Want to turn my Shuttle SB83G5 into a HTPC

DJ-phYre

Golden Member
Dec 27, 2004
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I used it as a main desktop and I upgraded to a A64 X2 setup a while back... this has just been in a closet collecting dust...

I parted out the parts so I need a new CPU/Vid Card/Memory for it...

Can someone suggest a value CPU and RAM for just regular HTPC use? And also need a good video card. I will be watching HD Video (that I download), but not recording HD...
 

herm0016

Diamond Member
Feb 26, 2005
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what socket is it? this would be the most important information for us to help you out.
 

DJ-phYre

Golden Member
Dec 27, 2004
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Originally posted by: herm0016
what socket is it? this would be the most important information for us to help you out.

LGA775... Supports Celeron Ds and Pentium 4s... I was running a 2.8 P4 in it earlier
 

dbuchmann

Junior Member
Feb 7, 2007
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If all you're planning on using it for is watching movies I would suggest:

Celeron D 3.06GHz

You shouldn't need anything more powerful than that. And while it does use the NetBurst Architecture it's the newer 65nm manufacturing process so it'll run cooler than older Celerons.

Crucial 1GB DDR 400

Yes, you might get better memory performance with a 2x512MB setup but you only have two memory slots and that would make upgrading later more expensive. Everyone has their own preferences for memory but I've never had a problem with Crucial.

EVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB

Middle of the road card that should handle movies and more if you ever decide to do anything more, the price is good for the performance.

I would also recommend these: ZALMAN ZM-RHS1 VGA RAM Heatsink

The 7600GT I listed doesn't have heatspreaders on the actual RAM and these do help keep it cool (they will make an even bigger impact if you don't OC the card, which you shouldn't need to).

I wasn't sure of your budget so I picked components that should meet/exceed anything you'll need for what you said you wanted to use the rig for. PM me or reply here (I'll subscribe to this topic) if you have any more questions or want to get the costs down a little more (also if you've budgeted more for this let me know as there are a couple of things that could be changed to give you a better system overall).

Hope I've helped,


-David-