HTPC advice using older parts

[blues008]

Planning to put together a HTPC system to save space. I have a few old parts from my current CPU that I'd like to use in order to save money.

Can I put together a system with:

AMD XP 1800+
512 mb PC2700 DDR Ram
120G Western Digital (8mb buffer)
ATI 8500 AIW

I still need to purchase either a Shuttle or get a nice case (Ahanix) with motherboard.

Any suggestions on motherboard or Shuttle? Should I use AMD for a HTPC for movies, TV, mp3, and the occasional games, or would Intel be best?

Should I also purchase a Hauppauge 250MCE or will the AIW suffice?

I'll be connecting this to a Viewsonic LCD.

Thanks!

 

[Todd33]

You can get away with a slow processor if you are not doing HD or running a bunch of filters in ffshow. Get the WinTV 250, hardware mpeg hides a slow processor.

 

[zinkpig]

depends on what you ll be doing on your htpc ..if its routine PVR stuff with a hardware encoder then people have gotten away with using p3s, amd durons and even the via c3 processor. If you want to do div x encoding simulataneously, into gaming or are capturing from a software encoding card ( bt878 etc) then get the best you can afford. for your choice of case and mother board go to htpcnews.com( http://www.htpcnews.com/main.php?id=guides )they have a ton of info in there. In general people feel that the newer hyperthreading P4s are better for video processing than comparable AMDs.

 

[weeber]

As others have noted above, it depends on what you'll be using your system for. I just built an HTPC out of an old T-bird 900MHz and 256megs of PC100 memory I had lying around. I slapped a Haupauge PVR 250 in there and it works great. Of course I only use it for basic PVR, video watching, and music playing. My main rig is for game playing and the such. I would highly recommend getting the PVR250 though because it allows you to record and watch video at the same time. With the AIW, you need an awfully strong processor to do this.