Basic Simple Playback

I am have been debating this for some time, but have come to the conclusion that I would like to put together a basic HTPC, one simply designed for Ripped DVD Playback. I have tons of DVDs, and really hate having them all over the place. I have ripped many of them, and would like to be able to play them back on my new 55" HDTV.

I have no need for a tuner, or anything fancy. I simply want to be able to drop a DVD in, rip it to the hard drive, and then replay it at a later date.

I am simply looking for ideas for a budget machine to do the above. I have a Asus A7N8X that I could use and an AMD 3000+XP; or I also have a Venice 3500+, but no motherboard for it.

Is it possible to put together such a machine using old parts like this? I figure I will have to spend some cash on a new vid card, but wasn't sure.

Whats the cheapest a person could build a budget playback machine for?

This would be no problem on either of those systems. I've played back DVD content on 800mhz machines without any issues. If you plan on viewing HD content, you may have a bit of a problem - you'd probably want to get a fairly recent video card - most of the DX10 cards will have HD optimizations - and you can get some of the lower models for ~$40, so it shouldn't break the bank. I'd also stick to the 3500+ or a faster CPU for HD content.

But as for your stated reason for this machine (ripped DVD Playback) - any of your machines should work. Your biggest challenge will be hooking the PC to the tv... if you have a DVI port, that's super simple - DVI - DVI cable, or DVI - HDMI cable. If you only have a VGA output, you've got more of a problem - either adapt it to S-Video with a conversion box (not a great option - about the same price as a video card with DVI) or if you're lucky you're TV will have a VGA port.

Good luck

My 6600 has two DVI ports, so that should be fine. I might see what this system can do this weekend. Thanks.

with a 6600, you may even be able to get away with any mpeg based Hi def content. I'm guessing h.264 content would be too much for your system though.... you could certainly try.

So if you decide to add a tuner, ATSC/QAM playback should be fine. If you wanted to use a bluray player internal to your machine, that probably wouldn't work well.