HTPC Takes Shape

Specs:
Asus A7V133 Motherboard @ 100mhz FSB
AMD Thunderbird 1.2ghz (underclocked from 1.44ghz)
384mb SDRAM
WD Caviar 80gb Hard Drive
ATI Radeon VIVO Edition 64mb DDR
Creative Sound Blaster PCI
Logitech Cordless Mouse

Still need: wi-fi card, and maybe a wireless keyboard--would be great for emulators.

Total spent: 20+15+25+6.20+45=$111.20

I hate wi-fi. I hope the new card I'll get from RMA works, else I'll be out $31.20 for NOTHING.

The box encodes VGA resolution MP4 video at about 70% CPU utilization, and I can't record and play stuff at the same time. I don't want to run the T-Bird at 1.44ghz because of heat; the Volcano Orb's fan crapped out and I'm using a cheap looking AMD stock fan to blow air on to the copper core of the Orb; that chuck of metal gets HOT! It's probably a bandwidth issue anyways.

I'll talk about my Windows 98SE box that I upgraded exclusively for System Shock 2 and Wing Commander later :).


EDIT:
The RMAed wifi card arrive and the box is ALIVEEEE again! Though the connection is still super weak... *sigh