[guldo]

Hi all,

Got my AE100 and just went on an ordering spree to put together my HTPC. The side of things that I'm still fuzzy on is all the software issues. Obviously, I've read all the FAQ stuff, but this forum has so much info my head spins!


In any case, here's the stuff I got:

Desktop case with PS and fan from Digital Conn.

Delta 410 soundcard

ATI 7500 AIW retail

Zalman heat sink for the 7500

Seagate Barracuda IV 60G HD

Asus TUSL2-C MB

SONY FD MPF920-1/121

Intel PRO/100 S 10/100 NIC

Intel Celeron 1.1AGHz, 100MHz FSB, 256KB Processor Retail (relying on stock HS for now)

Micron 256MB PC 133 SD RAM

Toshiba SD-M1612 DVD w/PowerDVD XP 4.0

Windows XP Home Edition


So, my question is, what, specifically, is the software I should get to get started? I know there are a bunch of nice utilities out there, but in terms of the really necessary ones to get started:

1. Do I need to download different ATI drivers?

2. I am getting Powerstrip 3.15, I assume that's a no-brainer.

3. Since my drive comes with PowerDVD XP 4.0, am I pretty much set as far as an initial SW player?

4. Do I still need to get ZoomPlayer or YxY?


Thanks!

 

[Teeps]

Why not put it together as is and see how it works. Get the basic operations stable, then add something new, but add only one thing at a time. I suggest you make a backup of the working os and preferences at each step of developement. That way, when something goes wrong; you can just restore the previous settings. And all is not lost to fdisk/format.