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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Decker" data-source="post: 70250" data-attributes="member: 23908">Thanks for all the responses! It's good to sort of confirm some of my ideas, and also get some input I hadn't thought of. From your input, and the thinking I've been doing, I'm looking at three ways of moving forward. Option 1 - Swap in the 512Mb of DDR and A7V8X-MX mobo from my main desktop (don't laugh) and see if this makes a difference. Ram first, then mobo. This will remove the PC133 ram from the equasion, but not the DX9 issue. Will also jump up from AGP 4x to 8x, but this probably isn't important.Pros: It's free <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />Cons: Memory is easy to swap, but mobo will not be fun, especially if it makes no difference. Will have to buy more DDR for Main desktop to run, and still won't do HD without major work.Option 2 - Upgrade to DX9 graphics card (Looking at Radeon 9550). Cost of ~$60 (au). Could combine with opt1 as well.Pros: Fairly easy on the Budget.Cons: If I upgrade the mobo later, I won't want an AGP card anymore. Also may still not allow me up to HD as CPU/Mobo is bottleneck as well.Option 3 - Upgrade to Asus M2NPV-VM AM2 with integrated NVIDIA GeForce 6150 + nForce 430, 1gb of DDR2 and AMD Sempron 3000+. Cost of $350 (au).Pros: Built in Graphics is DX9 and (from readings) is up to running a HDTV system. Mobo supports lots of CPUs up to dual core so future proofing as much as possible. Integrated Sound so less cards. MicroATX, so more case options.Cons: Budget. Most expensive option, but will be worth it if it will handle HD without breaking a sweat.        Would Option 3 fix everything I need for a full function HD MediaPortal Box? Is the integrated 6150 up to the task? Overclocking the current CPU is out due to cooling. It's already too damn loud <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> I'm obviously leaning towards option 3, and given what gxtracker said about all the components being along the same line, I'm not going to see a significant boost without upgrading all the major components. Plus, the new toy factor <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />Thanks again for all your input on this. It's really helped me to think about the options and the worth of each.</blockquote>

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