UPDATE (2014-05-13 20:37 CET): After discovering that I can get all my needs covered by basing this HTPC on Linux instead of Windows, I have decided to base it on Linux instead, thus dodging the need to buy a Windows license, and a license for a proprietary BluRay player software.
***
Hi,
Inspired by these lines, I want to build a XBMC-on-linux-based HTPC along (with the BluRay plugin for BluRay playback, NetfliXBMC for Netflix, etc.), using some ancient hardware that has been sitting around in my storage for years. Here's what I have:
CPU:
Athlon XP 3000+(400 MHz FSB)
Memory:
Advance Modules 2x1GB AM1GD16A16C-N1-PC3200 400MHz CL3
Motherboard:
Asus A7V400-MX (CPU and memory are optimal for this board)
Optical Drive:
Samsung SH-B123L (DVD & BluRay drive)
(it has other crappy hardware that is not worth mentioning)
To complete this setup and speed it up at minimal cost, I plan on getting
Graphics:
Radeon HD 3650 512MB 128-Bit GDDR2 AGP 8X
I am considering getting the following SSD, if it makes a difference:
Hard Drive (SSD):
Samsung 840 Evo MZ-7TE120 120GB
The motherboard has an AGP 8X slot and no PCI-E, which limits options for graphics cards (I chose the above graphics card because I saw people recommending it for BluRay playback on old machines with AGP 8X slots).
I picked the above SSD over e.g. Kingston SSDNow V300 since the Kingston drive is apparently unreliable (depending on who supplies the memory in the drive, the drive might perform poorly).
The motherboard has 1xSATA1 and 1xSATA2 ports. I plan on plugging the BluRay drive into the SATA1 slot (seems it does not support SATA2 anyway), and the SSD into the SATA2 slot (the SSD is a SATA3 drive, but SATA3 devices are backwards-compatible with SATA2 sockets, from what I understand).
For Linux distribution, I'll either go for aptosid or Arch Linux.
***
Now the questions:
(please indicate clearly which question you are addressing, if you are answering a question).
Cheers!
Willard.
***
Hi,
Inspired by these lines, I want to build a XBMC-on-linux-based HTPC along (with the BluRay plugin for BluRay playback, NetfliXBMC for Netflix, etc.), using some ancient hardware that has been sitting around in my storage for years. Here's what I have:
CPU:
Athlon XP 3000+(400 MHz FSB)
Memory:
Advance Modules 2x1GB AM1GD16A16C-N1-PC3200 400MHz CL3
Motherboard:
Asus A7V400-MX (CPU and memory are optimal for this board)
Optical Drive:
Samsung SH-B123L (DVD & BluRay drive)
(it has other crappy hardware that is not worth mentioning)
To complete this setup and speed it up at minimal cost, I plan on getting
Graphics:
Radeon HD 3650 512MB 128-Bit GDDR2 AGP 8X
I am considering getting the following SSD, if it makes a difference:
Hard Drive (SSD):
Samsung 840 Evo MZ-7TE120 120GB
The motherboard has an AGP 8X slot and no PCI-E, which limits options for graphics cards (I chose the above graphics card because I saw people recommending it for BluRay playback on old machines with AGP 8X slots).
I picked the above SSD over e.g. Kingston SSDNow V300 since the Kingston drive is apparently unreliable (depending on who supplies the memory in the drive, the drive might perform poorly).
The motherboard has 1xSATA1 and 1xSATA2 ports. I plan on plugging the BluRay drive into the SATA1 slot (seems it does not support SATA2 anyway), and the SSD into the SATA2 slot (the SSD is a SATA3 drive, but SATA3 devices are backwards-compatible with SATA2 sockets, from what I understand).
For Linux distribution, I'll either go for aptosid or Arch Linux.
***
Now the questions:
■Will the proposed build be fast enough to run XMBC, play movies from BluRay disks, play movies from Netflix, etc.?
■Is 2GB RAM sufficient, or will the computer constantly be swapping to disk?
■Will HDCP be a problem?
■Do you recommend any different/additional hardware to make this build cheaper / more viable?
■How big a PSU do I need to run this machine? Any suggestions for a SFX form factor PSU? (that way, I avoid having to modify my case).
(please indicate clearly which question you are addressing, if you are answering a question).
Cheers!
Willard.