[crocobar]

Hi!

I have just learned about XBMC, tried it out and loved it, and now trying to build a test setup using an older desktop that I have running in the closet on the balcony.

I am trying to understand what I can get out of it given that it is not worth spending too much on upgrades (but I am considering a better GPU).

It's Athlon XP, 1150MHz with GeForce 5200, more specs are below. As I understand, it won't do full HD 1080p, will it? In that case, what looks better, 1080i or 720p?

I thought of getting a better GPU but I am limited by the absense of the PCI_E slot, AGP only. I can get GeForce 7-series but will it be much better? I will be able to get HD technically but will it be able to actually play HD content?

My general question is what could be done with such a setup without major upgrades?

Thanks a lot!

Motherboard:
product: nVidia-nForce2
vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.

CPU:
vendor_id : AuthenticAMD
cpu family : 6
model : 10
model name : AMD Athlon™
cpu MHz : 1150.000
cache size : 512 KB

System Memory:
size: 1280MiB
clock: 1110MHz (0.9ns)

GPU:
product: NV34 [GeForce FX 5200]
vendor: nVidia Corporation
version: a1
width: 32 bits
clock: 66MHz
capabilities: pm agp agp-3.0 bus_master cap_list rom

[wunderdrug]

A 7-series will not buy you much, if anything at all, over a 5200.
Get a PCI 8400 (note PCI, not PCIe -- and also note that this card
does not come in AGP)... this is probably your best choice. It will
support decoding of x264 for 720p/1080p content. It will not help
with SD content such as DIVX and MPEG, but your CPU should
be fast enough to decode these by itself.

[crocobar]

Thanks a lot! I did not realize that those cards existed in "regular" PCI.