2 PCs, which 1 should be my HTPC?

[jkeysers]

OK, this will be a monster of a first post, so here goes...

I will start by saying that i'm a complete noob, and i'm not great with PC talk, so if I sound like an idiot when it comes to this stuff, it's coz I am. =D

OK, i'm considering getting myself a SONY Bravia 3LCD KF42E200 42" RPJTV. I figure that seeing it doesn't have a built in tuner, I may as well sort this HTPC thing out at the same time once and for all, and do the TV and HTPC together.

I was fortunate enough to get a pretty decent box given to me by a mate, and i'm considering building a HTPC out of it. However, i'm unsure whether I should build the HTPC out of this new computer, or out of my old one, and use this new one as my desktop. My desktop has been pretty slow of late.

So far, off the top of my head from what he told me, the new one has;
Intel C2D E6400
512mb DDR2 667 Kingston RAM (tipping I will need more than this)
Asus DVD burner
ASUS nVidia 7100 GS 128mb graphics card (is this enough?)
80gb HDD to run OS and apps from
2x500gb HDDs for storage (I have to pay for these, the rest was free though)
No tuner card as yet, ideas?
I'm not sure what mobo is in it at the moment, havent checked. It is mATX tho.

Alternatively, I have an old desktop kicking around, it specs are something like this;
P4 2.4ghz
1GB RAM
LG DVD Burner
40GB primary hdd
320GB secondary hdd

For the record, I plan to run XP MCE, not Vista, and I don't intend to do much/any gaming on either machine.

So, which one of these would you use as your desktop, and which one as your HTPC? I keep changing my mind. Part of me says my old PC is good enough for a HTPC and wants to upgrade my slow desktop to the C2D. The other part of me says that I should just do the HTPC right and live with a slow desktop til I can upgrade (could be a while though, our first baby is on the way).

This system doesn't have to be the bees knees or anything (i'm trying to do it fairly cheaply), but I want it to be able to play HD, and just generally be future proof for at least a little while. I'm thinking HDMI would be useful, how does that fit into all this? I'm flying blind here, so if anyone has advice/suggestions, it would be much appreciated!

Finally, how about sound cards, do I need to put something special in there or is on board fine?

I think that covers it all off. Sorry for the big post, and thanks for your help.

[wazzageek]

Hi

I agree it is a hard decision. The old machine sounds like it will run XP MCE no probs and has plenty of storage for TV etc. I assume the video card is on the motherboard for this one so you probably need to get a graphics card for this especially considering the screen you are looking at. You could use the card from the new one but it would probably be PCI-Express and may not be compatiable with your old motherboard.

The new PC has pretty good specs and would be the best option to future proof the media centre for a while. It has every thing you need at the moment bar a TV tuner and some extra ram. The processor is great and will run cooler than the old one.

If it were me I would use the new PC as the media centre with a few additions and have a look on ebay to upgrade the processor in your old one. This will keep it going for a bit longer until you are ready to replace it. You will need to know a bit more about the motherboard you have as to what socket it uses etc.

Check out this site for your tuner card. the DNTV! Live cards are pretty good. They have a new Dual tuner PCI-Express Card which looks good. Will depend on your motherboard though.
http://www.digitalnow.com.au/dvbtcards.html

The graphics card in the new machine is fine but if you want HDMI you will need to look around. I think Leadtek and XFX do one that is passively cooled (no fan). There are others as well.

You can also get some pretty nice cases to put every thing in and they look great in the cabinet. There are plenty to choose from and check out the marketplace as well.

I think the most important thing whatever you decide is that it is cool and quiet. Not sure if I have helped with your decission or made it harder.

Anyway, good luck and have fun. Look around in the site, there is plenty of good info and ideas.

Regards
Warren

[vlad]

Originally Posted by jkeysers

Part of me says my old PC is good enough for a HTPC

It is perfect for 2005 MCE. What video card does it have?
Early days I was running 2.4 P4 and 512 MB RAM and was just fine.
Add a 6600 video card to it and make second PC as your gaming/main etc. PC.

[jkeysers]

Originally Posted by wazandnat

I agree it is a hard decision.

You are telling me! I still don't know what to do. When the budget is tight it makes things hard. Plus I just know whatever decision I make will be the wrong one.

Check out this site for your tuner card. the DNTV! Live cards are pretty good. They have a new Dual tuner PCI-Express Card which looks good. Will depend on your motherboard though.
http://www.digitalnow.com.au/dvbtcards.html

Cheers, will do.

The graphics card in the new machine is fine but if you want HDMI you will need to look around. I think Leadtek and XFX do one that is passively cooled (no fan). There are others as well.

Yeah, thought the graphics card might need an upgrade. What sorta prices would I be looking at for a decent HDMI/DVI graphics card?

You can also get some pretty nice cases to put every thing in and they look great in the cabinet. There are plenty to choose from and check out the marketplace as well.

Been checking out cases quite a lot. At this stage considering one of Thermaltakes slimline Mozart Cases with VFD, but it's still up in the air.

Not sure if I have helped with your decission or made it harder.

haha, well, neither really. Well, I guess it's my decision to make. I was hoping one of you guys (being more experienced than me) would be able to sway me one way or the other.

Anyway, good luck and have fun. Look around in the site, there is plenty of good info and ideas.

Cheers mate, thanks for your input.

[jkeysers]

Originally Posted by vlad

It is perfect for 2005 MCE. What video card does it have?
Early days I was running 2.4 P4 and 512 MB RAM and was just fine.
Add a 6600 video card to it and make second PC as your gaming/main etc. PC.

I was concerned it wouldn't be powerful enough to do a good job, so that's encouraging!
There is no video card as yet, but I thought if I put something decent in there I might be able to get away with this as a HTPC. (?)

Hmmm. Jury's still out...
Haven't made up my mind yet, but its promising to know I can do either.

[vlad]

Originally Posted by jkeysers

I was concerned it wouldn't be powerful enough to do a good job, so that's encouraging!
There is no video card as yet, but I thought if I put something decent in there I might be able to get away with this as a HTPC. (?)

Hmmm. Jury's still out...
Haven't made up my mind yet, but its promising to know I can do either.

Yes you will. I was running it for 6 month with 6600 GT - no problems.
It is your baby after all, so do what you want - I am here to help, not to force your opinion.

[FrAsErTaG]

Originally Posted by jkeysers

For the record, I plan to run XP MCE, not Vista, and I don't intend to do much/any gaming on either machine.
.

Why???
If your a n00b then your better of with something n00b friendly.
The fact you could have your Vista installed with a guide in around an hour and a half means less time pulling your hair out trying to get MCE2005 setup "Just Right"
If you turn Aero off completely and run a fast USB2 pendrive (1gig or so) on ready boost you will find your old PC will work fine as a media centre, you wont find to much pleasure doing much else at the same time tho.

[vlad]

I don't like the n00b word. People are joining our community could be more skilled than we are.

[jkeysers]

Originally Posted by FrAsErTaG

Why???
If your a n00b then your better of with something n00b friendly.
The fact you could have your Vista installed with a guide in around an hour and a half means less time pulling your hair out trying to get MCE2005 setup "Just Right"
If you turn Aero off completely and run a fast USB2 pendrive (1gig or so) on ready boost you will find your old PC will work fine as a media centre, you wont find to much pleasure doing much else at the same time tho.

I had considered going Vista, I may still, but I thought if I went with the old PC, I may run into compatibility issues with the old hardware. I may be wrong??

[FrAsErTaG]

Originally Posted by vlad

I don't like the n00b word. People are joining our community could be more skilled than we are.

he said in his initial post he was a n00b