htpc architecture

[fester]

OK, so to do BTV record (tuner #1) & watch (tuner #2) + game (graphics intensive OpenGL/DirectX) + dvd burn ***all at the same time on same machine*** is workable... but is not enjoyable!

I'm sitting 20ft away from TV which has been my htpc display for almost 4 years now. The wireless inputs available today for "couch use" still do not come close to what I would consider as user friendly or even healthy for that matter. (hint: HTPC furniture coming soon near you!) Doing anything other than browsing, emails, gaming, or setup recordings on PVR, etc... is a pain. I have burned dvd and encoded .vobs, etc on the HTPC but it IS an intensive process that essentially takes the machine "offline" while it burns / encodes, etc... thats why I have 3 other machines - so I dont take the htpc offline. Basically - for fun - I have been testing the feasability / usability of such an all-in-one machine for years. When HT /and dual channel memory architecture came out I was very stoked since it enabled the HTPC to do all this - but it turns out it is not even needed and it is totally a pain inthe ass to do any "work" sitting on the couch with keyboard in lap (or on coffee table). On my HTPC I only burned a dvd just to test the thing but dont really want to do that on my couch. I'd rather do it on the other systems that are real workstations. I guess thats why they're called workstations! So now that I have the capability of the big bad P4 ht dual ch system - I dont need it or want it on the HTPC

Conclusion: you dont need much horsepower to run an htpc + gaming box. You *DO* need a good s-video tv out display chip (e.g. ATI rage theater chip or better) ANY >XP2000 or P4B ddr system should kick butt. I just finally re-installed an old a7n266-vm and newly purchased XP2400 (xp2600+ dont work on a7n266-VM mobo!) system to do strait up 1 capture card for BTV, 1 capture card for watching TV, and enough juice to run IL2 forgotton battles EAP on my 42" tv.

I'll never miss the 3.0C here - as I've missed it by doing vob encodes on an overclocked p4 2.4B @ 3.06. I'll post results of xp2400 /a7n266-vm system experiences just for gits and shiggles.