Media centre PC

[markwilliams82]

I'm looking to build a media centre PC in the future to connect up to my tv to watch films and play games on. What is a good case to go for? Don't really want one of the usual big towers stacked up along side my PC unit, unless people on here can give me enough reasons to do this

 

[whipitrnd]

go for this nice lian li mini tower http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-153-LL&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

 

[markwilliams82]

it is a very nice case, but was hoping for more of a media centre case (if theyre any good)

 

[gt_junkie]

Bit more but comes with a PSU

or

Something a little bigger (also comes in black )

gt

 

[markwilliams82]

Nice and stylish looking cases, do they have any problems fitting the latest graphic cards?

 

[johnny sublime]

the second one will take a 5850 no probs but dosent come with a psu

 

[markwilliams82]

should be ok, do they take standard psus?

 

[chipps101]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-161-LL&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=187

gotta throw this case into the mix i love mine and yes the antecs and this lian li all take standard psu's.

my build log is here so you can see what the case is laike with stuff in it - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18105919&highlight=chipps101

 

[markwilliams82]

thanks chipps, nice case and a good log in your other post

nice looking setup

 

[beefybarn]

Ive got the same case as chipps for my htpc and would not be parted from it, its brilliant.

 

[markwilliams82]

is it worth paying the extra for it then? what do you use for a remote control?

 

[chipps101]

i think it is worth the extra over the antecs, i checked out the antec micro fusion before i bought the lian li and it is a nice case but the quality of the lian li is just that bit better.
i use a cyberlink dvd remote and it works everything i need in windows 7's media centre (the only thing it doesn't do is ff and rw instead it jumps 10 seconds back and 30 seconds forward for every press) and works flawlessly when playing back hd dvd and dvd's in power dvd.



like this one

Ive got the same case as chipps for my htpc and would not be parted from it, its brilliant.

did you buy neil_g's case beefybarn ?

 

[beefybarn]

Yes i did chipps, slightly different to yours as got the two internal fans but it was a dream to build in and the finish of the case is perfect, looks great under the telly. Even with the two fans you cant hear it.

 

[markwilliams82]

thats another plus point, needs to be quiet! if you're watching a film its bad enough at the moment, talking bits are always so quiet compared to the action parts

 

[deadite66]

buy an acer revo and put xbmc on it.

 

[markwilliams82]

OK sorry to sound thick, but whats that?

 

[deadite66]

acer revo is an atom based device with an nvidia gfx card they call it ION.
the ION chipset support VDPAU in linux with offloads video to the gfx card so you can play HD movies on it. i've played 1080p wmv on mine just fine.

xbmc started out as the xbox media centre but is now on linux, windows and osx.

lifehacker has a guide about it.

nice example video on youtube.

 

[alex24]

I'm using the Antec Fusion Micro 350, it looks really good once it's all together, but it can be a little fiddly to build in. The screen is nice, the software is buggy though (Soundgraph IMON).

You have to use low profile expansion cards, not a problem in a HTPC though.

The Lian Li C33B is a better quality case for sure, but it's also a fair bit bigger. IIRC Lian Li did a 'single storey' version of that case, might be worth looking up, can't remember the model name.

 

[markwilliams82]

Will have to have a look for it, how many HDDs can you usually fit into a HTPC?

Do the Acer Revo atom PC's give you much power for some gaming or room for expansion?

 

[deadite66]

it would depend on the games but i would say if you intend to run big games then buy a small desktop pc not an atom based one.