Your Very First HTPC? But Where do You Start?

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what benefits do I get when installing a seperate soundcard? or is onboard sound always enough?

For GPUs with HDMI out, that takes care of the sound...

poofyhairguy Wrote:For GPUs with HDMI out, that takes care of the sound...

Thanks for the reply!

I've read that ATI graphic cards have advanced audio capabilities compared to the nvidia gpus. So when going with a nvidia gpu there is also absolutely no benefit in adding a i.e. Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD to the system? I'm confused

bylokk Wrote:I've read that ATI graphic cards have advanced audio capabilities compared to the nvidia gpus.

That was the case until the Nvidia GT4xx series. With XBMC, any GT2xx card can do everything XBMC can do.

Quote: So when going with a nvidia gpu there is also absolutely no benefit in adding a i.e. Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater HD to the system? I'm confused

No there isn't if you use HDMI audio to your receiver, it just passes along that audio stream untouched.

An Auzen X-Fi HomeTheater was a stopgap before most GPUs had full HDMI support. Something like a Asus Xonar helps if you are messing with analog audio- aka recording stuff or your receiver lacks HDMI ports.

Thanks a lot!
This information is incredibly useful for a person like me who had almost no idea about PC components.

I just have one question. How flexible are these setups with future upgrades (with GPU, CPU)? I am imagining a situation, maybe 2~3 years down the road, substituting with a GPU/CPU in a similar price range ($50~$70)

tigris Wrote:Thanks a lot!
This information is incredibly useful for a person like me who had almost no idea about PC components.

I just have one question. How flexible are these setups with future upgrades (with GPU, CPU)? I am imagining a situation, maybe 2~3 years down the road, substituting with a GPU/CPU in a similar price range ($50~$70)

FWIW, I'm running XBMC on a Pentium 4 that's roughly 14 years old, and a few year old 8400gs video card and it runs great. You don't need the latest and greatest like you might have been lead (unless you need a newer setup to do 3D now).

With that said, any of the setups that have a PCIe x16 slot will be able to run the latest video cards well into the future.

Fantastic post, personally have a atv now, and hitting its limitations with my new 46inch 3D 1080P tv.

Unfortunately, for us australian here, those prices/parts are hard to find.

So would anyone here could give there opinion on:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=15357

My requirements are:

1. silent (passive cooling)
2. 1080P
3. wifi-n reason being is that streaming 1080P movies through wifi-n is bad, but transfering them on to the htpc is fine
4. SSD or large HDD
5. mini-itx case
6. XBMClive or openelec.tv(when its stable)

Also what do people think in regards to front mini LCD/remote (imon?) on the case - would i be able to get something out of that, or is that useless?

Any recommendation would be welcome!

Ilia, since your in australia,
this will help you do your shopping --> http://www.shopbot.com.au/

Superorb Wrote:FWIW, I'm running XBMC on a Pentium 4 that's roughly 14 years old, and a few year old 8400gs video card and it runs great. You don't need the latest and greatest like you might have been lead (unless you need a newer setup to do 3D now).

With that said, any of the setups that have a PCIe x16 slot will be able to run the latest video cards well into the future.

Thanks for the info! I was thinking of running some games on it.