A Challange

niko1998 · 07-09-2005, 12:50 AM

Hi, newbie here,
I ran the search for the terms and issue at hand but found nothing useful so here goes:
I want to build a minimalistic dedicated system that can play Windows Media High Definition Video (WMV HD) and do NOTHING more.
I am looking for a small form factor MB (micro ATX?) that can still run a 3 ghz CPU without croaking, the rest of the requirements per the Windows web page HERE :
3.0 GHz processor or equivalent
512 MB of RAM
128 MB video card
1920 × 1440 screen resolution
24-bit 96 kHz multichannel sound card

Once I identify a MB the rest should be easy. I am swimming in a sea of information and options, what would YOU suggest

**UncleMacro** · 07-09-2005, 06:25 PM

I'm not sure specifically about WMV HD, but Intel's CPUs tend to be quicker at streaming encoding and decoding chores than Athlon 64s so that at least cuts your choices in half.

It seems like just about all of the micro-ATX motherboard include onboard video which may not be able to drive the high resolution output you need so you may have to add a video card. And micro-ATX isn't exactly a Small Form Factor PC. Have you considered just getting a SFF barebones machine like this or do you want to roll your own? If you want to build from scratch then you could start with something like this ASUS P5GD1-VM. But even micro-ATX is going to be way bigger than a SFF PC and micro-ATX motherboards are definitely slot-challenged.

07-09-2005, 12:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
niko1998 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 1 OS: XP PRO	A Challange Hi, newbie here, I ran the search for the terms and issue at hand but found nothing useful so here goes: I want to build a minimalistic dedicated system that can play Windows Media High Definition Video (WMV HD) and do NOTHING more. I am looking for a small form factor MB (micro ATX?) that can still run a 3 ghz CPU without croaking, the rest of the requirements per the Windows web page HERE : 3.0 GHz processor or equivalent 512 MB of RAM 128 MB video card 1920 × 1440 screen resolution 24-bit 96 kHz multichannel sound card Once I identify a MB the rest should be easy. I am swimming in a sea of information and options, what would YOU suggest

07-09-2005, 06:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
UncleMacro TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 2,133 OS: Vista SP1 My System	I'm not sure specifically about WMV HD, but Intel's CPUs tend to be quicker at streaming encoding and decoding chores than Athlon 64s so that at least cuts your choices in half. It seems like just about all of the micro-ATX motherboard include onboard video which may not be able to drive the high resolution output you need so you may have to add a video card. And micro-ATX isn't exactly a Small Form Factor PC. Have you considered just getting a SFF barebones machine like this or do you want to roll your own? If you want to build from scratch then you could start with something like this ASUS P5GD1-VM. But even micro-ATX is going to be way bigger than a SFF PC and micro-ATX motherboards are definitely slot-challenged.