Will this be good enough?

C

Chelica

2[H]4U
Joined
Aug 8, 2003
Messages
2,698
Hello,

I am thinking about setting up an HTPC just for DIVX playback, Emulator and MAME, and recording some TV shows, mostly Cartoon Network.

I have some spare parts that I would like to use since it is free.

I have:
Gainward GeForce 2 MX400
2x128MB PC100
2x64MB PC100
Acorp Motherboard
Pentium 2 500MHZ
LiteOn 48x CDRW
Acer 56x CDRom
Pentium 300MHZ
2x Intel board

I was thinking of using the Video Card and the Acorp Motherboard alongside the Liteon CDRW.

All I need to purchase is a cheap socket 478CPU, a big HD and a PVR250.

Also with the Ram do you think I should try to sell all of my sticks to get some PC133 512MB instead? The Mobo only takes PC100 or PC133, so no DDR.

Advice please.
 
At the most an HTPC needs only 512megs of memory (especially if your using XP).
What speed CPU are looking at using? You might want to go with Linux on this.

Gainward GeForce 2 MX400
Click to expand...
Check the quality of the TV and google for "TVtools" (win software). NV cards before the GF4 have "hit or miss" tv-out quality so you could have lucked out and got a good card or you could have one of the many crappy ones.
 
I am going with 512MB of Ram for sure. Would it be that much of a difference if I am using a set of PC133 instead of DDR? Speed is not my concern.

Most of the parts I have listed, I have compiled and found a buyer for 2 system. Getting about $100 for both desktops.

I will still have this tho:
GeForce 2 MX400
40GB Maxtor Hard (Just found this when cleaning up)
20GB Fujitsu (Going to be trading my 64MB xD card for it)
LiteOn 48x CD-RW
Acorp Intel 845 Chipset Motherboard
$100 From the Desktop sale

Any ideas on what I should do in terms of my blueprint for this project?
 
How much are you thinking of spending and what OS are you going with?
 
I am not sure how much I will be spending. How much do you think I should spend given that I have these parts. I can sell/trade these parts if that helps.

As for the OS, I was thinking XP? But maybe Linux, I am not sure tho. Are there Emulators for Linux?
 
O yeah, that $100 will be going towards the HTPC. I will also be getting an extra $50 bucks for selling this other part in 2 days. I do have a few deals going in 1 week. So roughly, I have about $200 right now + those parts I have listed. How much is needed in your opinion for a moderate HTPC setup?
 
$200 will probably be good enough (all based on rough estimates) to get a new vid card (9200 or so), a 250MCE, and a DVD drive (I would guess that you'll want to watch some on it).

Recording TV you'll need a roomy drive so a 120GB would be good for it (use the 40GB for XP and apps) but an 80GB would work too.

Not sure about CPU though, you could go with a new setup using an AMD and a good nForce2 board (I got my Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe for $39 refurb at Newegg) but post what your thinking about on it.

Forget about the Linux stuff then since your going XP. :)
 
Well, what I am going to do is try to sell all of the parts I have listed other than the 20GB Hard Drive that I will be receiving from the trade. I will install the OS and other needed Windows Applications on the 20GB. My plan is to have 2 Hard Drives. One will be the 20GB and the other will probably be a 120GB Hard Drive but most likely I can use the 20GB for the time being until I can save up some more cash.

In terms of CPU, you think that AMD is the best route and the least expensive? See what I was thinking at first was to use the motherboard which supports socket 478 CPU. Grab a used 1.6A or something and throw in 512MB of PC133 Ram.
 
Going AMD will probably get you the most "bang for the buck" but CPU speed only really matters if your going to use ffdshow or not I guess.
 
I have $250 in the Pot now + those parts I have.

What is ideally a good budget for it? Not trying to spend a lot and such.

What kind of setup do you have?

edit:
I am also thinking, should I use the GeForce 2 for now till someone wants to buy it for cheap then upgrade to a 9600 Pro when it can be had for dirt cheap. And my TV does not have SVideo in, is there an SVideo to the RedWhiteYellow input adapter?

As for the Ram, if I go and stick with the motherboard I have, I can probably get 768MB of Ram (3x256) for under $80 if I find them used will this be good enough if I do not go the NEW motherboard and DDR route? A new motherboard is about $50 bucks, so sticking with what I have will save me about that much. Or I can sell the motherboard for $35 or something and use it towards a purchase of an AMD Motherboard...The hard part is finding a buyer for the Motherboard.
 
