RE: Re: HTPC Chassis

["Phil Harris" <phil@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I have tried on-board and separate graphics - TBH the systems
> I have been building for friends are really just to display
> on standard 1368*768 panels, so graphics hasn't been too much
> of an issue. Getting the correct number of USB2 Headers,
> 1394, SPDif etc. has proved more of a headache - especially
> when trying to keep the cost down.

I use a Gigabyte mobo in my HTPC which has Nvidia 6150 graphics integrated
and it will do component video at 720p or 1080i which is nice (so it's easy
to route to both an LCD TV and a video projector with just an active
splitter) ...

> Couple that with the "Churn rate" of mobos - you leave it 3
> months between builds and the mobo you used is now obsolete,
> makes for a difficult life.

Ahhhh ... Norton Ghost is your friend for this kind of stuff. Whenever I
build a PC now I always create a 3Gb partition which I stick on all the
required drivers and - when the base install of windows and office (if
needed) is fully installed, registered and patched - I Ghost off a copy of
the install to that partition. That way it's a piece of the proverbial to
recover a fubarred machine. If you're intelligent at the outset and do
stuff
like pointing My Documents and the default location for the Outlook data
files to another partition too then you can resurrect a dead install on a
machine and still have all data intact. :-D

Phil



** Sponsored by http://www.BERBLE.com **
all the Cool Stuff, in one Place