Settings, and suggestions for HTPC

I am currently using the RC version of Windows 7 on my HTPC. I plan on purchasing the official version when it's released.


It's not exactly a robust system, and I may be pushing it's limits, but, it's quiet, low power, and so far it's getting the job done. Since I'm only using it for Media Center, I'm wondering which version I should purchase, and if there are certain features I should shut off to enhance Media Center.

Here's my specs:

ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory


Thanks for any suggestions...

Home Premium

ddiehl,

Windows 7 fixed the licensing sku flaws of Vista in that they are now incremental. See here: http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/win7_skus_compare.asp


So thusly, anything Home Premium and up will have all the MC features built in. You'd only buy Professional or up for business-oriented tools, or stuff like that.

I have a HTPC with almost identical specs, and the only thing i can say is the built-in video will have a hard time with h264 or other more advanced codecs (read: blu-ray). I personally had to upgrade to a video card with good built-in MPEG2 decoding (in my case a Radeon 4650) to make up this deficiency.