What I have?
Athlon XP 1900+
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe
256 megs PC2100
GF2 MX (old POS card without TV out)
two PVR250 MCE cards
Lite On DVD and CDRW (DVD is dead and needs to be replaced)
Forton Source 300w PSU
Lots of stuff to upgrade but thats what I had laying around (and some have been upgraded).

Software
SageTV
Meedio
(some others but they are all freeware)

You probably won't need more then 512 of memory (HTPC apps don't really take up alot of memory), yeah they have a cable like that, you could just get a GF4 MX or another 9x00 series card for cheap (with an older TV you won't see much difference between them).

Try checking out the FS/FT thread for stuff and look for an MCP-T nForce2 board (you can use the onboard sound and save some cash).
 
Good news regarding this. My friend is selling his newly built Small form factor PC for $200 bucks with the listed specs below. Picking it up tomorrow.

Case: Antec Aria w/ 300 Watt PSU
Motherboard: Shuttle with integrated MX440
CPU: AMD Barton 2800+
Ram: 512MB PC2700
Hard Drive: 80GB
Optical: CD-Rom (Will be using my Liteon CDRW for the time being)

You think this is a good deal? I think it is a steal. It has 3 PCI slot which I can use for a nice Sound card and a TV Tuner card.

In terms of video cards, I am saving up for for a 9600 Pro since I heard that most people uses that card for their setup. I will be using the integrated video card for the time being.

Once I sell my CD-RW which I do have a buyer for all of my parts listed on my previous thread, I am purchasing a LiteOn DVD Burner.

Also with the TV tuner, how much is that TV tuner you got?

I think I am going to be spending a whole lot more than what I think, but it is okay because I am selling a lot of stuff.

I am super excited as you can see, lol. Also, I do appreciate your help and advice.
 
Chelica said:
Good news regarding this. My friend is selling his newly built Small form factor PC for $200 bucks with the listed specs below. Picking it up tomorrow.

Case: Antec Aria w/ 300 Watt PSU
Motherboard: Shuttle with integrated MX440
CPU: AMD Barton 2800+
Ram: 512MB PC2700
Hard Drive: 80GB
Optical: CD-Rom (Will be using my Liteon CDRW for the time being)

You think this is a good deal? I think it is a steal. It has 3 PCI slot which I can use for a nice Sound card and a TV Tuner card.
Click to expand...
What motherboard is it using? if its the MN31N then i recommend you try onboard audio first. at the very least it would divert funds for other important hardware such as tv card, dvd+-rw or more storage. Thats going to be a nice little setup.
 
I think that is the board. He forgot what the model of the board is but he says that it was the best one out there. So most likely it is that model you are talking about.

So the sound is good enough? That is good to know then.

Speaking of TV Tuner cards, which one guys? I always wanted to get the PVR250, but what is this MCE edition? How much can they be purchased for?

Also, does anyone know the cheapest place for me to get that SVideo to RCA from?
 
Hey guys...

I am thinking of getting a 9600XT for only $100 shipped. Is that a good price?

If not, what Video Card should I be looking to get, this is going to be used for Emulators and PSX Emulator basically. Not too sure if the onboard video is good enough for that. I want it to be stutter free.
 
$100 bucks, not bad.

You think I should stick with the onboard for now and purchase that TV tuner card first?

Not sure if I will be doing any recording just yet, but I know I will be playing the Emulators for sure.
 
CrimandEvil said:
http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_info.php/cPath/21/products_id/29

Best place IMO, can't find an svideo cable thing sorry.
Click to expand...
the pvr-250mce bundle sounds like another winner. Video cable convertors can be had for a decent price here. Once again i stress a larger HD to store all your games/emulators and future movies, the kicker here is that a 200 gig HD can be had for the same price as an 80gigger on newegg.

As for video cards, i'll def agree that a 9600xt for $99 is a great deal but you may want to consider a 256bit card such as a 9700/9800pro. A 256bit card will be a viable solution for a much longer time and will only cost another $30-$40 if your willing to purchase a newegg refurb. Once again it all depends on how much you're willing to spend ;)

Edit: Selling and ebaying all those spare parts ought to fetch decent cash.
 
Hello,

The 80GB Hard Drive is actually included in the $200 price tag of the PC that I am getting.

I am going to get another HD when time comes.

