I am planning to build/buy an HTPC with an nforce motherboard. Are there any issues I should be aware of? I am planning to use the built in video and sound with my LT150 projector. Can I use powerstrip with this setup to get a 1024x576 desktop? I will be using a 16x9 fixed screen. Will this work to get all the windows desktop within the 16:9 window of my 4:3 projector? Are there any problems passing DD EX or DTS ES with this setup? Thanks for the advice!
nforce mb good solution for HTPC?
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nforce2 is the way I decided to go, and after a couple of days of fiddling, I recommend the motherboard I got: ABIT NF7-S version 2 .
The sound should be of good enough quality to do away with the need of more capable cards but for the most discriminating audio-philes. In my case, the built-in optical SPDIF made it a slam-dunk decision, as I am planning to pass digital audio straight out from the source (ATSC reception/DVD playback) to my receiver/amp. So, yes, digital audio-pass-through should be a snap. A friend of mine has the NF7-S also, and he says it does a pretty awesome job converting 2 channel stereo sound to 6 channel digital audio (by faking it, of course). That's neither here nor there for me, but the nforce2's chipset gets some nice reviews (like this one ).
As for Powerstrip, the usual recommendation is to stay away the GeForce/nvidia video set, which is what an nforce2 board with built-in video will have. I salivated briefly over the ASUS A7N8X line , of which the A7N8X-VM has built-in nvidia video, but I shied away for flexibility (upgrade video when needed), compatibility (GeForce reputation with Powerstrip--ask Karnis) and expandibility (3 PCI slots in micro-ATX form). So... I've babbled quite a bit here, but in short, if you drop an ATI Radeon card into an nforce2 motherboard, the limiting reagent with regards to Powerstrip is the ATI card, not the motherboard. Refer to Karnis' thorough--if a bit overwhelming for this rookie--Powerstrip guide at the top of this forum for all the settings you'll need for an ATI card's custom resolutions.
Happy hunting!
The sound should be of good enough quality to do away with the need of more capable cards but for the most discriminating audio-philes. In my case, the built-in optical SPDIF made it a slam-dunk decision, as I am planning to pass digital audio straight out from the source (ATSC reception/DVD playback) to my receiver/amp. So, yes, digital audio-pass-through should be a snap. A friend of mine has the NF7-S also, and he says it does a pretty awesome job converting 2 channel stereo sound to 6 channel digital audio (by faking it, of course). That's neither here nor there for me, but the nforce2's chipset gets some nice reviews (like this one ).
As for Powerstrip, the usual recommendation is to stay away the GeForce/nvidia video set, which is what an nforce2 board with built-in video will have. I salivated briefly over the ASUS A7N8X line , of which the A7N8X-VM has built-in nvidia video, but I shied away for flexibility (upgrade video when needed), compatibility (GeForce reputation with Powerstrip--ask Karnis) and expandibility (3 PCI slots in micro-ATX form). So... I've babbled quite a bit here, but in short, if you drop an ATI Radeon card into an nforce2 motherboard, the limiting reagent with regards to Powerstrip is the ATI card, not the motherboard. Refer to Karnis' thorough--if a bit overwhelming for this rookie--Powerstrip guide at the top of this forum for all the settings you'll need for an ATI card's custom resolutions.
Happy hunting!
Thanks for the info, but I'm still a bit confused. Are you saying that the Geforce video card is not the one to use? Upgradability is not a concern to me as I have never upgraded a computer in my life. It's never worth it and the architecture always changes. I built them right from the start. $130 usually decides the speed of CPU I get as it has in the last 3 computers I have built. Are there compatibility problems with Geforce/powerstrip. I'll read the FAQ, but I avoided it because it said for radeon and I have had Nvidia graphics cards in my last 2 computers and planned a Geforce for this one.
Another option. Buy a simple card for my business computer and put my Geforce 2 GTS into the new one. Is this a bad idea?
Another option. Buy a simple card for my business computer and put my Geforce 2 GTS into the new one. Is this a bad idea?
is the motherboard I have. Its NForce2 based and I love it. I use the on-board SPDIF to output DD5.1/DTS/PCM to my Denon receiver. It has an AGP slot so if I decide to change the video card that is no problem. That said I'm using the on board geForce card no sweat. I use powerstrip and run 960x540p. Powerstrip deals fine with the card. I decided to check out the on board video before buying a Radeon. I haven't seen the need yet. I got a Pinnacle PCTV Rave for S-Video input. I run dscaler for S-Video to Projector and PowerDVD for DVDs to projector. Hope this helps.
Yes, this helps. I just installed powerstrip on my computer, to try and understand how it works and to try it with my projector once I figure it out. Right now, I can't get it to engage the custom resolution of 1024x576 that I entered, but I just started playing with it. Do I need to mess with the other settings? It's quite overwhelming. I thought the idea of using the computer is to bypass the projector's internal scaler and acheive 1:1 pixel mapping. I need to get a correct 16:9 desktop so that I can use my LT150 with a fixed 16:9 screen. Am I on the right track? The idea is to have an HTPC with a 1024x576 desktop and the projector in 'native' mode, which bypasses the scaler.
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Well, people here bad-mouth it quite a bit, but I have no personal experience. Just passing along what I read. If you do stick with GeForce, check out this Powerstrip guide for it (halfway down the page), written by non other than one of GeForce's chief detractors... 
| Are there compatibility problems with Geforce/powerstrip. |
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