Looking for some advice. I'm currently building a mmediapc - using an MSIRS480 microATX board (which has a PCI-E slot), AMD3200+ CPU, 1GB PC4200. I'm planning on using an NMedia HTPC case that, like most microatx cases, only has a 270W CPU. Thing is, I have this Connect3D X800XL PCI-E card I wanted to use in this system - not to play games or anything intensive, just to help output to a hi-def TV. It just occurred to me - will this CPU (powering a microatx board) be able to power this X800XL card for regular use? One friend says that my CPU is inadequte for my videocard, but another says that it should be fine as it's just a microatx card and I'm not doing any overclocking or anything. Any advice would be appreciated!

When selecting a high end card, the CPU/GPU relationship is something that has to be considered, but in your case, I don't think it's a problem. The PSU is another story though...it's way underpowered & will have to be upgraded. Also, if you're not gonna game, the video card is overkill...& if you're not gonna overclock, the RAM is overkill as well.

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1280MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP1

A followup...

After reading the responses, I realized my ATI X800XL card really is way overkill for what I want to use this HTPC for. So, instead, I'm thinking of getting a cheaper basic X300 card and using a DVI-component adapter with it. It's cheaper and I'm hoping it'll require less juice from the PSU. Anyone have any thoughts? I thought about getting even a cheaper Radeon9500 AGP card (+adapter), but I'm now stuck with the AMD 3200+ CPU I bought and I don't think there are any 939chipset microATX boards out there that support AGP...

You're going from one extreme to the other...lol. The X800XL is high end, the X300 is low end. Since you have to go with PCI-e, how about something more midrange like the X600 Pro or X600 XT? Also, ATI has just snuck a new low/mid card into they're lineup...the X550. It's only a few bucks more than the X300 & the GPU/RAM settings are better - 400MHz/500MHz vs 325MHz/400MHz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102563

ASUS A7N8X-X
Athlon XP 1800+
8.5 x 200MHz
1024MB PC3200 2.5-3-3-7
Asus A9550GE/TD 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro SP1

Thanks for the info... yeah, I guess I did swing to the total other end there. Hmm, I guess I started looking at the X300 and X600 when I realized it might be easier for me to hook up the computer to the bigscreen TV with ATI's DVI-component adapter - but it only works with the Radeons and the X300 and X600 which are based on them.. not sure about the X550. I was also worried about the possibly greater PSU requirements of the X600 over the X300 and I'm still trying to maybe set up a system that could run on a microatx board with only the supplied 270W PSU.. but you're right, there's a nice X600Pro for the same price as the X550:

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=190506

Hmm, do you think I might be able to get away with running an X600Pro (without playing major GPU-intensive games) on this case/PSU system fitted with a microatx board?:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811204003

Well, just an update - I finally built my microatx mediapc for remote controlled videoconferencing,etc.... pretty happy with it so far. It's probably an overkill for my parents, but oh well. Here are the specs:

Coolermaster ATC-620C-BX1 Aluminum Mini Tower Case (Black)
Coolmax 120mm Silent Cooling Fan Switching PSU CX-400B 400W
MSI RS480M2-IL microatx motherboard
1 GB (2 pcs 512) DDR2 (533) PC2-4200 OCZ Gold RAM
Zalman USA CNPS7000B-AlCu CPU Fan
AMD Athlon64 3200+ (E-Venice core) CPU
ATI (Connect3D) Radeon X300 SE 128MB DDR/PCI-E/TV-Out/DVI
Western Digital 320GB SATA 8MB Cache 7200RPM (WD3200JD)
NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540A
Logitech Quickcam Orbit WebCam
Linksys WMP54GS Wireless-G PCI Card with SpeedBooster
MITSUMI Black USB2.0 & FDD Digital Card Reader/Writer FA404
ATI 6140016400 DVI-I to Component HDTV Adapter
VANTEC SF6025L 60mm 2 Ball Case Cooling Fan