- Oct 21, 2001
- 2,058
- 1
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I suppose my question might belong in SFF, Video, AV&HT so I'll start in the General area since it is basically a question about all of the above.
I want to update my first ever "htpc" (I'll made it lower case since it's not actually a full blown HTPC
). I only use it now to offload content from my DVR box and I don't watch any movies with it - just burn DVDs so I can play them back on my stand alone player but I would like to have something that's more of an all-in-one HTPC.
What I have:
MSI uATX, S754-Venice 3200, 1.5g ram, SBlaster 5.1, 2-DVDRWs, Happauge PVR-250 and my choice of on board Unichrome or AGP nVidia FX5200 or 6600GT (loud) card, and my Sony 42" 1080i.
What I want to do is lighten the bloat by getting away from Windows and using a Linux distro. So far I've tried Mythbuntu and LinuxMCE on my Dell 20. I like the layout and features of both but being a noob with Lunix I'm on a steep learning curve and haven't gotten enough bugs worked out to use either one for watching TV
My questions are as follows:
[1] I'm out of HDMI ports on the TV so unless I get an HDMI splitter box I'll need to stay with component inputs. Will the D-SUB with a component pigtail be acceptable for my 42" screen? [/list]
[2] Should I go with the 5200 nVidia card or stick with the Unichrome? From what I have read, Linux HTPC does better with nVidia. [/list]
[3] Should I look for a better video card? Several sites say a basic video card, preferably nVidia, would be okay. I would prefer not to dump any more money in to a double dead end board. [/list]
[4]I'm not fond of the S754 chip but it handles the hardware in XP fine- just a little slower than I like. Thanks to the PVR-250 the 3200 Venice does well, but do I need more for Mythbuntu or LinuxMCE? This would naturally require a new board, chip and memory. If I have enough hardware to run the PVR-250 under Myth I would prefer to leave it alone.[/list]
I'm okay on sound. I run the out on my Soundbaster to my Audio cabinet so nothing special is needed at this time.
Thanks for taking a look and for any helpful advice!
I want to update my first ever "htpc" (I'll made it lower case since it's not actually a full blown HTPC
What I have:
MSI uATX, S754-Venice 3200, 1.5g ram, SBlaster 5.1, 2-DVDRWs, Happauge PVR-250 and my choice of on board Unichrome or AGP nVidia FX5200 or 6600GT (loud) card, and my Sony 42" 1080i.
What I want to do is lighten the bloat by getting away from Windows and using a Linux distro. So far I've tried Mythbuntu and LinuxMCE on my Dell 20. I like the layout and features of both but being a noob with Lunix I'm on a steep learning curve and haven't gotten enough bugs worked out to use either one for watching TV
My questions are as follows:
[1] I'm out of HDMI ports on the TV so unless I get an HDMI splitter box I'll need to stay with component inputs. Will the D-SUB with a component pigtail be acceptable for my 42" screen? [/list]
[2] Should I go with the 5200 nVidia card or stick with the Unichrome? From what I have read, Linux HTPC does better with nVidia. [/list]
[3] Should I look for a better video card? Several sites say a basic video card, preferably nVidia, would be okay. I would prefer not to dump any more money in to a double dead end board. [/list]
[4]I'm not fond of the S754 chip but it handles the hardware in XP fine- just a little slower than I like. Thanks to the PVR-250 the 3200 Venice does well, but do I need more for Mythbuntu or LinuxMCE? This would naturally require a new board, chip and memory. If I have enough hardware to run the PVR-250 under Myth I would prefer to leave it alone.[/list]
I'm okay on sound. I run the out on my Soundbaster to my Audio cabinet so nothing special is needed at this time.
Thanks for taking a look and for any helpful advice!