Would this make a good HTPC?

B

Big Jun

n00b
Joined
Jan 22, 2005
Messages
26
Abit VP6 P3
Matched pair of 800EB 133fsb
2gb memory
Ti 4200 64mb video card
Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS sound card
Western Digital 300GB 7200RPM IDE hard drive
Plextor 16X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW SATA Drive, Model PX-716SA/SW
Thats all I have for now.
What else should I add or change?
:p
 
need to know your expectations first. that machine sounds like a capable HTPC if you are runningit on a stadard definiton TV. If you want to run it at HDTV resolutions though, I would suggest a newr CPU and video card. also, don't buy the audigy card. If you already have it, fine, but save yourself some moeny and go with a chaintech av-710. most of the audigy featrues go unused in an HTPC, especially if you use the digital output.
 
Have to agree with ID, alittle more info on what you want to do with it as well.
 
Just so you know there is really no programs for the htpc niche that take advantage of SMP. Would make a great media server but if you want to get into any serious FFDShow stuff you will deffinately want a faster CPU and better video.
 
I agree with the rest of the people, it needs a faster CPU...But if you are just using it to watch movies, then it should be okay.....
 
I was planning on using it for listening to music/mp3's, and playing or I can
say watching dvd's.
What would I need to have in order to connect it to my home audio system?
What are some good softwares for it to be HTPC?
I guess the matched pair 800EB is slow. So a total of 1.6ghz won't do.
How about a matched pair 1.3ghz Tualatin processors. Which equal 2.6ghz.
For the sound card if I was to change it out. I was thinking of buying the Maddog Entertainer 7.1 DSP. I forgot to mention what OS I was going to use.
Either win.2000 pro or XP pro. Since I already
have them. Or should I just go and buy the
MCE 2005 / PVR-500MCE / MCE Remote / NVDVD Decoder Bundle for $310.
:p
 
connect to audio system - just a cable to your reciever. digital prefereably. coax or toslink depends on your sound card.

software - that is a preference. luckily, most of them have trials. Meedio, SageTV, Beyond TV, media portal, windows MCE, Got TV. there are more, I just can't think of them now. check the sticky at the top of the page.

cpu - Dual 800's are enough to watch movies and play MP3's. the only reason you would need to upgrade is if you are going to process the ivideo files as they are playing with FFDshow. It greatly enhances the video quality, but also take s huge chunk of CPU power.

Also, dual processors do not equal the total of the two. it is a little lower than that, but still better than the single. They are made for servers taht do massive amounts of simple processes. Ina aserver, the CPU can be waitign for things to do. dual processors give you twice the cahce and more room to run. think of it like a tollbooth. one toolbooth does so much. two tollbooths don't process faster, they just process more at the same time. It still takes the same amount of time to get through the toolbooth, you just get there faster. The home benefits are actually not that much. there is a reason why most home apps have not been developed to support dual CPU's. If you are spending any money on it, ditch the duallies and go with a single CPU setup. buy processing power that the apps will use.

sound - the mad dog is supposed to be good, but the chaintech is even cheaper. especially if you are just going to use the digital output. they both use the same Via chip.

OS - not many people around here like MCE. I am not a huge fan of it, but it has it's place. It is not very custimizable and the TV file format is a windows only thing. I prefer 2000 or XP with a nice app like meedio running as the front end.
 
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