Here’s a dilemma that I was hoping to get some forum input on. I’m kicking around the idea of building an HTPC from one of my two desktop systems and I like to do things as inexpensive as possible while still being capable to complete the tasks at hand. As with any HTPC, the goal is a silent system that stays cool with a lot of HDD space and enough muscle to get the job done. Here are the parts that matter for this discussion:
Desktop #1
ASUS P5B-Deluxe WiFi/AP (P965)
Intel E6300 @ 2.33GHz
2x1GB Patriot DDR2-667 CL4
Gigabyte GeForce 7600GT Silent Pipe II (PCIe)
Enermax Liberty 500W
2x160GB Seagate 7200.7 (RAID0), 320GB Seagate 7200.10
Windows Vista Premium
PROS: Fanless video card, fanless motherboard, optical & coaxial S/PDIF, quiet modular PSU, Windows Media Center included with Vista, built in WiFi, video card has composite/component/s-video/DVI hookups, easily handles 1080i HD content, onboard firewire, three temperature controlled fan headers
CONS: Motherboard heat-pipes may not cool effectively in horizontal position, I would have to get used to a slower computer (#2)
Desktop #2
EPOX EP-9NDA3J+ (Nforce 3 Ultra)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz (s939)
2x512MB Corsair DDR-400 CL2.5
BFG GeForce 6800GT OC (AGP)
Antec TruePower 430W
30GB Seagate 7200.5, 40GB WD Caviar
Windows XP Home SP2
PROS: Out-dated but still capable, coaxial S/PDIF, would let me keep #1 as a desktop
CONS: Noisy NB fan, noisy VGA fan, no optical out, no firewire, slightly noisy PSU, one fan header - not controlled, video card has s-video/DVI only, no media center software, less RAM, only two SATA150 ports but has small IDE drives at the moment, is it fast enough for HD content??
As you can tell, #1 has more PROS and #2 has more CONS so the choice should be an easy one. My dilemma stems from #1 is my main system, and is by far the more powerful and I don’t want to give it up. I like having a quick and relatively current system. The only game I play is Titan Quest, and I'm sure #2 can handle that game as well as any of my usual tasks. When I originally built system #1, I kept in mind that I would like to recycle it someday as an HTPC when the time came to replace it. Well, I’m not ready to build a bigger, better system yet, but I am ready for an HTPC. I would prefer to transform #2 into the HTPC so I can still enjoy #1 as a desktop.
In order to get #2 up to snuff, I would have to:
- buy silent NB cooler ($5-$20)
- buy silent VGA cooler ($25)
- give up PCI slot for a firewire card with front panel hookups ($10)
- give up PCI slot for a WiFi card
- either buy a silent PSU or replace the fans in the current PSU ($75)
- buy another 1GB RAM, if necessary ($60)
- buy either Vista Premium, MCE, SageTV, or BeyondTV (no MythTV for me, I hate linux) Vista IMO has the best media center and TV guide. Perhaps switch to XP on #1 and Vista on #2?? ($60-$120)
- buy a large SATA HDD, or give up my backup 320GB HDD for the cause
- I can live with coaxial S/PDIF I guess, I prefer optical though
Well, what do you think? All advice and/or suggestions are welcome. Should I sacrifice my better system to make a better HTPC, or should I spend around $300 to make the spare system what I need it to be? Also, do you think an Athlon 64 3500+ and 1GB of DDR400 RAM is sufficient to smoothly handle HD content, possibly up to 1080p?
Desktop #1
ASUS P5B-Deluxe WiFi/AP (P965)
Intel E6300 @ 2.33GHz
2x1GB Patriot DDR2-667 CL4
Gigabyte GeForce 7600GT Silent Pipe II (PCIe)
Enermax Liberty 500W
2x160GB Seagate 7200.7 (RAID0), 320GB Seagate 7200.10
Windows Vista Premium
PROS: Fanless video card, fanless motherboard, optical & coaxial S/PDIF, quiet modular PSU, Windows Media Center included with Vista, built in WiFi, video card has composite/component/s-video/DVI hookups, easily handles 1080i HD content, onboard firewire, three temperature controlled fan headers
CONS: Motherboard heat-pipes may not cool effectively in horizontal position, I would have to get used to a slower computer (#2)
Desktop #2
EPOX EP-9NDA3J+ (Nforce 3 Ultra)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz (s939)
2x512MB Corsair DDR-400 CL2.5
BFG GeForce 6800GT OC (AGP)
Antec TruePower 430W
30GB Seagate 7200.5, 40GB WD Caviar
Windows XP Home SP2
PROS: Out-dated but still capable, coaxial S/PDIF, would let me keep #1 as a desktop
CONS: Noisy NB fan, noisy VGA fan, no optical out, no firewire, slightly noisy PSU, one fan header - not controlled, video card has s-video/DVI only, no media center software, less RAM, only two SATA150 ports but has small IDE drives at the moment, is it fast enough for HD content??
As you can tell, #1 has more PROS and #2 has more CONS so the choice should be an easy one. My dilemma stems from #1 is my main system, and is by far the more powerful and I don’t want to give it up. I like having a quick and relatively current system. The only game I play is Titan Quest, and I'm sure #2 can handle that game as well as any of my usual tasks. When I originally built system #1, I kept in mind that I would like to recycle it someday as an HTPC when the time came to replace it. Well, I’m not ready to build a bigger, better system yet, but I am ready for an HTPC. I would prefer to transform #2 into the HTPC so I can still enjoy #1 as a desktop.
In order to get #2 up to snuff, I would have to:
- buy silent NB cooler ($5-$20)
- buy silent VGA cooler ($25)
- give up PCI slot for a firewire card with front panel hookups ($10)
- give up PCI slot for a WiFi card
- either buy a silent PSU or replace the fans in the current PSU ($75)
- buy another 1GB RAM, if necessary ($60)
- buy either Vista Premium, MCE, SageTV, or BeyondTV (no MythTV for me, I hate linux) Vista IMO has the best media center and TV guide. Perhaps switch to XP on #1 and Vista on #2?? ($60-$120)
- buy a large SATA HDD, or give up my backup 320GB HDD for the cause
- I can live with coaxial S/PDIF I guess, I prefer optical though
Well, what do you think? All advice and/or suggestions are welcome. Should I sacrifice my better system to make a better HTPC, or should I spend around $300 to make the spare system what I need it to be? Also, do you think an Athlon 64 3500+ and 1GB of DDR400 RAM is sufficient to smoothly handle HD content, possibly up to 1080p?