That is sweet! Audio through GPU. My Yamaha DSP-AX863SE can output Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD.
Will this impact on my choice of GPU or is this something which should be available from the Motherboard (and would thus affect choice of motherboard)?
Doesn't look too difficult on the software front. There is a lot of detail about the software, but not much about hardware required from what I gathered.
Up until recently you could only Bitstream with ATI/AMD. I don't know which nVidia cards are now able to pass through audio, but if you're in the market, this would be the place where you roll up your sleeves and get dirty.
I use an AMD to Bitstream.
HOW TO GET: Uncompressed PCM, Dolby TrueHD & Dts-HD MASTER Audio - Blu-ray Forum
High-Def FAQ: Blu-ray and HD DVD Audio Explained | High-Def Digest
Ah, thank you! I will certainly look into that once the hardware has been decided.
Do you have any thoughts about some of my existing hardware, parricularly regarding how useful it would be in the Media Centre? I'm thinking a budger of around £300 at the moment. This really does depend on how well this will suit the needs addressed most recently in relation to sound quality and performance for gaming.
I don't know anything about the media center part, but for the specs you listed for gaming, I don't think you can match them for 300 pounds.
I'd use the cpu, motherboard, psu, ram, hdd, and dvd for the media center, and add to it a cheap $50.00 fanless Radeon 6450, set up Bitstreaming and call it a day. As for gaming, you have another machine/room to do that... and there I'd build my gaming setup.
Gaming while sitting on the sofa sounds like a great idea... but on the PC that's going to be problematic. Wireless keyboards and mice suck when it comes to gaming. Lack of support outside your lap also cuts down on the precision.
Hello there Fumz, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all your help and patience. I realise I have been vague at times and possibily boarderline ignorant other times.
Unfortunately, keeping the other PC in another room is not an option. The missus likes the idea having a free room to use for other things. I'm still serious about getting a gaming PC set up in the lounge, even if that means getting special support for the keyboard and mouse (I have quite a good set up already). Wired/wires is of no consequence, I have got plenty of wired peripherals, including a Razer DeathAdder mouse.
Do you have any suggestions for how much I could sell some of the components to buy new/like new parts for this new gaming rig which will allow me to play the game specified on full settings, on my 32" LCD TV?
I have no clue what someone else would pay for your hardware; however, I can suggest that you not get your hopes up.
Forget about selling the fan... nobody wants a used dusty fan that will probably die soon when a new one is only a few dollars. ATA133 drive drawer... I'd donate it to the Smithsonian so they could set it up next the the Commodore 64 display. Same with the 2.0 card reader, the 17" monitor, and the DVD. You might be able to get some money for them from someone... but I couldn't begin to hazard a guess as to how much?
Components I'd keep would be the P35, the quad core, sound card, PSU and RAM.
You might have some luck with the 22" monitor... not sure about the 8800. If money were to be had for them, I'd have prolly sold the one sitting in my closet a while ago... but hey, spares are never a bad thing to have laying around.
So it's fair to say it will be hit and miss selling any of the components. I will do some research to find out how much they might go for.
The components I have spare from the other PC wont be sufficient for my gaming requirements will they? So do I wait now until more is heard about this new hardware coming out soon?
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