Does this sounds like a good HTPC system? (2 Viewers)

[FlipGer]

Hi,

A 8.1 GPU will work with MP! But the CPU will have more work to do.

VMR9 with DX8.1 GPU?

Sure. I have an Radeon 8500 (DX8.1) which works flawless with VMR9. But there are DX8.1 boards out there, that have very bad VMR9 support (especially onBoard. eg. SiS UniChrome :evil: ).

Flip.

 

[onkl]

A 8.1 GPU will work with MP! But the CPU will have more work to do.

VMR9 with DX8.1 GPU?

https://www.team-mediaportal.com/news/global/vmr_7_renderer_removed.html

Yes, in itself no problem. A directX 9 card contains hardware able to handle DX9 instructions.
A DX8 card does not contain that hardware, but DirectX is just an instruction set, which every CPU can handle. So even a system with a non-directX card can -in theory-support DX9 apps.

Point is, your CPU can handle the directX of this version of Mediaportal and Windows XP, but can it handle MP 0.3 or the mythical 1.0? And will it like MS Vista?

Would I own the hardware you described, I'd keep it and be happy, since it is not outdated right now, but no, I wouldn't buy it, since it will be outdated pretty soon and upgrade options are minimal in barebones.

 

[sri]

Hi!

You might want to consider an AMD64 CPU, they run a bit cooler than Intel (thus less noise , are a bit cheaper and have great performance. I have a 3000+ and i'm really happy with it.

My case is a Antec Overture 2, sad to say that the PSU in it is really loud, though i am quite certain that it is malfunctioning since more people have had this problem with the case. Otherwise i absolutely love the case itself. Lot's of room and nice to look at.

Hope this helps.. =)

 

[sirdandric]

Hmm, another option might be the shuttle ST61G4. Since it also seems silent , is not too expensive and it has an AGP slot. Probably best to take a video card which is passively cooled, for less noice... (any suggestions?, not too expensive please)

And yes, i kinda like barebones, i like the smaller size and the fact that i don't have to look for a seperate case, motherboar, better fans, etc. And they are not that expensive (well, the (little) older models).

 

[infinite.loop]

And yes, i kinda like barebones, i like the smaller size and the fact that i don't have to look for a seperate case, motherboar, better fans, etc. And they are not that expensive (well, the (little) older models).

i like barebones too, but you wont like the noise.
if you add a VideoCard (what you have too) it will make the HTPC louder. even if its passive cooled. the VideoCard will emit heat therefor the system fan will have to speed up to get the heat out of the case -> more noise.

buying all parts seperatly is the better option. it will cost more but you get the better noiseless HTPC solution. and you can use a mainboard that has more than 1PCi and one 1AGP /PCI-e -> upgradeable!

The first HTPC i had in the livingroom was a shuttle SK43G. you will never get it realy quite because you cant use big noiseless fans to get the heat out of the small case. i have allready learned this expensive lesson.

 

[sirdandric]

Maybe you are right.... ;-)

The Silverstone LC11 case looks nice....
Any comments about this case? And suggestions for motherboard and (onboard) graphics card? Is AMD better to go for (lower heat?) then intel?

And remind that i'm looking for a not too expensive solution!

Thanks already for all comments on my first post!

 

[infinite.loop]

I have used the LC11 silver one time for a HTPC i have set up for a friend.
it is a nice, case but there are flaws.

1. you need to use the riser card -> 2x PCI and 1xAGP.
2. build in Power supply (have a look at the images on the website.)

a few weeks ago i have used the LC16M for an other friend. the case is big, but:

x you can use ordinary ATX power supplys (best one with a big fan -> nearly noiseless)
x you can add as much Cards as slots are on your mainboard
x you can use the display that comes with the case
x you can add a big low noise system fan.

For the system itself i suggest a AMD Athlon64 CPU and a nforce4 board.
if you are going to use the s-video out i wouldnt use onboard grafics. i have never seen one with a good TV-out.

do not buy something because its cheap, you may regret it when you switch it on the first time.
Better invest more money into quality and flexibility one time, to avoid headaches.

 

[sirdandric]

First i won't need much pci/agp slots...
What's wrong with the power supply? only 240W, i don't really think that should be a problem...

I guess the LC16M is also good, and probably even better. But it IS more expensive and bigger.

Already looked into the LC11 and came up with the following configuration:
Silverstone LC11
MSI K8NGM2-FID
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice
2x512MB PC3200 DDR (Corsair VS1GBKIT400)
(and add dvd-burner, tv-card and harddisk of course)

But you wouldn't recommend using onboard graphics?

Thanks for all the advice i already got... :-D

 

[infinite.loop]

First i won't need much pci/agp slots...
What's wrong with the power supply? only 240W,

if the powersupply is dead, you cant easily buy a new one. and the fan is loud.

MSI K8NGM2-FID

i think there is a list of supported mainboards at the silverstone website, larger mainboards wont fit int it.

But you wouldn't recommend using onboard graphics?

if you are going to use the TV-out, no
tv-out of onboard graphics have a poor quality in the most cases

 

[sri]

If you're planning on using the HTPC on a tv i would recommend an ATI-card. Then you can solder a VGA-to-scartRGB cable and get an awesome picture out from the ATI card. I think only ATI (maybe Matrox, definately not NVidia) support this because ATI has hsync and vsync on the same pin (at least i think that was the difference).

I use this configuration myself and using this i have no problems reading text and stuff on the tv in windows etc, like icons and such.. I could never do that (not this good at least) using SVideo or Component outputs.

It's not good merely for reading text but the picture while watching movies is awesome. When looking on a HDTV-rip, the picture is sometimes better than my stationary dvd. Haven't watched a DVD through MP though because i have no dvd in my HTPC..