New build for family room

The interesting thing is that some Gigabyte boards with H-55 chipsets (integrated Core i3 video), have >>4<< different video connections, VGA, DVI, HDMI and Display Port. (Some new monitors have bypassed HDMI because of the HDMI license fee). That said, Core i3 integrated video should handle 1080P video, such as Blu-Ray, without a problem. Especially in light of the fact that this would , (tentatively), be a single monitor system.

Thats great, i thought i had read something wrongly. thanks guys.

Just a thought but as i am planning this as a lounge PC/media lump i may as well put a blu-ray drive in it.

I have looked at the samsung one on ebuyer but it doesnt mention HD disks. I know this is probably a stupid question but i know nothing about blu-ray or HD DVD's, what optical drive would i need to play normal, HD and Blu-ray disks....any suggestions ?

What i have read is i will need something like PowerDVD 9 to watch blu-ray...i think ?

Regards.

HD DVD is pretty much dead as a format. So unless you have a stack of HD-DVD's I wouldn't scour the net for a player that can read both formats.
Most Blu ray player come with a basic version of Cyberlink's PowerDVD9 - such as this HP drive. or OEM drives such as this Samsung

OK i'm just about there with a decision lol, i just need a couple of clarifcations on...

1. Do i need to worry about HDCP ? i have know idea what it is, it just keeps popping up in things a read about blu ray and HDMI

2. As i will be using W7 64bit i will be putting 4gig in the unit so should i get one 4gig stick or 2x2gig sticks ? i assume its non ecc ? here is a link to my ram supplier for your inspection.

http://www.mrmemory.co.uk/memory/Details.asp

And finaly after a few changes quided by yourselves (big thanks) here is the list of items i will buy to build this pc...i guess what i am asking is will this work ? remembering all it will be used for is watching blu-ray films as well as downloaded ones i already own and normal web surfing etc. It will be connected via a HDMI cable i already have to my Pioneer plasma 1080i TV.

Thanks again in advance for any input, it is trully appreaciated

1. Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H H55 Socket 1156 VGA DVI HDMI Out 8 CHannel Audio mATX Motherboard
2. Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz Socket 1156 4MB L3 Cache
3. Corsair 430W CX PSU 4x SATA 1x PCI-E
4. Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache
5. Samsung SH-B123L/RSBP 12x BD-ROM DVD±RW DL & RAM Lightscribe SATAII Optical Drive
6. Cisco Linksys Wireless-N PCI Adapter
7. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
8. Casecom MA-1199 Shiny Black MATX Tower Case
9. KeySonic 2.4Ghz Wireless Keyboard with Integrated TouchPad
10 RAM as mentioned above.

Have i forgot anything ? or overlooked something ?

Regards.

really sorry to bump my own post but if any guru out there could give me a heads up on the points i raised above and give me a green or red light, i can get this build underway

Thanks again peeps.

1. The system is HDCP compliant- if the display is also you are good to go.
2. 2x2Gb is better. The motherboard (as with the majority) utilises dual-channel memory.
Your link doesn't work for me. If you're unsure about compatibility then check the compatibility list of the motherboard
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3309#ov (Memory Support LIst download button on the right). Non-ECC is correct and you are looking for a kit with a voltage with an upper limit of ~1.65v maximum. Gigabyte boards work well with Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, G.Skill in general. I would not buy generic (no name) brand memory sticks.

From what you have posted, I don't see any problem with displaying output to 1080i. The Intel graphics -which I assume you will be using- should provide a pretty good viewing experience.

Thats great mate, thank you so much for the confirmation. I appreciate the help.

I will post back when i have built it and tested its performance in the next 2 to 3 weeks.

Kindest regards,

Lee.

EDIT :- just been reading about the onboard RAM the i3 540 chip has and it turns out it has an equivalent of 128mb, so did a bit of reading and it seems to me there is a lot of people have problems playing blu-ray, picture stuttering etc so..... think i might just get a graphics card like the gigabyte GT240 1tb ? just to be sure

Oh go ahead, buy a GT-240. With that said, why are you using a question mark at the end of a declarative sentence?

And with that said, why not spring for a current line card such as GT-4xx or perhaps G-5xx?

The middle number is of course up to you. I do think you need a GT-x-4- x or better to open.

Unless anybody thinks that a 430 would have enough oomph.

I used a question mark incase anyone had anyother ideas to which you have kindly offered some.
I have however opted for just a 512mb card as my budget is now maxed out with getting a Blu-ray instead of a DVD drive.
I am sure the basic Gigabyte 210 512MB GDDR2 DVI VGA HDMI that i have ordered with be good enough for general use.

Thanks for the input, i will post back when assembled. All the bits are due n the next 3 days.

Regards.

Hi all, just an update.
Got all the componants and got the system built after tea that night.
All works a treat, spot on. Wi-Fi is perfect and DVD and Blu-ray is all working as should be.
Only one problem i have had is with Avatar blu-ray, it wont play, and there isnt an update for the powerDVD 9 that came bundled with the player, i have contacted Cyberlink, but still waiting for an answer. If you google "Avatar wont play on my blu-ray drive" then i can see there is a major issue of some sorts for a lot of people, in retrospect i would of held off buying it but it is one of my fav films and was partly the point in having Blu-ray to start with so i hope Cyberlink offer some resolution soon.
Apart from that the system is faster then i first expected and the lower end graphics card has no problems with HDMI play back etc, infact shifting some 3D aplications around with quite hi texture map sizes i am actually really impressed with the GeForce 210.
So, thanks for all your input and advice peeps, its appreciated.
Helping out folk like me is what these forums are all about, and its a joy to be able to have the confidence to go ahead with a project like this knowing there is support and help right here.....trully.....THANK YOU ;p

Regards,

Lee.