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Resurrecting an old PC for HTPC duty, will it be up to the task?

post #1 of 5
1/6/13 at 5:59pm
Thread Starter 
As much as I would love to be able to build a new HTPC, it is just not in the cards at this point, cash is tight. I have an old PC collecting dust, and I figured it might just work. It already has windows 7 on it, the only problem is it's video card only has DVI outputs on it. My thought was I could pick up a cheap video card off of newegg for $25 with an HDMI port in it and bring it back to life as an HTPC. Maybe something like a Radeon 5450. The PC is an old E-6600 core 2 duo with 4 gig of ram. A few potential sticking point though, the Radeon 5450 is PCI-e 2.0, and my motherboard is an MSI 975X with PCI-e 1.0. Not sure if that would be a problem. Also, not sure if the old cpu is up to the task. For $25 it would be a cheap HTPC, but if it wont work I would rather not spend the money and effort on it. Will this work?
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post #2 of 5
1/6/13 at 6:20pm
my 975 I just retired is pcie 2.0, yours should be also, dvi will work fine, e6600 good enough as well, will it work = in short Yes it will, wont do BD 3D though.
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post #3 of 5
1/6/13 at 6:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jetfixr View Post

As much as I would love to be able to build a new HTPC, it is just not in the cards at this point, cash is tight. I have an old PC collecting dust, and I figured it might just work. It already has windows 7 on it, the only problem is it's video card only has DVI outputs on it. My thought was I could pick up a cheap video card off of newegg for $25 with an HDMI port in it and bring it back to life as an HTPC. Maybe something like a Radeon 5450. The PC is an old E-6600 core 2 duo with 4 gig of ram. A few potential sticking point though, the Radeon 5450 is PCI-e 2.0, and my motherboard is an MSI 975X with PCI-e 1.0. Not sure if that would be a problem. Also, not sure if the old cpu is up to the task. For $25 it would be a cheap HTPC, but if it wont work I would rather not spend the money and effort on it. Will this work?

Yes, that will work perfectly and wpuld make a fine HTPC!
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post #4 of 5
1/6/13 at 6:29pm
Thread Starter 
From everything I can find, I think it is pcie 1.0. Also 3D isn't a concern at all for me. Bought a new flat screen a couple of years ago, and even though 3D was available, I opted not to get it. I watched some 3D content on a friend's TV and it hurt my head....lol, guess I am just old school.
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post #5 of 5
1/6/13 at 6:37pm
You can just get a DVI to HDMI adapter (they are electrically similar) for your video output. You can get them cheap at Walmart, Big Lots, Freds, etc. The audio doesn't come through the DVI port though, so you'll need to hook up your analog or SPDIF audio output to your TV or audio receiver.

I have a couple of E7500 Core2Duos working just fine, so your CPU should be fine.

If you want to get a Radeon 5450, the PCIe 2.0 cards are backwards compatible with PCIe 1.0 slots. They will just run a little slower. If all you are looking for is basic video playback, then this should be fine.
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