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DVR - Digital Video Recorder 
PVR - Personal Video Recorder

DVR Putting It Together - Page P2

For all of the following PC components, you can go to your local PC store or check out online retailers like Tiger Direct. If you only need one item, you can use the individual links below. 

Memory   – There are several types of memory, of which DDR SDRAM, is probably the best. It is able to send data at double the speed of standard memory rates.

Computer Cases – I can not give a real recommendation, but there are a lot of alternatives. Check the vendor who is supplying your motherboard, so they can match the motherboard to the case. There are various sized motherboards, so this is a key criterion. 

Power Supply - Once you have selected a motherboard and a case, you then need to consider a power supply. 

However, if you selected a high-end video card, you need to see if it draws its power from the motherboard or if it needs its own connection to the power supply. If it needs a power supply connection, there are power supplies that have that unique feature.

Disk Drives – Like memory, there are a lot of disk drive choices. Most of the information I have seen says you should get the fastest drive possible for capturing recordings. SATA drives have been recommended the most based on their improved performance and reliability, as well as ease of install (no master-slave issues). These drives will require a SATA connection on the motherboard.

Motherboards - Asus is a well know, reliable brand of motherboard. Take a look at their offerings and see which one meets your needs. 

A good example of a motherboard that fits the requirements of a DVR is the Asus A8V-MX. It supports AMD 64but processors, DDR Memory, has a very fast FSB,  has one PCIe slot and supports SATA drives. In addition it has a built in LAN card and high-quality 6-channel audio. The only drawback is it has only two (2) PCI slots.

There may be some money saving bargains, so use the link to below so what's hot this week.

We hope you found this site interesting and have fun building you DVR. 

Come back to see any updates, new recommendations, or responses to FAQs.

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