Pentium II HTPC?

My TV is about to die (power supply is faulting); so I need to find a replacement. I thought now would be an excellent time to replace with a HTPC. Since I have a good CRT that can display full 1080p video, I do not need to invest in a television.

I have this Dell Dimension XPS R450, with the following specs:
Intel Pentium II 450MHZ
385MB SD 100 RAM
20GB HD (can install bigger then 137gb, however)
32MB ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon 7200 AGP
Windows XP Pro

This system is quiet, and from previous testing, I can play DVDs on it. I also have another system, which is loud (probably the PSU, which is a cheap one); no ability to have wireless internet ( meaning no podcasts ), because there is only one open PCI slot, so I can install a TV tuner. Here are the specs:

AMD Duron 900MHZ
512MB RAM
20GB HD (same from Dell)
Windows XP Pro
Radeon 9250 256MB PCI

I have another system, an emachines system, but that system is slower then my pII (and it's a p3).

if that's what you have to pick I would pick the duron for sure

Talk about making due with what you have. I can't comment on how well any of them would work (though I would suspect not very well). I'd recycle them all and spend some money on a decent, energy efficient, quiet setup that you wouldn't have to worry about.
I'd also buy a new TV, but I guess that's not what you're asking about.

/begin first post in over a year

You could always use the PII to handle audio and then the Duron to handle SD video...

$50 will get you a decent motherboard, CPU, and RAM on eBay that can handle 1080p video, though. Doesn't take much to play video... But it probably will take more than what you have to choose from

/end first post in over a year

if you are short on money. $50 could get you something like a dell optiplex. i've gotten a few in the past that came ready to use hardware wise for around $50 shipped.

something like this. C2d e8500 2gb ram 80gb hard drive. since you don't need the floppy you could do what i did and mount a drive there.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optipl...1494993568?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item1c49aa7aa0

then a small card like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-3173K-...216?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item541486a4e0

i've used something very similar to this to watch hd video on my tv. mine was an e8400, 4gb ram. same video and similar size drive.

That first setup won't be able to handle any video well at all, and the duron might be OK for 720p at maximum with some dropped frames. I tried making an old htpc awhile back with a P4 and 3850 and it was just janky and loud, and performance was not good when it actually worked properly. Really better off looking for something slightly modern for the task like 95blackz26's suggestion.

ive used a basic e2180 machine to play 1080p content with. (blu ray rips ~30gb files) doesnt take much, just more than what you got :\ sorry.

Duron all the way!!!1

OC that bad boy to 1 Ghz and OC the RAM & that old ATI with NGO ATI drivers + ATITool!


I love it, retro rig (with my favorite CPU) as an HTPC!

Really I don't think either of those setups has enough collective "power" in the hardware to support doing what you are wanting.

The video cards are too old and under-powered, you don't have nearly enough RAM in those setups, and the hard drives are very small. I don't think the CPU's are up to the task either, and would produce much more heat for the amount of work they would be doing than a more modern setup would. The extra heat production from the older hardware would just be that much more energy you'd have to waste to keep them cool.

Honestly, to do this you'd be looking at something like an AMD socket AM2/AM2+ dual core or quad core, or an Intel socket LGA775 dual core, with a minimum of 2GB of memory (probably more, people that have worked more with HTPC's probably have more of an idea as to the hardware requirements).

Raspberry Pi B+ is your friend. So is a cheap TN panel.