Convert old pc into media center

fallbayuk

fallbayuk

fallbayuk

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7 Nov 2003
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Recently my old pc died which I'm in the process of replacing. I'm pretty sure the motherboard (Asus P4C800) gave up but haven't been able to test.

Basically I'm pondering using what's left (basically the ATX case and PSU) and turning it into some sort of media center hooked up to my TV. The graphics card (Radeon 9800 Pro) wont even cut it with HD content on Youtube so I'd definitely need to replace that, plus obviously the dead motherboard and CPU (P4 2.8) need to go as well. Memory wise it's got 1GB of Crucial DDR400 (PC3200), not sure what I'd need with regards to that.

Can anyone advise what hardware I'd need to be able to do this and how much it'd likely cost? TIA :)
 
you can get a cheap nvidia card that has VDPAU support and use something like mythtv or xbmc, i can play 1080p video with barely any load on my Pentium M 2Ghz.
 
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i would go for one of the ATOM 330 ION motherboards, they should do HD content, have audio and hdmi outputs, etc

they cost around about 100-150 which is basically most of the system, just need ram, they are usually either DDR2 or DDR3, so unlikly be able to find one to reuse your ram either.

then as deadite says, go for mythtv, something like mythbuntu would be good.
doesn't use a lot of space, doesn't need a lot of ram and runs pretty well on slower pcs as well.

1gb should be enough, althou 2gb would be better. But you can always get 1gb first then upgrade later if you need to.

if you cant really afford that, then a cheap nvidia based card with the rest of your system could work.

something like
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-217-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1010

the 210 is abit cheaper, but has limited HD support, althou it should still work in most cases
 
buildv.png
 
People may argue with me on this one. But media pc's are more of a pain then they are worth... The best thing to do is sell what you have left, and put the money to a ps3.. Blueray, media streaming, the browser has flash!! All for alittle over 200 notes.. Just dont use it for games...lol
 
i use a ps3 but to be honest if i have a movie or tv show to watch i bang it on a usb stick to move around the house if others want to watch anything.
 
If you're giving up on the idea of using your old PC then check out the nettops that are sporting ION chips. Check this little think out. Obviously its not available until June as the link suggests but damn is that sweet. XBMC running on that would rock & its completely silent. Not like a PS3 or 360 that sounds like someone is hoovering right under your TV the whole time your watching it.

Edit: Any ION nettop would do. I just like the sleek look of that one.
 
I managed to get a nice cheap 4670 graphics card. And using FFDshow I can play back all HD content on a single core AMD Opteron, with 2gb RAM. :)

So you don't need to pay for the earth, Just make sure you have a HD graphics card in whatever system you decide on.
 
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