View Full Version : Second hand or new PC?
antigravity83
2009-02-02, 12:04
Hey everyone,
I'm currently running XBMC on an old XBOX, however because of its hardware restrictions I'm wanting to install a dedicated media PC.
The highest res i'll use in XBMC is 720p (highest res of my 50" plasma), so knowing that, I've reduced my options down to these... Just need some other opinions to make sure I haven't missed anything!
There are a heap of ex business PC's for sale on Ebay, with P4 2.8-3.4ghz CPU's going for about $150-$200.
Now keeping in mind I have to be money conscious, would I be better off buying one of these to run XBMC, or spending $350 on a new, basic PC. The only real benefit between a new PC and a refurbished one would be the parts are new, and would probably last longer, and I would have a dual core CPU. Other than that, I can't really see any benefit for twice the cost...
But am I missing anything?
I have an old PC I was given... P4 3.4Ghz HT, 256Mb AGP ATI GFX, and I lobbed in 2Gb RAM... I also overclocked it... if I'm honest 720p was passable at best... by no means smooth...... Its definately not good enough to replace my Xbox and I cant afford a new HTPC at the moment.. :(
A P4 3.4Ghz can't handle 720p?
A P4 3.4Ghz can't handle 720p?
Sketchy..... not briliant :oo:
Its built on x64 Vista... fresh install nothing on it.... suppose XP would have a smaller footprint
I have some MKV BRrips and they drop frames.... I was going to use it as a transitional box from my Xbox to HTPC, but its not got enough ooomph :(
My HTPC it's an AMD64 3200+ and 720p playback uses about 45-65% CPU average, only with spikes in very complex scenes reaching 90-100% and it's rare to drop frames. I'm using XP SP3.
antigravity83
2009-02-03, 11:05
I have an old PC I was given... P4 3.4Ghz HT, 256Mb AGP ATI GFX, and I lobbed in 2Gb RAM... I also overclocked it... if I'm honest 720p was passable at best... by no means smooth...... Its definately not good enough to replace my Xbox and I cant afford a new HTPC at the moment.. :(
Damn... So a single core P4 simply isn't good enough?
How did it run using the more complex skins with high def fanart etc?
Thats my main issue... just taking forever to transition between different screens and taking a while to load up a file.
antigravity83
2009-02-03, 11:11
So would I better off getting a CPU like a AMD 64 x2 5000+?
I've been reading some other threads, and apparently dual core is the way to go.
It was all a bit... well.... sluggish.... not bad.... but a very different XBMC experince to my Quad machine..... yes dual core will trouser a single core P4... whatever you clock it to.
antigravity83
2009-02-05, 11:47
After all the feedback from here, and another forum, I've decided i'm probably best to build a new PC. Plus i'll bite the bullet and give in to the BluRay phenomen...
So here's the PC i'm thinking of putting together for XBMC:
CPU: AMD 64 x2 5000+ (overclocked to 3.0ghz+)
MOBO: M2A-VM-HDMI (transfer from my desktop PC)
RAM: 2x1gb generic 800mhz DDR2
HDD: WD 500GB 16mb cache (not really needed as all my media is stored on 500gb USB drive)
OPTICAL: LG GGC-H20L BluRay/DVDR drive
CASE/PSU: Antec NSK2480 (Silver)
So whattya think? Any feedback? Should cost me around $600 ($AU) all up.
ive built a similar spec system for other ppl and in my tests, amd 6000+ (approx equal to your intended spec when over clocked)plays the dreaded killer sample just fine. thats 1080p at its just about most demanding.
so i suspect it will handle any and all 720p content happily.
please note that xbmc wont be able to take advantage of your shiney new bluray optical drive as yet. BD content has not yet matured to open source yet i believe for this to happen, however 720p content in the flavour of mkv containers works fine....so i hear :-P
regards,
Dam0
Swap the 500Gb for a solid state 32Gb? or maybe small Laptop SATA drive? just a thought?
antigravity83
2009-02-06, 03:04
ive built a similar spec system for other ppl and in my tests, amd 6000+ (approx equal to your intended spec when over clocked)plays the dreaded killer sample just fine. thats 1080p at its just about most demanding.
so i suspect it will handle any and all 720p content happily.
please note that xbmc wont be able to take advantage of your shiney new bluray optical drive as yet. BD content has not yet matured to open source yet i believe for this to happen, however 720p content in the flavour of mkv containers works fine....so i hear :-P
regards,
Dam0
Ah thats great to hear. I have a 6000+ in my desktop, and could run XBMC fine, so I thought a 5000+ should be just as good.
As for the bluray, that kinda sucks! So there's no way to play 720p content other than off a HDD?
Geeba - As for the solid state 32gb... why would you recommend that over a 500gb? I'm assuming because of heat/noise?