Ok guys I have some parts laying around and I really want to build a dvr pc, for my 65 inch tv. Now I Want it to be hd capable, and to decode the bulk of my hd channels from time warner. I also need to let you know we already have the hd package and 3 hd dvr boxes, I am not trying to steal any programming, I dont care for espn either. I just want a better interface for my dvr and when the dvr box goes bad I still have my movies and shows. Now because this is my system I want it to be able to play games too, like crysis, and the witcher, modern warfare. I have a ton of pc games, that I would like to play on my big screen too. I also want to have an hdmi output for my video and audio, I can still do dvi and optical, but I really want to use hdmi for both. I have a quad core processor and a intel motherboard, but I normally go to evga for my video cards and motherboard. Any way if you could please lead me in the right direction on the dvr software and video tuner. I also would really like to run 3 tuners, at least 2 tuners so that I could watch and record up to 2 channels and I really prefer the 3 tuners. Thank you for your help
First off you need a good cpu for playing HD content. Not to mention transcoding. What Intel quad core do you have? I assume a Core 2 Quad series but could possibly be one of the Core i5 cpus for all we know. Recording 2-3 shows at a time is really going to be hard on cpu so I dont even know that a standard Quad will handle that efficiently. A core i7 860, I believe, could handle it pretty well, but recording 2 HD shows at once seems it would be taxing even on a 860. So be aware recording 2-3 shows might not even be possible on an high end cpu like an 860. A good GPU is important to seeing as your going to be doing playback on a huge screen, and play high end games like crysis with good resolution and graphics. As for EVGA, EVGA is very good but they dont make ATI cards, and thats where its at right now. Also, for the record DVI and HDMI are the same thing. Most (atleast mid to high end) video cards will come with a DVI to HDMI adapter these days, and/or possibly a an HDMI to DVI adapter. Keep in mind 1080 is not a good resolution for PC gaming. When it comes to EVGA mobos, again, good but over priced. So what exactly do you need? A new mobo? Ok we need to know exactly which cpu you have already. A video card? Tv tunner? case? psu? Im not completely clear on what all you need but I believe thats about right. The other big factor is budget. We could spend $1,000 for you, but if its not in your budget, its not going to do to much good.
Well I will have to look next weekend when I get back home, I do have an antec 900 case, a thermaltake 900 watt power supply 2 dvd drives, 2 500 gb hard drives, but truthfully I will probably need a 1300 watt power supply, and a bigger case, cause my other pc in the antec 900 was tight,with 2 cards sli-ed. I am very confused on the taxing of the processor part, how is that when you got moxi, directv, and dish, along with other companies making dual tuner dvrs that sit in a set top box with a boo boo fan and a 160 - 500 gig hard drive. I am only confused because it seems as an actual pc cpu would be better than that, even a fanless pc, would do better than a set top box in my opinion. I am not arguing I have been out of this a while and I am just wanting a little more info about why it is hard on the cpu, when a crappy set top box does it all day long, because truthfully if thats the deal I feel pc's are severely lacking in that department and I will just buy a moxi. Thankyou for the info.
Theres a big difference here, I said recording, you said playback. Playback isnt as hard on the cpu as recording is. Plus the way DVRs processes the data is a bit different I believe. It simply receives the stream and saves it to a HDD. A download in real time if you will. On a computer the stream is recorded and converted to another format. Before going on with this I wanted to confirm that your still talking about recording two shows at once, and btw no capture cards have triple tuners. So i think your shooting a bit high there unless you invest in a second capture card. Another thing worth mentioning, I dont believe there are any triple tuner set top boxes on the market yet. I worked on behalf of DirecTV and I know for a fact DirecTV did not have a triple tuner receiver. The closest thing to it for DirecTV was the ability to watch one show from DVR while recording 2 other shows live. The only time I heard mention of a triple tuner capable receiver was speaking with a Dish Network customer. I never bothered looking in to it though. The thing is if your talking about doing 2 SD(Standard Definition - 480) recordings at once an 860 for example would handle this, and an old Core2Quad should handle this as well depending on which chip it is. The problem is trying to record two programs in HD(not as much 720, but 1080) that concerns me in terms of CPU usage. As for the PSU, unless its Toughpower series from TT, yes you will. All the 1000 Watt PSUs from Thermaltake are over priced and weak, but dont be fooled, 1300 wats would be a waste of money. 1) I can guarantee you dont need 1,000 watts unless your going to run something crazy like 4 high end video cards, and even then I dont know 1,000 watts is really needed. 2) Dont be fooled by wattage alone. For example a Corsair 750W PSU will out perform your Thermaltake any day of the week. Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146047&cm_re=tempest-_-11-146-047-_-Product
http://www.moxi.com/us/offer.html?_cr=ppc|yahoo|MOX: Moxi: USA|moxi dvr they have the only 3 tuner on the market, that I know of. funny I used to work for directv too. Any way I appreciate all your help, also if I just went with a seperate pvr and built the gaming pc what do you suggest, I am truly leaning towards a moxi pvr, I need to research it more though. I also didnt know ati is where it is at right now. Oh and my cpu is at least 2 years old, and the thermaltake is a tough power version, thanks for your info, it is greatly appreciated.
As it happens both Corsair HX and Thermaltake Toughpower units actually use the same CWT internal design. The difference is, Corsair build a high quality finish to it, Thermaltake do not. Bear in mind that the 1300W and 1500W Thermaltake units are electrically identical to the 1000W Corsair HX. They are not a single watt more powerful, you're buying a 1000W PSU with a 1500W sticker on it. Since nobody uses that much power, nobody is able to call them out on it. As an example, two HD5970s (4 GPUs) and a massively overclocked Core i7 with 8 hard disk drives and a water cooling setup will use around 800-850W from the power supply at maximum load. Systems don't really come more overkill than that.
