client/server hardware dilema (1 Viewer)

SlotcarMAG

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Hi all I'm very new (2 days) to having media portal running on my current tower machine and I must say I like it the overall smoothness is nice compared to xbmc anyhow I digress my question is this

My current system sits in a large tower beside my TV unit and I like the idea idea of putting it in an htpc case and getting it under the TV however I'm not sure if the specs are OK for this purpose they are

Gigabyte Ga-ma785gmt-ud2h motherboard with atiradeon 4200 onboard
3gh and athlon all x2 250
4gb crucial ballistic ddr3

Would these be a good base for my main htpc which would need to feed my current library plus and downloads to at least 2 other PCs in my home and possibly to my tablet.

I'd like to add ablu ray drive to that mix when I build the main htpc to replace my ps3 drive so it needs to be able to cope with that and also it'll be on probably 24/7 so not sure if I need more energy efficient parts.

My apologies if I've rambled but hopefully somebody has followed where I'm going.

Thanks scm
 

2BitSculptor

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    why don't you just keep the tower and put it in a closet, or office, to use as a dedicated server, then pop a small footprint client in the living room as your HTPC you can add an external BR easy (although mine is internal)... this is the direction I'm going
     
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    kiwijunglist

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    the hd4200 onboard is a bit slow but can be ok. is this hardware you already own? what res is tv. do you want to play 1080i. is the ram 1x4 or 2x2? will you play live tv/recorded tv or just videos.
     
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    SlotcarMAG

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    Ideally I'd like to reuse the stated items for a server/client due to power consumption I'm trying to limit the amount of devices that are on constantly.
    Also my finances are limited hence building the 2 in 1 and reusing the bits from my tower.[DOUBLEPOST=1376326412][/DOUBLEPOST]
    the hd4200 onboard is a bit slow but can be ok. is this hardware you already own? what res is tv. do you want to play 1080i. is the ram 1x4 or 2x2? will you play live tv/recorded tv or just videos.

    Its my current main tower PC that im considering canabalising for the main server/client.
    My TV is an lg full HD 32inch .
    The ram is 2 sticks currently.
    I would like it to be able to play pretty much anything I throw at it as for livetv I like the idea of getting rid of my sky box and running it through the htpc so yes that will happen at some point but probably just downloaded and ripped movies and TV to start with.
     

    kiwijunglist

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    yes it will be fine buy case that has space for addon video card. go without addon at first if problems add hd6450 6570 7750 depending ob budget. i think you will get away with hd4200 if not watching 1080i... just make sure case can take video card if needed. the hd4200 performs better with dual channel ram that's why i asked.[DOUBLEPOST=1376326555][/DOUBLEPOST]whenyou add live tv you will probably need to add video card.[DOUBLEPOST=1376326639][/DOUBLEPOST]ps. if u were buying new on a budget i would tell u to buy amd a6-5400k whichis cheap and very fast onboard video.
     

    SlotcarMAG

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    I do have a geforce 7800 card but it only has dvi which im not a fan of.[DOUBLEPOST=1376327079][/DOUBLEPOST]If I had the finances I'd start from scratch and keep this desktop for all my general PC stuff but currently don't think that's viable.
     

    kiwijunglist

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    antec 2408 is cheapish. my htpc is huge and pricey. just dont buy anything with imon or soundgraph inside it. their remotes are a bitch to get going with mediaportal.
     

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