Finding half height stuff for a HTPC

[Swanny]

Hello all,

I'm thinking about building a HTPC. The problem is that the case I want to use can only take half height expansion cards.

Where is a good place to find half height cards? Can someone make some suggestions for a video card with TV out and a 5.1 channel sound card?




Thanks,
Swan

 

[MDE]

For a 5.1 channel sound, I'd consider just getting something based on the nForce2 chipset and using that sound, it's not bad at all. Will the system be used for gaming or purely as a HTPC?

 

[Swanny]

Originally posted by: MDE
For a 5.1 channel sound, I'd consider just getting something based on the nForce2 chipset and using that sound, it's not bad at all. Will the system be used for gaming or purely as a HTPC?

It will be purely a HTPC. The reason I need a sound card is that I already have the mobo and CPU I want to use. It's a Via C3 and the motherboard isn't very full featured.

 

[InlineFive]

Originally posted by: Swanny

Originally posted by: MDE
For a 5.1 channel sound, I'd consider just getting something based on the nForce2 chipset and using that sound, it's not bad at all. Will the system be used for gaming or purely as a HTPC?

It will be purely a HTPC. The reason I need a sound card is that I already have the mobo and CPU I want to use. It's a Via C3 and the motherboard isn't very full featured.

That's not a very good system to encode video on. 🙁 You'll probably find yourself really suffering unless you buy a hardware encoder.

-Por

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Ditch that C3 right now unless you plan to use it for playback-only. The total lack of FPU performance makes those chips worthless for video encoding.

Go with the suggested nForce2 barebones - you'll get the 5.1 and the TV-out all onboard.

- M4H