Will this work for a cheapo media center(OpenELEC)

I've been reading this thread and decided I want to build a media center:
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...-Guide-to-creating-the-Ultimate-TV-Experience

What do you guys think of the following hardware?(I'd like to buy everything at Esquire)

Intel Pentium E5700 Dual-Core Processor-3.0 GHz Core Speed, 2 MB Cache, 800 MHz Front Side Bus, x64 Support, 45nm
R499.00

Kingston 2.0GB DDR3 1333MHZ Non ECC Desktop Memory Module(PC3-10600 240-Pin 2 Rank DIMM)CL9 Retail Box Lifetime Warranty R149.00 x2

ASUS P5G41T-M LX - Intel G41 Chipset - Integrated Intel GMA X4500 Graphics - Intel® Socket 775 Core™2 Quad/Core™2 Extreme/Core™2 Duo/Celeron® E1000 Series and 400 Series CPU 2x DDR3 (Max 8GB 1333MHZ OC) 4x SATA, 1x IDE, 1x PCI Express x16, 1x PCI Express Retail Box 3 year warranty
R369.00

Point Of View PCI-E GT210 512MB DDR3 Processor clock speed 475 MHz, Memory clock speed 800 MHz Shade Clock Speed: 1034 Mhz Retail Box 2 year Limit warranty 279.00

I still need a case but I am not sure what is small quiet and will work from Esquire?
I've got a old 7200rpm IDE hard drive that I will use till prices come down on the SATA ones.
Did I miss something?

Also Possible upgrades to the above(But i am trying to spend as little money as possible so will upgrade if you guys think its necessary):

Kingston 4.0GB DDR3 1333MHZ Non ECC Desktop Memory Module(PC3-10600 240-Pin 2 Rank DIMM)CL9 Retail Box Lifetime Warranty R239.00 x2

Sparkle PCI-E GT210 512MB DDR2 64-BIT - Core Clock:589Mhz - Processor Clock: 1402Mhz Retail Box 1 year Limit warranty 399.00

Questions:
Do both cards work for Sound + video over hdmi?
I assume the network on this MB will work with openELEC/XBMC ?

Thanks...

Why not stick with step 1 from the quoted thread and get the HP Proliant Microserver? All you need to add is more RAM and a graphics card.

Step 1:
Buy yourself a cheap PC, or preferably an HTPC.
I've personally went for the HP ProLiant MicroServer, which is basically a NAS. it's very quiet, has low power consumption, and is quite cheap. (+- R1300 at other online stores)
The HP has everything you need included - Chassis, PSU, Mobo, Dual Core CPU, RAM and a free 250GB Hard Drive.

Click to expand...

ABCpt said:

Why not stick with step 1 from the quoted thread and get the HP Proliant Microserver? All you need to add is more RAM and a graphics card.

Click to expand...

Mainly because I can get a better cpu for about the same money and its easy to go to Esquire and buy everything.

Those specs are 100% for an HTPC.

The only difference I can see between those GT210's is the memory type and clock speeds. Go with the cheapest one. Not going to make a difference when watching movies/series.

I would however recommend you go for 4GB RAM instead of 2GB.

Beachless said:

Mainly because I can get a better cpu for about the same money and its easy to go to Esquire and buy everything.

Click to expand...

A better CPU? The HP MS can run 1080 perfectly, so why do you need more oomph?

Edit: And your at 1500 excl. a case (which, if you need it to be aesthetically pleasing, will bump your cost over 2k).

HiToKiRi said:

Those specs are 100% for an HTPC.

The only difference I can see between those GT210's is the memory type and clock speeds. Go with the cheapest one. Not going to make a difference when watching movies/series.

I would however recommend you go for 4GB RAM instead of 2GB.

Click to expand...

Thanks, there is a little x2 at the end of the memory so I'm planning on 4GB unless 8 would make sense but I doubt it.

yeti said:

A better CPU? The HP MS can run 1080 perfectly, so why do you need more oomph?

Edit: And your at 1500 excl. a case (which, if you need it to be aesthetically pleasing, will bump your cost over 2k).

Click to expand...

Just future proofing, I want to try some other things on there as well.
I'm not really sure what all I want to do on it and the extra power might come in handy.

Ideally this will download, share the files as well as maybe playing different media on 2 tv's(if that's even possible)

I used to have that exact same setup for my htpc, worked great but was big and ugly in my TV room. Then the motherboard died and I got myself a HP MicroServer with a GeForce G210 and it runs smooth like butter and looks awesome in my tv cabinet.

You should really consider the MicroServer, you won't be disappointed.

EDIT: I use mine as my download server also (sabnzbd + sickbeard + couchpotato) - works great.

Ok, you guys have convinced me...

I'll go for a HP microserver and if it runs out of power I'll put freenas on it and buy another machine for playing the media.
Now I just need to find one at a decent price.

Beachless said:

Ok, you guys have convinced me...

I'll go for a HP microserver and if it runs out of power I'll put freenas on it and buy another machine for playing the media.
Now I just need to find one at a decent price.

Click to expand...

Good choice! It's not gonna run out of power, just add a passively cooled nVidia GPU to it for cheap!
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...-Guide-to-creating-the-Ultimate-TV-Experience
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/333460-HP-ProLiant-MicroServer/page38