help with matx computer build
 

I'm looking to build a small, low cost system for the sole purpose of running PS3 Media Server.
I wanna build it on an mATX board because I might want to try using an old PS2/3 as a case for it.
I'm not that up to date with hardware though, so if people could provide some specs/parts i'd need.. that'd be great.

I guess my requirements are:
- mATX
- Core 2 Duo -- Whats the min speed I need to comfortably stream mkv's off a nas (dns-323) on gigabit ethernet?
- RAM -- Don't know what I would need.. my guess is 2GB would suffice...
- Video Card - I was told that streaming mkvs off a NAS is more about CPU than it is the GPU.

thnx

edit: when I say 'low cost', I mean.. whats the minimum I need to run PMS comfortably? I'm know I can't spend $75 bucks on the whole thing, but at the same time, I know an i5 would be a little overkill..

I'm guessing you already have a motherboard, which is why you need to use a Core 2 Duo?

If it's just for streaming, just get a Celeron. And the smallest amount of RAM would be sufficient - 1GB is plenty. And the cheapest video card you can find, if your motherboard doesn't have one.

If you are streaming video then it isn't about CPU OR GPU, it's about network speed. UNLESS you are doing transcoding, which would be pretty stupid, IMO. You should set up a server that remuxes the video to MPG format, this way no quality is lost, and no CPU resources are used.

Now if you don't have a motherboard, then you should build using a 785G motherboard with integrated video, and the cheapest Athlon II you can buy.

Get a Intel Pentium Dual Core E5300... it's faster than a lot of the Core 2 Duos from a couple years ago.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

well my oldass AMD Sempron 3400 (1.8 GHz single core) w/ 512MB RAM and GeForce 6600OC streams to my brothers PS3 no prob, and the PS3 is on wifi.

Thanks for the input guys, it looks like I need to take a step back and figure out what I need first...

I have a NAS - DNS-323 connected to the same gigabit switch as my ps3. The built in media server on the NAS is garbage, and it also doesnt stream the mkvs.
I was under the impression that I needed PMS to properly stream all the content from the NAS to the PS3, and I assumed it would be done via transcoding (but I know nothing). Then someone said that i'd need at least a core 2 duo to properly stream (ie. transcode?) 1080p mkvs. It sounds like that's not needed though..

What is the best setup/software for me to use then?

if you want to stream to a PS3, then I'd run PS3 Media Server. I've never had an issue with it and it seems much more consistent/stable vs TVersity. The best part of PS3MS is that if you copy a file to the PS3 through it, and it needs to be transcoded to play on the PS3, it will transcode and send that to the PS3, so that what you have saved is playable.

Skinnypupp talks about remuxing which sounds a lot smoother but I don't know of anything that does that.

Oh and if you do manage to fit this into a PS3 case post up what you used, I want to do something similar but to run emulators on my TV, but there isn't a tonne of room in that case

for cheap integrated GPU, AMD > Intel

When I was using my pS3 as a media box, I would host the MKV files on my main PC. To play them on a PS3, they need to either be transcoded or remuxed. Using a streaming app like PS3 Media Server or TVersity, the files are transcoded - they re-encode the video and audio into a format that the PS3 can recognize.

The alternative, and what I did, is to remux the files - only change the file format to one that the PS3 can recognize. The video and audio are untouched, and remain full quality.

To do this, simply convert it with this program. It only takes a few minutes, and once it's done you have an MPG file that can be streamed with any DLNA program like TVersity or whatever (I just used Windows Media).

So if you want a dedicated host box, you could convert the file first, then send it over to it, or control it via remote desktop and do it that way. This does add an extra manual step though.

Having a dedicated machine just to stream stuff to your PS3 to TV sounds overkill to me.

I have a similar setup, but I just run PS3 Mediaserver on my desktop machine. It starts on system start up and I never notice any overhead, etc...

However, if you do wanna build a seperate box, don't limit yourself. Soon you'll realize that if you already have a dedicated machine, just skip the PS3 all together and use the PC directly.

Might be some extra cost, but a nicely built proper media pc will destory a PS3 serving the same purpose - especially if you can have both :)

But im poor, so rather then blowing cash on a dedicated mediapc, i just use PS3 media server on my desktop, streaming to the PS3.

Yup good point. A Media PC is always better than a PS3. It also completely eliminates the need to remux or reencode anything.