Grant wrote:
Yes, since a htpc doesn't need a powerful cpu (or a powerful gpu)
My learned-this-the-hard-way advice: while this is generally true, if
you ever come across a 720 or 1080p video that doesn't use a
hardware-accelerated codec, you would rather the HTPC not sound like
it's about to launch itself into orbit doing software decoding.
Completely true. I switched from nvidia-drivers to nouveau and now I
rely on ffmpeg threads to decode 1080p. It works great most of the
time. There are some videos that won't decode via threads, they
return some sort of "cannot parallelize" error.
I went with this Phenom II X4 3.7Ghz hog:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103934
I wonder if I'll be able to decode 1080p in software on a single core
now without losing A/V sync. I kinda doubt it. I've been on an
Athlon X2 3.1Ghz.
And if you're going to keep it in a cabinet, you would probably also
rather said cabinet not catch fire (I had to cut holes in the back and
mount fans).
I'm discovering that fans which are said to be very quiet actually
are. I'm going to increase my case fans from 0 to 2 along with this
aftermarket CPU cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608016
Thanks a lot for everyone's help.
- Grant
I've put together the new system and everything works really well.
Here's the Gigabyte motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128490
- Grant
Nice mobo. I always want a lot of slots but rarely use them. I'm stuck
in the old days where the mobo was basically a CPU and ram with a floppy
port hanging off the side. lol
Give us a speed report. What CPU did you get? Cores and all. Heck,
I'm nosey today.
Dale
:-) :-)
