The System

BYOPVR.com was all talk about this new (to me) concept of a Mini-ITX form-factor. The concept was very promising. These systems promised to be low-power, small (good for fitting into an entertainment center), but with enough features to successfully run as a PVR.

I began looking at parts. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before I discovered I was in over my head. Although some ran on standard ATX power supplies, those didn't have the benefits for which I was looking; it was when I started looking at DC/DC power conversion modules that I realized I had no clue what I was doing. If I had attempted to put it together part by part, any money I might have saved in the long run would've been far eclipsed by the frustration and possible danger of getting the wrong parts.

Fortunately, I found my solution. Mini-Box.com had a few complete systems for sale. What's more, they also had a Linux distribution for free download, called iMedia MythTV, that was specially made for this type of system (i.e. low power). I decided to splurge a bit and spring for the M300-LCD, partly because it was big enough to support a full PCI card (which I would need for the tuner card), and partly because of the nifty LCD on the front.

Once I had the system all spec'ed out, I compared the components' prices with NewEgg.com. Mini-Box did not offer a SATA hard drive (at least, their drive options did not specify PATA or SATA, or even 2.5" vs. 3.5" -- I wanted the 2.5" again for the power consumption, although my experience with 2.5" hard drives may have me kicking myself for that decision), so I decided to order the hard drive from NewEgg instead. Mini-Box actually had a better deal on memory, so they got my business there.

My order from Mini-Box consisted of:

• M300-LCD case, $109.95
• picoPSU-120 DC-DC power supply, $49.95
• 12v/5A AC-DC power adapter, $24.95
• Jetway Hybrid Mini-ITX motherboard w/VIA C7 1.5GHz CPU, $149.95
• 1GB DDR2 memory (single stick), $47.00
• Shipping, $8.09
• Total: $389.89

NewEgg.com had the best price for the tuner card I wanted -- a Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 500. Although fairly expensive, I wanted its dual tuners on the single card, because one card is all the room I'd have, and I didn't want this project to be a disappointment the first time my wife wanted to record two shows that happened to be on at the same time. Luckily for me, they also had a sale on a 2.5" SATA hard drive. $139.99 for the card, $49.99 for the 60GB drive, and $7.24 for shipping brought my total to $197.22.

Total price: $587.11