Media Centre PC

2008-04-25 19:27:17

#1

Winston_Churchill: Bazinga!; +521|7010|Toronto | Canada

I'm trying to make a media centre PC out of one of my old computers. Right now it has:

Radeon 9600
Old processor, P4 I think
1 GB RAM
AGP motherboard

I was thinking of getting a blu-ray drive and a HDMI capable video card. Would I be better off just starting completely over again with new stuff or are there AG cards out that support HDMI?
We've got some connections to get stuff fairly cheap (private retailer), so what video card should I get to replace my 9600? I don't think a new processor is needed if its just playing movies is it?

2008-04-26 01:42:22

#2

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6468|Winland

Well, depending on the P4, it might play HD or not. My P4 (A fairly high-end one) barely handles 1080 playback. You could try getting an 8500/3850 and check how it does. Those cards go for under $100 anyhow.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2008-04-26 03:42:04

#3

max: Vela Incident; +1,652|6838|NYC / Hamburg

Freezer7Pro wrote:
Well, depending on the P4, it might play HD or not. My P4 (A fairly high-end one) barely handles 1080 playback. You could try getting an 8500/3850 3470 and check how it does. Those cards go for under $100 anyhow.

_{once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, " give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404.}

2008-04-26 03:48:01

#4

.Sup: be nice; +2,646|6724|The Twilight Zone

Freezer7Pro wrote:
Combine milk, 1/4 cup water, shortening, honey, salt and wheat flour in food processor or bowl. Mix in yeast mixture, and let rest 15 minutes. Add white flour, and process until dough forms a ball. Knead dough by processing an additional 80 seconds in food processor, or mix and knead by hand 10 minutes. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise for 45 minutes, or until almost doubled.

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2008-04-26 03:56:19

#5

Jenspm: penis; +1,716|7003|St. Andrews / Oslo

You're not going to get true HD audio with that setup. I assume you know that you won't get audio through the HDMI in your GFX card? Therefore, you might as well get a GFX card with a DVI-port and get a good DVI-HDMI converter, and use Coaxial or something for sound. Also, your processor is probably a little weak.

I would strongly reccomend getting an Asus p5e-v HDMI mobo. It has integrated graphics and audio and has HDMI ouputs that support LPCM 5.1. I don't think any other mobo's support this.

However, with this mobo, you're gonna need a rather powerful CPU. So if you get that, a e6750, 2GB of OK ram and Vista, you should be good. (should amount to ~$300)

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2008-04-26 04:22:57

#6

.Sup: be nice; +2,646|6724|The Twilight Zone

Jenspm wrote:
You're not going to get true HD audio with that setup. I assume you know that you won't get audio through the HDMI in your GFX card? Therefore, you might as well get a GFX card with a DVI-port and get a good DVI-HDMI converter, and use Coaxial or something for sound. Also, your processor is probably a little weak.

I would strongly reccomend getting an Asus p5e-v HDMI mobo. It has integrated graphics and audio and has HDMI ouputs that support LPCM 5.1. I don't think any other mobo's support this.

However, with this mobo, you're gonna need a rather powerful CPU. So if you get that, a e6750, 2GB of OK ram and Vista, you should be good. (should amount to ~$300)

Would that integrated GFX card be powerful enough to run full HD?

2008-04-26 05:03:24

#7

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6468|Winland

.Sup wrote:
Jenspm wrote:
You're not going to get true HD audio with that setup. I assume you know that you won't get audio through the HDMI in your GFX card? Therefore, you might as well get a GFX card with a DVI-port and get a good DVI-HDMI converter, and use Coaxial or something for sound. Also, your processor is probably a little weak.

I would strongly reccomend getting an Asus p5e-v HDMI mobo. It has integrated graphics and audio and has HDMI ouputs that support LPCM 5.1. I don't think any other mobo's support this.

However, with this mobo, you're gonna need a rather powerful CPU. So if you get that, a e6750, 2GB of OK ram and Vista, you should be good. (should amount to ~$300)
Would that integrated GFX card be powerful enough to run full HD?

HD playback isn't so heavy on the graphics card, as it's rendered by the CPU. Basically, any graphics card that supports 1920x1080 will do HD playback.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

BF2S Forums Media Centre PC

Freezer7Pro wrote:

Freezer7Pro wrote:

Jenspm wrote:

.Sup wrote:

Jenspm wrote:

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