[phistyle]

Hi, I'm new here and I've recently built a new pc and have a spare pc lying around and thinking of trying xbmc on it. I've been using xbmc on xbox for several years now and I think it's awesome but it's starting to show it's age with stuttering hd content.

My spare pc spec:

Pentium 4 2.4ghz
1 gb ddr ram
seagate 250gb hard drive
ATI All-in-Wonder x800xt

so what would u guys suggestions be?

install ubuntu, windows xp, vista, use xbmc live? or should I just install xbox media center? I want to be able to record television shows also ...my ati card has a tuner and has that function and I also have an ATI remote that came with it ...would it work with xbmc?

sorry for all the questions...I'm just new to xbmc on another platform besides the xbox...

[SneakerElph]

That setup should be sufficient for playing 720p content, though it might struggle with 1080p, especially in the high bitrates.

if you're running Linux, you might do well with a replacement video card. Just to nvidia, something in the 6 series or higher.

For higher bitrate stuff and 1080p you're going to want to pop in a newer processor too. RAM isn't as much of an issue, but if you're still looking to eek cheap performace it never hurts to upgrade.

[phistyle]

well to be honest I'm not looking to really upgrade anything with this system. It's just a spare pc and I just wanted to try xbmc on it and mess around with it a little bit. I just want to get the best performance possible out of this system and wondered which would be better to go with whether its using linux or windows with xbmc or xbox live...

[Peter_T]

I think a clean install of either XP or Ububtu would work... Ubuntu would probably be preferable if you're half-way OK with Linux. The XBMC-Only distro runs on Ubuntu anyhow, but I've never tried that one out.