Converting old pc to HTPC

Mike0124 · 23 Jan 2009 at 21:19

Hi everyone. I was wondering, i have an old AMD 3000+, AGP etc pc and are shortly gonna come to you guys for advice on a new i7 build as it's past upgrading. Thing is it's still a great pc, does everything flawlessly and it's a shame to chuck it out.
My question is seeing as my hifi has packed up, rather than get a new one would i be able to throw the guts from said pc into an HTPC box and use it as such and has anyone done something similar.

Many thanks guys

jak731 · 23 Jan 2009 at 21:21

what media type? SD/HD etc

can u post a more detailed spec?

Mike0124 · 23 Jan 2009 at 21:48

OK

CPU AMD Athlon 1833 Mhz 3000+
Mobo ABIT AV8 VIA K8T800 pro
GPU nvidia 7800gs
Ram 2gig PC3200 DDR SDRAM
Sound:Creative Audology 2 ZS
OS: Windows XP home
HDD: Seagate Barracuda Serial ATA
Optical: Nec ND 3520 16x Dual lyer DVD recorder

Cheers

jak731 · 23 Jan 2009 at 21:53

if using for SD media, just using s-video or composite should be fine, you shouldnt have to change anything. if HD, you may want an ati 2,3 or 4 series card to help with HD decoding

Mike0124 · 23 Jan 2009 at 22:02

Cheers jak. Yeah i wont bother with HD at the mo. Is there a case that could accommodate yhe components

jak731 · 23 Jan 2009 at 22:06

why not leave it in its current case or if you must get a new case for it, post some requirements up like colour, dimentions, cost etc

Mike0124 · 23 Jan 2009 at 22:11

The reason for a new case is it's an Alienware Aurora machine and as such is huge and frankly an eyesore