htpc/multimedia machine......is it possible??

[godisi]

Hey guys i would like to know whether its possible to use my pc as both an htpc and a multimedia pc at the same time.

Requirements:

- Plays dvds/hd movies via ffdshow and theatertek
- Allows me to use industry standard 3d apps Alias Maya , and Softimage XSI

those are my two main req.I will not be playing any games.

I know my machine is capable of playing hd movies and dvd's as ive been using the pc as an htpc for quite some time now, i also know itll suffice for 3d work as well.

Heres the problem.......i need to use win2k for maya/softimage, and winxp for htpc.

Is dual booting such a good idea for an htpc?,will i come accross any obstacles in the process, this is really my only option, other than buying another machine which i do not want to as my current pc is pretty good at doing both tasks.

How would you guys go about doing this,i was thinking 3 ntfs partitions, 1 for w2k/xp and another spare one, which i could dump the page files onto mayb, all my data will be backed up to a network share.

Basically,i just want to know if i'll run into any conflicts using the two, any pointers/tips before i start???

[jkoon]

Why is XP required for the HTPC (did you mean you are going to be using XP Media Center Edition)?

Just a thought but there are a few alternatives to MCE that you might want to consider (so you don’t have to worry about a dual boot and switching 'modes' depending on what you want to do.

[legatus]

Why do you need Win2K for Maya? It runs fine on XP unless it is an older version. In fact, XP is based on Win2K. Softimage XSI should work on XP as well although the website says that there is recommended XP hotfix for some cases. I would avoid dual booting if you don't have to.

[godisi]

Ive been out of the scene for awhile..........back then xp was not fully supported, and w2k sp4 was the way to go......it seems now that both run and are fully supported by windows xp which is great for me:)

[Suntan]

Further, dual booting is not that big of a deal. If you had to, xp and 2000 dual booted would work just fine.

-Suntan