I'm having to build one for the in-laws so I'm just double checking everything!
Constraints:
Only will be used as a Media Centre PC, nothing else.
They're getting a new TV as well (Full HD) so must be capable of 1920x1080 mkv etc playback.
Will have 2 mirrored drives for OS/Recording and a single 2TB Drive for Films/TV Eps etc.
Audio will just go straight to the TV, so no amp.
Hardware so far:
Intel Core i3 530 Processor
Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 ATX Motheboard
4GB RAM (not picked yet)
Seperate Graphics (Prob basic ATI <£50)
Hard Drives/Case & TV Tuner will be carried over from old one. (Hauppauge TD-500)
The software/codec side of it I have no problems as mines being running (and rebuilt a few times) for 2 years but I'm a little out of touch regarding the hardware at the moment.
I have a Core2Duo with 2GB RAM and an ATI HD2600 Graphics card and that plays all Full HD files with no issues etc.