I am building a HTPC based on the xw4400 workstation which is 975X motherboard, core 2 duo 1.8 (maybe i'll mod it faster). 2.5GB ddr2-667, Quadro4 NVS 285S 64mb TC (basically a Geforce 7300 turbocache), i also have a Geforce 8600GT OC by MSI which is low power (43 watt no extra connectors needed, pre OC since linux isn't the best OC environment). No hdcp but i don't plan on participating in DRM 
The card has Component and SVGA out which i'll probably use both but SVGA 1920x1080@60hz for the WESTY 42" LCD TV.
Turtle Beach Riviera (cheap old cmedia pci card with toslink out). This card may be archaic but it does output 48khz pcm for the stereo AV receiver and pass-through DD/DTS. I base this information on the MYTHtv forum which probably has the most experience in high def.
1. I know the 8600 series drivers are very weak if not broken in linux now, fine, XBMC for linux is still only about 40% done so i've got time. The key was to not use a higher end 7 series card that requires extra power (460psu on the little HP), the 8600 GT OC pulls 43 watts. I have the Quadro4 (7300 turbocache) to use meanwhile. It appears to be able to do low end graphics video playback on dual monitor but i doubt it has the power to handle the 1920x1080@60hz upsampling i'll be needing.
2. It was Ballz hard to find a sound card that would upsample 48khz toslink out for standard audio AND pass through the toslink DD 5.1/DTS. It seems the older audigy emu10k1 cards could be used in digital out with a cable then run coaxial pcm to the receiver but that isn't an easy card to buy and the newer emu10k2/X-FI have no support really in linux now.
3. Fall back to Vista Ultimate or XP if the project doesn't work out well. I can always use winmount/poweriso along with a nice player that supports the DX10 video acceleration this card has. The 8600 gt has most of the video acceleration i need like h.264 and xvid. This is the format i'll probably use most. I hear it may have VC-1/HD-DVD/BLU-RAY but DRM in vista/xp would probably be why i choose XBMC. I am not interested in playing DRM anything thank you.
4. My xbox1 with xbmc is dying after hours of use per day and this project is to consolidate the XBMC and NAS box into a stable platform. I have installed VMWARE 6 workstation (pita you have to install vmware server, abort, install vmware 6, then uninstall vmware server) since they both don't like to exist at the same time but they both use the same dependencies. I did get XP PRO working, blazing fast in ubuntu. just playing with beryl and other nifty things right now.
I may use the DUAL head ability to use this NAS box perhaps as both a mythTV or home pc and XBMC (kill two birds). I have two 320gb 7200.10 for RAID-0 or Raid-1 from that frys recent deal (free 20 gb). I have 4 300gb and 1 500gb external usb 2.0 drives for storage to not load up the main unit power supply and keep it cooler. This solution (nas only) has worked fine with xbmc.
Goal is replace dying xbox1 which can only handle HR-HDTV 480P source and be able to use a friendly interface to play true h.264 720p/1080i or higher video without alot of DRM troubles and driver issues.
I have legit Vista license and XP licenses to try as an alternate but i'd rather try linux first since it doesn't require all the oem SLP re-activation when you use system restore cd's (OEM + restore cd = activation pita sometimes, esp with heavy changes to the unit). I may go quad core down the line since the the motherboard supports it already.
Any experience or opinions? Kill the old NAS + Xbox1 and upgrade to high definition with the simplicity of XBMC is the goal. Time is not really an issue unless my xbox1 blows up lol.
I really do not want to overclock the box since it comes with 3/3/3 next business day on site support for hardware. Seems that if i need a faster cpu, plop in a quad core and rock out. I do not want to overclock the vid cards since stability is #1 and the msi 8600 GT OC review on HARDOCP shows that it presents extremely low temps under heavy work with 43 watts peak drain.
got about $630 in this solution total (all hardware above) plus a an extra 80gb and that cheapo quadro4 i could use elsewhere.
I'm typing on my poweredge SC420 p4-2.8 which still rocking out with 3gb of ram and XP been stable ever since. I've had a slew of bad luck with whitebox/desktop pc's. they all tended to crap out to intermittent failure frustration after a year or two. This sc420 (knock on wood) is a pillar of stability. That is why i chose a workstation (intel 975X motherboard is what hp uses) to base my next build upon. Good warranty, solid box, solid compatible motherboard. pretty quiet actually.
p.s. i have a imac with Parallels and VMWARE fusion and quite honestly. other than the pretty remote and pretty white slim packaging, i dont use any mac apps other than itunes. I use itunes with frontrow to play music to go to bed. I think i can set up a IR/BT on linux. The rest of the apps i use are Gran Paradiso alpha 3 and XP PRO lol. It really really makes me wonder why a imac is so good other than the pretty box it comes in. with the recent patch that has ruined wifi on my imac i'm starting to get really po'd on the whole osx experience.
