I suppose as long as you don't have a problem and need to interact directly with Windows that would indeed be sufficient. I supose I'm more concerned with having to work on the desktop but it sounds like you minimize that sort of activity.
In reply to:
Some new GForce cards even take up 2 slots and is supossedly HDTV ready mpeg2 decoding. Since it will natively support HDTV no need for Powerstrip for HD resolutions(maybe).
That card is an abortion and won't actually make it to many stores. They only made a few before the enthusiast sites so thoroughly trashed it that nVidia gave up on the card. They're basically going to push right past to the next revision of their chip, the NV35.
If you want stellar MPEG decoding, get the ATi cards. They also have some post process filtering that result in a better picture. As to the need for powerstrip, check the supported resolutions of that card. Not a single one of them are HDTV resolutions so you'd still need powerstrip, unfortunately.
None of this stuff is really perfect yet...
