help me build my entertainment computer
iam getting a new computer
i want to build a entertainment computer
for watching movies,watching tv etc
but iam not good at selecting the goods
so i need your help on what to get
money is no problem
monitors
hard drives
optical drives
storage
mother board
etc
which brand should i get ?
which model should i get ?
etc
thanks
Re: help me build my entertainment computer
money is no problem well thats good. I can give you my specs that are fantastic except my vid card isn't top notch but you don't need one for HD movies if thats all you are doing.
My pride and joy
Case: Thermaltake DH102 VH2001BNS
Chip:wolfdale 3.0
Board:GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L
GFX: Asus EAH 3650 Silent
RAM: G.SKILL1000 4GB (2 x 2GB)
PSU: Corsair 620HX
OS: Vista X64
Monitor IDK I use my 42" LCD HDTV to watch movies on. I would say get a TV rather than a monitor.
Brand?? Build your own man
Re: help me build my entertainment computer
Heres mine built it about 9 months ago so the onboard video isnt the highest out
But it still plays hd 1080p rips just fine, I use a server to host all the videos
so all thats in here is a laptop hdd for the os and programs
Case: Ahanix MCE303 HTPC Case
Power Supply: Sunbeam Hush 580W Power Supply
Motherboard: BIOSTAR TForce TF7050-M2 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 7050PV HDMI Micro ATX Motherboard
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Processor
CPU Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS8700 2 Ball CPU Cooler
Video Card: Onboard Nvidia 7050PV
Ram: WINTEC AMPX 4GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800
HDD: 120gb 2.5" Western Digital
Optical: Lite-On DVD Burner
OS: Windows XP Pro 32Bit
Accessories: Microsoft Black IR Wireless Slim 3-in-1Keyboard & Microsoft IR MCE Remote
http://www.htpccentral.org/Other/pics/10.JPG
Re: help me build my entertainment computer
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Detale
lol, with your case detale he will be on a budget with the case that you got
Re: help me build my entertainment computer
What O/S are you going to use ? Media Centre might be a choice to consider .
Re: help me build my entertainment computer
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Acid_death69
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Detale
lol, with your case detale he will be on a budget with the case that you got
LOL tell me about it. I happened to have the other parts from an older build of mine. I only got the case and the video card new when I built it. Was still like $800 bucks:shutup: I have to say it is a VERY well built and good looking case, the remote it comes with works well also. I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone who can scrape up the cash for it.
Also I agree with peat Vista IS good for one thing the media center is worth it because the IMON software is a bit user un-friendly at least for me. :huh:
Re: help me build my entertainment computer
If I was gonna spend that kinda money on a htpc case it would be the OrigenAE SV16
http://www.origenae.com/en/htpc_s16v.htm
Also depends on what you want for a media frontend
If your gonna use Media Center then Vistas version is nicer
but if your not theres really no point in using the resource hog
vista. There are may other options out there for media frontends
I personally use MediaPortal because of all the options, I hate
being restricted to what microsoft will let you do with media center,
I have use mce2005,viste mce and I dont care for either one.
Also dont know if you want amd or intel but if you want something quiet
then i would suggest something like the Amd 4850e 45watt cpu with
a quiet or passive cpu cooler, If you dont want to play any games then
you wont need to spend more than needed on a video card, I prefer the
onboard video for a htpc for 1 reason the cost, and it will play anything fine
unless you want to play games on it, alot of people go way overboard
on a htpc and end up creating more heat and noise than they want or
need
Re: help me build my entertainment computer
WOW that IS a nice case, not as nice as mine, but nice none the less :P
I use it ONLY for watching movies so vista, being the resource hog that it most certainly is, doesn't matter to me because that's all this rig is used for.
MediaPortal eh. Im going to look into it. Do you have a link for it?
Re: help me build my entertainment computer
It was my first thought , I must be a software nut . It can make all the difference . I'v tried the 64 bit versions of Vista , XP which you would think would be the first choice for a new hardware setup be it a laptop or custom build . Sadly found both were not up to the task , 32 bit seems to run great for me .
I suggest the Windows Media Centre only because of what you what to use your computer for . Of course JMHO and its fun to try different configs .Most good mobos have options to keep bios settings and change on the fly when O/C so it's a a win win .
Re: help me build my entertainment computer
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Detale
MediaPortal eh. Im going to look into it. Do you have a link for it?
I sure do
http://www.team-mediaportal.com/
Here is the current skin I am using they have tons of different ones
http://forum.team-mediaportal.com/mo...updated-29566/
They also have that same skin using MCE color scheme plus many others