HTPC What to upgrade first on a cheap media PC

Just been lent a dell Gx260 for use as a media PC, at the moment its struggling a little to do what i want to so im happy to give it a little upgrade. I dont want to spend too much on it tho as obviously its not mine.

Apps to run :

XP
Media Portal
Azureus

Current Spec :

P4 2.0
Mem : 512 ddr 2100
Hdd 40gig (all files on network storage so not fussed about this)
graphics : Onboard (intel 845 i think, im at work at the moment)
Sound : onboard (will replace with a cheapy with Toslink)

At the moment it can just about run azureus and standard def video on media portal similtaneously but its a bit sluggish. What i want to be able to do is run this less slugishly but with FFDshow processing on low def stuff and also be able to run high def.

Possible upgrades 2.8gig northwood P4 chip, low profile graphics card (half height, maybe a 5200), more memory (not sure this is an issue atm)

My question is how much will onboard graphics hold back my system for video playback? Do i need to invest in a new card or just get the processor?

 

More memory and faster cpu followed by gfx card. Yes the graphics card will be a problem with HD content.

 

I would first go for a GFX card. 9200 comes in mind as there are half hight cards availible. After that Ram and then CPU. 2 gig CPU should be enough for a while if you dont encode and watch movies same time.
Just my 0.02£

 

What are you talking about a 9200 and a 2ghz processor is not going to cut it for proper HDTV it might just cope with 720p but not with FFDShow filters running too as WILD9 stated he would like to do.

 

Base your upgrades on the minimum spec.

Minimum Configuration
(to play 720p video)

Windows XP
Windows Media Player 9 Series
2.4 GHz processor or equivalent
384 MB of RAM
64 MB video card
1024 x 768 screen resolution
16-bit sound card
Speakers

Admittedly thats from the MS site so can be edited but in my experience those are fairly accurate.

 

Try running uTorrent, it needs hardly any memory (7k while downloading a 4.7gb iso) and is much faster to start than azereus.

 

Get the pentium D (can't remember the model number, but it's the ultra OC'able one) for about £70, some RAM (2gig if you can, but 1 gig will be more than enough) and for ultra high-def (1080i) you'll want something like a 7600.

 

More memory IMHO, a gig in total at least.

 

Memory can wait for a bit as I can borrow some more when we get some. Ive ordered a northwood 2.8 and ive got a 6200 on the way. Cant go the pentium D route as A) its an HTPC so needs to be quiet which wouldnt be easy whilst clocking the socks off the chip, and also the PC has a 478 board in it . Il report back with that lot and see what makes the biggest change, I have a feeling it will be the processor as the PC runs 720p with just a hint of stuttering already.

Might have a look at uTorrent does it have similar features to azureus like picking up torrent files from a folder and downloading them automatically etc?

 

Yes, it does, it offers the same funtionality as azeureus.

 

What about a 7600 then?
If you use MCE and the Purevideo decoders, then the GPU decodes the stream and it'as as smooth as a babys bottom.

 

Its a little expensive and I need an AGP card anyway.

 

the gx260 needs half heigh graphics cards and wont take any more than a 533 bus chip.

I don't know if it will take it but if the machine can go up to the 3.06 hyperthreaded i would recommend this as your first upgrade. It's not quite dual core but hyperthreading does offer improved multitasking. After that i would look for a 128-256mb graphics card on half height agp or PCI that you could fit in the machine.

 

Without a doubt upgrade the memory, corsair or Crucial make some nice cheap RAM and go look at www.ebuyer.com, loads of bargains there, if you were quicker you could of caught the happy hour on the 22nd of May.

After the RAM then upgrade the processor, a Pentium D Core, the lowest speced one will be quiet and just what you need to speed it up.

 

Thanks for the help guys but with the ammount of cash I was looking at spending to upgrade a work pc I decided to take a different course : Asus Pundit P1-AH1 with an athlon64 3000+. The barebones has onboard Nvidia 6150 graphics which supports full purevideo acceleration and filtering. I'll let you know how I get on when the parts arrive Ive monitored RAM usage and HD playback doesnt max my 512 meg stick , im running quite a slimline XP install on the machine.