socket A 2800+ HTPC worth it?

[Raaagh]

Hi there.

I've got a random assortment of parts, the following of which I am wondering if I can add a Barton 2800+ to it and get a decent HTPC that can do 1920x1080p Windows Media 9 High Def, quietly.

MSI KM3M-V 333fsb microATX (o.b. (savage?) video MPEG-2 decoderr
512MB RAM 333fsb


This is currently my work computer -I wont downgrad it to HTPC until feb 2006, so maybe at that stage there will be super cheap AGP cards that can take the system up to WMV HD 1920x1080p capable.

Will this do what I want?

If needed I would might get a nice microATX nForce2.

Should I just sell it all and go A64?


Also, does MPEG-2 decoder help WMV HD?

[zoomy942]

while, i'm not too sure about the decoder part, i do know, from making my own test HTPC's, that you want something decent on the video side if you want the features you are looking for. part of it is performance, but part of it is image quailty. also, in regards to your processor, with the goal of quiet... go with whichever is cooler. i would say wait till feb and get a socket 754 sempron. it is very cheap and it has the power you would need (probaly more than enough) to have hi def. also, is has AMD cool and quiet, so it will watch how warm it is and control CPU speed accordingly. try and get all smart fans in that HTPC aslo, that way everyone that makes noise in your pc will monitor heat and control fan speed on the fly.