HTPC Help

I'm about to buy a new system and turn my old one into a HTPC. Stats as follows:
NF7-S Rev 2
AMD Athlon XP 2600+
2GB Corsair PC3200
2) 200GB Sata HD in Raid 0
ATI X800XT Graphics Card

I'd like to buy some more HD space to store HD content. Then pick up the new Hauppage 1600 PVR Tuner. I'm basically going to use this for recording over-the-air HD shows, particularly ABC due to them fighting with my local cable company and so i dont have it on cable. I'm also ripping my standard def DVDs onto hard drives. I'd possibly like to you FFDShow to upscale them to 1080i. I do have an HDTV. Which will be connected to the PC through a DVI --> HDMI cable.


Will my processor be able to handle this or am i dreaming? Thanks for any help.

I honestly don't think your cpu will cut it. My 2.8 p4 even has a hard time. I could be wrong though.

What would you recommend the minumum CPU speed be? I'm kind of on a budget since i'm already building a new system.

I used to have an XP 3200+ and it had some definite issues with HD.
What exactly is your budget for mobo and CPU?

Around $200. I've almost resigned myself to waiting a month or two to purchase. I'll also have to buy RAM and a new video card most likely.

mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131174

cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103749

that mobo has a built in HDMI so you wouldnt have to buy another vid card right away... and DDR2 ram is so cheap right now...just get a couple of gigs of some pc6400 ram and you will be more than fine for an HTPC

Thanks for your help guys. I think i can swing that.

Yeah what smokie posted seems like a pretty good deal.

yes, you'll need a low end dual core (to be safe) even just for OTA HD contents. and be sure you buy as much HD space as you can afford!!

e.g. this past weekend's Indy500 race, a bit over 3 hrs long (213mins recorded) weight in nearly 30GB (29.67GB)!!! a single NFL game will be 20+GB!!!