As for the other parts that I do have, I am selling them for $130 to this one guy. This will probably going to pay for my TV Tuner card and the adapter.

The XBOX that I am selling will pay for the HTPC. 200 for 200 basically.

The 2 Low-End Desktop PCs that I am selling for $100 will pay for my Video Card.

After all of this, I still have $200 from a previous Computer sale that I have done 2 days ago.

So in total, I am spending about $430 and $200 leftover. This however is coming from trades and things that I am selling because I have no use for them, so no cash is coming out of my pocket just yet. Do you think this is too much for my HTPC? Seems like my HTPC is going to be performing similar to my Main Rig...lol.

Also, that link for the SVideo adapter, I appreciate that. However, the site is bit confusing, do you know exactly which cable I would need to purchase? There are different SVIDEO to RCA.
 
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Well... considering the TV is going to run at 640x480 (most likely for clarity) then the video card suddenly becomes far less important. If emulators are the #1 app, then it becomes even more irrelevant.

Even 256MB of RAM is plenty... but the MN31N takes DDR.

Uh, let's see... put money into tuner and HDD. :D
 
kleptophobiac said:
Well... considering the TV is going to run at 640x480 (most likely for clarity) then the video card suddenly becomes far less important. If emulators are the #1 app, then it becomes even more irrelevant.

Even 256MB of RAM is plenty... but the MN31N takes DDR.

Uh, let's see... put money into tuner and HDD. :D
Click to expand...
Very true

Chelica, something i forgot about the mn31n...it doesn't have tv-out or rca to display video on your TV...unless your TV has VGA input. The pvr 250's tv-out may not work for windows and emulators (only video playback). You may actually need to purchase a video card to throw game video onto a TV screen.

Chelica did you get that last PM i sent you the other day?
 
Yeps, the MN31N does not have S Video out but I was planning on purchasing a new video card anyways, so that is fine. For the price I got the package for, it could not have been passed up. I could resell it and make double on what I paid.

The Video Card is where I am stuck. I am thinking of reselling my 9800PRO on my main rig and then purchasing 2x9600XT and put it on both rig. I hardly play hardcore games on my main rig and was actually satisfied with my Ti4600 before giving it to my g/f for her main rig. I think running both systems on 9600XT will be great since it will save me $60 bucks which can then go towards another cause. I rarely play FPS like Doom 3 or Far Cry, more into the strategy type of role playing, and I believe that the 9600XT will do me justice, agreed or no?

SJetski71 - I did get your last PM and have replied with a question, lol.
 
I'd leave the 9800 Pro in your main rig, and get a basic vanilla 9600 np to put in the HTPC. No fans, good TV out. Simple and cheap.
 
If your upgrading to a X800 series or 6800 series card in your main rig then yeah put the 9800 in your HTPC if not then I totally agree with Klepto.
 
kleptophobiac said:
Even 256MB of RAM is plenty... but the MN31N takes DDR.
Click to expand...
It works but it's damn slow and I have a hellova of time with it :mad: but yes it will work.
 
What does the term "vanilla" means? And how much does a basic 9600 cost? I am really tempted to get that 9600XT tho, I have one for local pickup for $100.
 
Newegg lists them for around $95, vanilla = non Pro
Thats a great deal on the XT and it's also the cost of a 9600 so get the XT and keep your 9800 in your rig.
 
Yeah, the 9600XT is a for sure now.

Anyone know where I can get that extra dongle that is usually bundled with the 9800 cards? The one that goes from SVideo to RCA, anyone where selling them for less then what ATI charges?
 
Purchased the SVideo to Composite from EBay. Got charged 4 bucks shipped. Not bad given that it is the same cable that are being asked for $14 shipped.
 
Can't anymore, they discontinued it because of the product's name. That was what the guy told me.

But yeah, I am picking up my 9600XT tomorrow!!!

Hey guys, do you think the Retail version of PVR250, the one with the remote for $120 + Tax a good deal?
 
Chelica said:
Can't anymore, they discontinued it because of the product's name. That was what the guy told me.

But yeah, I am picking up my 9600XT tomorrow!!!

Hey guys, do you think the Retail version of PVR250, the one with the remote for $120 + Tax a good deal?
Click to expand...
Difference between the 250 and 350.
Read through that, I make some comments to the differences between the regular 250 and the MCE version.
Tell us how the XT goes, you'll have to grab Powerstrip too to help output to your TV. Good luck on that.
 
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