I have just completed (more or less) my first HTPC project... a micro-atx box, mobo with built in ATI graphics processor, and a 3x Phenom CPU. The computer seems fine, but I can't connect it to my ancient 32" Sanyo CRT TV
The mobo is a GIGABYTE MA78GM-S2H with a built-in ATI Radeon HD 3200. It has VGA, DVI-d and HDMI outputs. My TV has SCART (including RGB) and s-video inputs.
I used to have a mac mini, and it was connected to the TV via a DVI->s-video adapter. The plan now was to use the same adapter in Windows XP, thinking that DVI is always DVI... but it doesn't work. This converter is Macified somehow. Now, I have a few options. Please help me choose one of them...
Now what would you do in my situation? I have more or less ruled out options 1 and 2 for now, and I am reluctantly leaning towards option 4. Do you have any recommendations there? It would mean that the built-in ATI circuits become completely unutilised, wouldn't it? If that's the case then I must make sure that the graphics card is competent enough to handle all kind of HD video decoding, so I guess I might not be able to go for the cheapest one, or can I?
Please... help!
The mobo is a GIGABYTE MA78GM-S2H with a built-in ATI Radeon HD 3200. It has VGA, DVI-d and HDMI outputs. My TV has SCART (including RGB) and s-video inputs.
I used to have a mac mini, and it was connected to the TV via a DVI->s-video adapter. The plan now was to use the same adapter in Windows XP, thinking that DVI is always DVI... but it doesn't work. This converter is Macified somehow. Now, I have a few options. Please help me choose one of them...
- The most obvious solution is to buy a non-ancient TV with HD capability and HDMI. After all, that's why I replaced the old mac mini with a new computer... to be able to play HD content. Believe me, I will... but not right now. It's hard to convince my other half why I should throw out a fully functional 32" TV just to get a sharper picture. I'm still working on it but I don't see a solution just yet
- Use a VGA to SCART (RGB) cable and Powerstrip. This should be possible. I have the cable and I have done some experiments with Powerstrip... but with no success. It is very difficult to get this working, and even when it does, it will not be straight forward to switch between display modes. It might be possible to get it working, but from what I understand it will never be nice.
- Buy a new VGA to s-video converter (something that is a bit more general than the Apple thingy). This would probably work, but I just realised that it may actually cost more than number 4...
- Buy a cheap (fanless?) ATI graphics card with s-vido output. This might be the logical thing to do, but I hesitate... I bought that specific mobo with built-in GPU so that I could avoid a dedicated graphics card, with the extra heat it generates.
Now what would you do in my situation? I have more or less ruled out options 1 and 2 for now, and I am reluctantly leaning towards option 4. Do you have any recommendations there? It would mean that the built-in ATI circuits become completely unutilised, wouldn't it? If that's the case then I must make sure that the graphics card is competent enough to handle all kind of HD video decoding, so I guess I might not be able to go for the cheapest one, or can I?
Please... help!