The card has Component and SVGA out which i'll probably use both but SVGA 1920x1080@60hz for the WESTY 42" LCD TV.Turtle Beach Riviera (cheap old cmedia pci card with toslink out). This card may be archaic but it does output 48khz pcm for the stereo AV receiver and pass-through DD/DTS. I base this information on the MYTHtv forum which probably has the most experience in high def.
1. I know the 8600 series drivers are very weak if not broken in linux now, fine, XBMC for linux is still only about 40% done so i've got time. The key was to not use a higher end 7 series card that requires extra power (460psu on the little HP), the 8600 GT OC pulls 43 watts. I have the Quadro4 (7300 turbocache) to use meanwhile. It appears to be able to do low end graphics video playback on dual monitor but i doubt it has the power to handle the 1920x1080@60hz upsampling i'll be needing.
2. It was Ballz hard to find a sound card that would upsample 48khz toslink out for standard audio AND pass through the toslink DD 5.1/DTS. It seems the older audigy emu10k1 cards could be used in digital out with a cable then run coaxial pcm to the receiver but that isn't an easy card to buy and the newer emu10k2/X-FI have no support really in linux now.
3. Fall back to Vista Ultimate or XP if the project doesn't work out well. I can always use winmount/poweriso along with a nice player that supports the DX10 video acceleration this card has. The 8600 gt has most of the video acceleration i need like h.264 and xvid. This is the format i'll probably use most. I hear it may have VC-1/HD-DVD/BLU-RAY but DRM in vista/xp would probably be why i choose XBMC. I am not interested in playing DRM anything thank you.
4. My xbox1 with xbmc is dying after hours of use per day and this project is to consolidate the XBMC and NAS box into a stable platform. I have installed VMWARE 6 workstation (pita you have to install vmware server, abort, install vmware 6, then uninstall vmware server) since they both don't like to exist at the same time but they both use the same dependencies. I did get XP PRO working, blazing fast in ubuntu. just playing with beryl and other nifty things right now.
I may use the DUAL head ability to use this NAS box perhaps as both a mythTV or home pc and XBMC (kill two birds). I have two 320gb 7200.10 for RAID-0 or Raid-1 from that frys recent deal (free 20 gb). I have 4 300gb and 1 500gb external usb 2.0 drives for storage to not load up the main unit power supply and keep it cooler. This solution (nas only) has worked fine with xbmc.
Goal is replace dying xbox1 which can only handle HR-HDTV 480P source and be able to use a friendly interface to play true h.264 720p/1080i or higher video without alot of DRM troubles and driver issues.
I have legit Vista license and XP licenses to try as an alternate but i'd rather try linux first since it doesn't require all the oem SLP re-activation when you use system restore cd's (OEM + restore cd = activation pita sometimes, esp with heavy changes to the unit). I may go quad core down the line since the the motherboard supports it already.
Any experience or opinions? Kill the old NAS + Xbox1 and upgrade to high definition with the simplicity of XBMC is the goal. Time is not really an issue unless my xbox1 blows up lol.
I really do not want to overclock the box since it comes with 3/3/3 next business day on site support for hardware. Seems that if i need a faster cpu, plop in a quad core and rock out. I do not want to overclock the vid cards since stability is #1 and the msi 8600 GT OC review on HARDOCP shows that it presents extremely low temps under heavy work with 43 watts peak drain.
got about $630 in this solution total (all hardware above) plus a an extra 80gb and that cheapo quadro4 i could use elsewhere.
I'm typing on my poweredge SC420 p4-2.8 which still rocking out with 3gb of ram and XP been stable ever since. I've had a slew of bad luck with whitebox/desktop pc's. they all tended to crap out to intermittent failure frustration after a year or two. This sc420 (knock on wood) is a pillar of stability. That is why i chose a workstation (intel 975X motherboard is what hp uses) to base my next build upon. Good warranty, solid box, solid compatible motherboard. pretty quiet actually.
p.s. i have a imac with Parallels and VMWARE fusion and quite honestly. other than the pretty remote and pretty white slim packaging, i dont use any mac apps other than itunes. I use itunes with frontrow to play music to go to bed. I think i can set up a IR/BT on linux. The rest of the apps i use are Gran Paradiso alpha 3 and XP PRO lol. It really really makes me wonder why a imac is so good other than the pretty box it comes in. with the recent patch that has ruined wifi on my imac i'm starting to get really po'd on the whole osx experience.
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