Michael:
First, my configuration:
ASUS CUSL2, PIII 733Mhz
256MB Mushkin 2/2/2 Memory
30GB Maxtor
Pioneer 115 DVD
HP 9350i CD-RW
ASUS AGP-V7700 GeForce2 GTS Video
Soundblaster Live! w/Hoontech II
Pinnacle PCTV PCI (dScaler TV card)
Lava DSerial PCI (extra serial ports)
3Com 3C905B-TX
My observations, after running it for a couple of days:
1. It is the most stable version of Windows that I have used.
I had trouble with Win ME. I know that others have had good success with ME, but it frequently locked on me and had to be rebooted (daily!). I also had problems with it not being able to shutdown. Those are now just bad memories. XP just runs, and then stops when you tell it to!
2. Power management - whether it be Standby or Hibernate - works flawlessly.
3. Drivers are still a bit of a challenge:
- Creative has yet to deliver on a fully functional set of drivers for the SB Live! (deferred to end November). But the basics work!
- Pinnacle is, IMHO, in a mess. The board works fine for dScaler, and I still like the hardware. Unfortunately, the software and drivers have yet to catch up. This is a drag if you need/want to use their software for video capture and editting - and I do!
- Roxio just released their update for Easy CD Creator (5.1) which supports XP.
4. Scheduling and process priority management is superior.
This is a key benefit for those who want to multi-task on their HTPC. For me, my HTPC is also a home PC. I am frequently multi-tasking, checking e-mail and surfing AVS Forum, while pumping music or a movie through to the home theater.
With WinME, I would get sound break up or video stuttering, because of process scheduling competition. With WinXP that is now gone. Presumably, I could have obtained the same benefit by moving to Win2k, but I have skipped that step.
5. AC3 / DTS Passthrough works.
Although we have now figured out how to get this to work with Win2k, it is not an issue with WinXP. For me, even though the Creative drivers aren't where they should be yet, I am still able to successfully passthrough Dolby Digital and DTS sound, when running PowerDVD, to the home theater.
6. Detonator XP drivers.
As noted, I am using a GeForce2 board. The DetonatorXP 21.83 drivers tested out FAST in the 3DMark benchmarking. These are the fastest drivers that I have been able to use. Under WinME, for some reason, I was not able to move past 6.53. For some reason, on my machine, I was not able to resume from monitor standby. Not an issue with XP, and I get the speed bump of the XP drivers.
7. Clear Type fonts are nice.
Great for surfing! I get less eye strain reading through AVS Forum! Of course, this assumes that your HTPC is also your internet portal. In my case, it is!
8. My Music folder options.
You can now edit ID3 tags, using Windows Explorer. If you keep your music files on your HTPC, you can use the Explorer in XP to maintain artist name, title, genre, bitrate, etc ... all the ID3 tags. These are the names that appear in WMP when you import a file. Often, depending on your source of MP3s, the tags are not properly set and must be editted. Previously, I had to use a 3rd party package to do this. I have now been able to throw that package away.
Also, you can present files grouped by any of the ID3 attributes. In my case, I group by artist, and then under each artist, present the song title, genre, bitrate, and length. Nice, professional, integrated presentation of files!
I'm sure there is a lot more that I could say, but I have tried to keep my comments relative to HTPC. In considering an upgrade, if you are NOT already on Win2k, then it is definitely worth considering an upgrade to WinXP. If you ARE already on Win2k, then you will gain some useful cosmetics, but you will already be enjoying stability and process scheduling benefits.
Now if only M-Audio would release their Delta Theater card! Then I could throw out my SB Live! and I would care less what Creative does!