[omegatek]

My current HTPC has been working like a champ for 8 years.
But I just purchased a 1080P 60" Panasonic Plasma (upgraded from a 720P Samsung) so I'd like to watch some higher quality content than what my current rig can handle.

Most of my viewing has been 720P MKV's

Now I want to:
1) Watch 1080P MKV's
2) Play Netflix in HD
3) Hear HD-Audio *if possible, otherwise DTS and DD is fine


My current build is:
CPU: AMD64 3200+ (don't laugh, it's been super reliable )
Video Card: Nvidia 7800GT (PCI-Xpress)
Sound Card: Auzen X-Mystique 7.1 Gold (via Toslink to A/V Receiver)


Is there any passively cooled video card that I can buy that would fit my needs or would I need to start from scratch?

This setup will eventually go into a spare room, but not until I scrape up the funds to build a new HTPC.

Thanks for any suggestions/advice.

[cwide]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814102933

Don't see why this wouldn't keep you going. Not sure of it's performance over PCI-Express 1.x but it should be fine.

[omegatek]

Thanks!

I'm gonna order that video card and try it out.

[PatrickVogeli]

I'd go for an Nvidia 520 or 610, both are available as passive cooled, should be pretty cheap and are fully supported under linux/openelec, which the AMD are not.

[cwide]

He said Netflix in HD though. Can't do netflix in linux. I was just assuming he was already running Windows since he mentioned Netflix.

[omegatek]

I ended up buying an XFX HD-645X-ZQH2 Radeon HD6450 1024MB Low Profile Ready PCI Express 2.1 x16 Video Card for $40 plus $10 MIR. So $30 aint too bad.

Came home, installed it but no go.

Apparently, XBMC in Windows XP (32bit) does not support Hardware Acceleration.
My CPU was at 100% when trying to run 1080P MKV's
Netflix HD (via ethernet) had tearing issues

Anyone know if I should try to upgrade to Windows 7 to fix my problems?
Or should I just scrap the HD6450 and run an Nvidia 520 or 610 as suggested with linux/openelec instead of windows 7 based on my specs in my sig?

Bear in mind, I have ZERO linux experience.

EDIT: it appears OpenELEC does not support Netflix, so this may not be an option unless I'm missing something

[cwide]

I think with your current setup you will have to compromise somewhere.

Your system will probably not run Windows 7 very well without some improvements. If you bump up your RAM to atleast 2 GB you will probably be ok. Would also run Windows 8 if that was cheaper as 7 and 8 have the same system requirements.

At least your only sunken cost in the future will be upgrading the ram. You can carry your Windows 7/8 license to your next HTPC.

IMO, I would not go with Linux if you have no experience and have generally been happy with Windows so far. No Netflix and I remember things being a bear when I first tried Linux (especially if you are using your HTPC as any kind of server). Lots of guides out there, but you will spend 3x the amount of time getting it setup since you have no experience.

Also check this out: http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=DSP...Installing

I have no experience with it, but it might help... and save money.

[omegatek]

I think with your current setup you will have to compromise somewhere.

Your system will probably not run Windows 7 very well without some improvements. If you bump up your RAM to atleast 2 GB you will probably be ok. Would also run Windows 8 if that was cheaper as 7 and 8 have the same system requirements.

At least your only sunken cost in the future will be upgrading the ram. You can carry your Windows 7/8 license to your next HTPC.

IMO, I would not go with Linux if you have no experience and have generally been happy with Windows so far. No Netflix and I remember things being a bear when I first tried Linux (especially if you are using your HTPC as any kind of server). Lots of guides out there, but you will spend 3x the amount of time getting it setup since you have no experience.

Also check this out: http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=DSP...Installing

I have no experience with it, but it might help... and save money.

Based on your advise, I am going to try the following:

• Install a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate (I work at a University so I received a free upgrade )
  
• Upgrade to 2GB of RAM ($20 on ebay)
  

Total Cost to upgrade everything will end up running me about $0 W7 Ultimate + $20 RAM + $30 HD6450 = $50 Total Much cheaper than building from scratch!

Crossing my fingers this works!

I'll report back with results.