Old Hardware
#1
Hello, First time board poster here so please go easy on me. I have been running through here awhile and decided it was time to set up a htpc. I am attempting to re-purpose an older computer that was not being used and I was hoping some of you might be able to tell me if its worth it, or maybe I should just spend the money on a new system? The system has a athlon 64 3000+ processor 1 gig RAM and a 128MD geforce 6800 videocard, I have xbmc running and have played around for a bit seems to run 720p content with no issues once I try any 1080p of course I get slowdown. CPU reading at 100% use but says I have memory available still is this system useless because of the older processor or can I force the videocard to do the processing? I would love to get some ideas or opinions on possible upgrades?
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#2
First of all- that video card is useless for XBMC. I mean, it will display the interface, but it won't do any of the decoding. At the minimum you need to invest in a new GPU.

Is this a PCI express based system or a AGP based system?

If its a PCI Express based system all it needs is a Nvidia GT210 card and its ready for full 1080p in XBMC Live:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814121348

If its a AGP based system, then its only hope is a 8400 GS PCI card (as AGP is useless in 2010). This will play 1080p video in XBMC Live, you just lose HD audio:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814134073

If you aren't comfortable using XBMC Live (aka Linux) and you really want a Windows system, then it is probably better just to spend the money on a new system as I am sure that thing didn't come with Windows 7, and all Windows below Windows 7 are useless for XBMC.

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#3
Ok, thanks for the fast answer. Of course with that comes more questions. The board is PCI express but the card you suggested is PCI express 2.0 and my board is 1.0 will it still work? Also I would of course prefer windows version of xbmc and windows 7 is an option in that case would 4gig of RAM be enough?
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#4
mdonnelly86 Wrote:Ok, thanks for the fast answer. Of course with that comes more questions. The board is PCI express but the card you suggested is PCI express 2.0 and my board is 1.0 will it still work?

PCIe 2.0 is backwards compatible with PCIe 1.0:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCI_Express...xpress_2.0

Quote: Also I would of course prefer windows version of xbmc

I didn't want to assume. I much prefer the Linux version to be able to use XBMC on weaker hardware without paying license fees.

Quote:and windows 7 is an option in that case would 4gig of RAM be enough?

Honestly 2GB of RAM is enough for Windows 7.

If the computer supports sata, spend the difference in price between 2GB RAM and 4GB RAM on a SSD. For any system a SSD as the OS drive provides a huge performance boost, bigger than almost anything else.

Keep asking questions, as I love to help....

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#5
OK great thanks again, looks like Ill be upgrading to a SSD, a new Videocard and some more RAM. Final question, not sure if this is stuipd or not but as far as sound is concerned. Can the videocard output sound or will I also need a sound card?
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#6
Not a stupid question, none of your questions are.

The videocard outputs sound via HDMI. I recommend this SSD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820227393


I have two. They are excellent.

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#7
I'll just continue this thread because I'm starting a new HTPC and the hardware it's like our friend that started this one. But I still have some questions. My CPU is an Athlon 64 3200+ (socket 939), motherboard DFI NF4 Ultra-D (which has the chipset nforce4), PCI express x16 Nvidia Geforce 6200 128MB, 3GB RAM dual channel DDR 200mhz, Sound Blaster Audigy ex (the one that has that external device), besides that the motherboard has a Karajan 7.1ch audio with SPDIF in/out.

I'm currently running XBMC Live straight from one USB stick with 4GB, and it's fast. The stick still has a lot of free space on it, and I store all my media on external and internal hard drives, so would I need a SSD just to XBMC live? Of course if I need to install Windows 7 I'd need to buy one (just in case, maybe I turn this HTPC in a server to download stuff also).

I know I need to change my display adapter, Geforce GT210 it's the best and cheapest option to run 1080 right? If I buy this one, then the Audigy would be useless right? Because all the vids I have are 720/1080 with AC3, DD and DTS, of course some stereo too. Thanks for any answer that helps.
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#8
robest Wrote:I'll just continue this thread because I'm starting a new HTPC and the hardware it's like our friend that started this one. But I still have some questions. My CPU is an Athlon 64 3200+ (socket 939), motherboard DFI NF4 Ultra-D (which has the chipset nforce4), PCI express x16 Nvidia Geforce 6200 128MB, 3GB RAM dual channel DDR 200mhz, Sound Blaster Audigy ex (the one that has that external device), besides that the motherboard has a Karajan 7.1ch audio with SPDIF in/out.

I'm currently running XBMC Live straight from one USB stick with 4GB, and it's fast. The stick still has a lot of free space on it, and I store all my media on external and internal hard drives, so would I need a SSD just to XBMC live? Of course if I need to install Windows 7 I'd need to buy one (just in case, maybe I turn this HTPC in a server to download stuff also).

I know I need to change my display adapter, Geforce GT210 it's the best and cheapest option to run 1080 right? If I buy this one, then the Audigy would be useless right? Because all the vids I have are 720/1080 with AC3, DD and DTS, of course some stereo too. Thanks for any answer that helps.

You got it figured out. Buy the GT210, use it for sound, stick with the USB stick if you want to.

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