go with nvidia 9400 or at least 8200.

How about:

$60 motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813135085

$57 athalon chip
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819103211

Case with 270w power supply for $59
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811121068

500 GB hard drive for $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6822152052

4gb ram
any rec's

OS
I can get pretty much whatever thru my wife's school for free. Should I get Vista MCE?

I know on top of this I need two tuners. I'm confused as to why some tuners cost $20 after rebate and some cost $120. I read that with ATSC they should all have the same quality. Do I need one with a remote so that I can have a remote sensor.

What about a remote. I have a harmony 520 that I would like to use if possible. I would need something to control playback and enable FF/RW etc.

Thanks

[TonyXL]

1. Mobo is full ATX but your case is micro ATX.

2. Make sure the video chipset can handle HD video. Search the forums for the chipset to see how others are faring and which decoder they are using. This seems to be a common issue.

3. CPU is plenty powerful.

4. PSU might be underpowered. 380W seems to be a typical minimum. You can ususally get an Antec one for $25 after rebate.

5. Check if the CPU/case fans are quiet. If not, get quieter ones.

6. I've had good luck with Hauppauge cards. The HVR-2250 for $140 has 2 ATSC tuners and a remote+receiver. The remote is crappy, but the receiver is great and can be used with any remote after some tweaking.

[pBS]

i'd agree...but to add: yep, 8200 video is fine for HD + it has hdmi which is nice...and try to find a micro-atx size...[only 3 slots instead of 5] cuz you'll never use those extra slots..

as for the case, i have a similar one from same folks,http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811121027
case uses only low-profile cards [half-height]
i stuffed a vfd into the 3.5 area, still with 2 drives behind and a blu-ray...
i also squeezed a hd cooler fan under the lower HD[80x15mm], and had to use a low profile cpu cooler,tho the stock Intel ones fit fine, or just take off the air guide on cover for more room..
it is a bit tight if you use a lot of cards, but usually only one is needed and with onboard video, it's very cool...

power supply is fine, tho a bit louder than i'd like...still usable....if you find a replacement that fits let us know..[i'm spoiled by fanless ps...lol]

all in all i love the case...mine has 80mm fan on front for excellent cooling,not sure how that one cools..i'll see if i can't post a pic tomorrow...
it's actually slimmer than my vcr...and looks better...haha
yours looks same inside w/different cover..can't tell where air inlet on that one is in pic..
[mine is pretty obvious...lol]

oh, and i know where to get them both for 49$.. [local,but they ship anywhere]
http://www.directron.com/7k09bb.html
http://www.directron.com/7kj9bb.html