Help with Barebones spec

lordrobs

lordrobs

lordrobs

Soldato
Joined
30 Sep 2003
Posts
16,389
Location
Norwich
After encoding my and my girlfriends entire DVD collection (including every episode of Sex and the Cit and Ally McBeal ever :( ) i've started to think that when we move into our own place in the not so distant future having all our films etc. on a pc that will be kept in a spare bedroom is a really useless idea :o so....

I'm thinking of getting a barebones, small pc to use simply as a media pc. The pc will have simply 2 uses- 1) to play DivX/Xvid files and 2) to play mp3's, maybe to be used as a DVD player too, everything else will be done on my main pc. Therefore it doesn't have to be particularly high spec. I'm planning to use XP MCE as the operating system. Files will be stored on external HDD.

My only criteria is that I want to be able to feed the sound output digitally to my AV reciever and the signal needs to be atleast 5.1. Coaxial would be preferable but optical is also an option. Onboard would be ideal, currently i'm using the onboard sound on my A7N8X-deluxe which is perfect for my needs.

As i'm not going to be playing games etc. on it would it be possible to stick with onboard graphics?

Other than that i'm open to suggestions, ideally I want it small (shuttle type size) also i'd like to try and keep the budget down a bit but I don't want to go cheap and nasty... basically i'd just appreciate opinions / specs as i've been out of the hardware game for a long time.

Thanks for your time :)
 
majority of shuttles all have relativly decent sound cards built in, certainly good enough to just output what ever encoded sound the dvd has etc to your amp usually via optical, and a lot of them have integrated graphics, if not then a cheap pci or agp card would surfice nicely. how will you be connecting to a TV?? as ive read that the gForce 4 MX (i think it was that, best to ask in the graphics card forum on that one) had rather good composite out. if its another way then even better (vga, dvi).

as for what shuttle type SFF to go for i dunno lol. i guess a pentium would probs be better, especially if you still want to rip dvd's etc and encode them. but to keep the price down, maybe look at a mATX mobo and an aria or silverstone sugo case to put it in (personally id go for the sugo, looks shinier :))

hows that for a starting point???
 
Cheers.

It will be connected to my TV via VGA... Which raises an important point I forgot to mention- it will need to display at 1280*768 as thats my TV's native res.

I had a look at the m-ATX DIY route and after playing about with the numbers it didn't work out any cheaper for the spec I want (ie low :p )

I'd quite like a remote with it as well as my plan for going over to XP-MCE + MCE Remote is going to push the budget too high. I was wondering if the Asus S1-P111 was compatible with Celerons? It only mentions P4's but surely a Celeron D of the same socket type would work wouldn't it?


EDIT- doh... been searching the web for half an hour and a quick visit to the Asus site tells me it will :o
 
Last edited:
I think at that resolution onboard graphics will be starting to put a lot of strain on the system, but a mid-range graphics card should be able to drive that fine.

The other thing to consider is what requirement you have for optical drives as most SFF only take 1, but the Sugo/mATX solution could accept 2 if that was a requirement.
 
the integrated graphics on the ST20G5 are rather good and should do 1280x768 easily, plus it dont look too shabby :) its A64 btw, im sure there must be an intel varient with ati's chipset that you could use a P4 or celeron in if you were set on intel??

but as WJA96 said, it only takes 1 optical drive and 2 HDD's
 
I have the ST20G5 and its fabulous :) - Gorgeous to look at, the built in ATI Graphics are great (Unless you want to play Games) - The audio is great - Easy to build - Cant recommend it enough!

Looks nice next to the 360 too mate :D
 
The ST20G5 is nice but a whopping £130 more than the Asus I was looking at. Plus it would be another £20 for a remote.

Even If I have to buy an AGP card such as a 6200 etc. for the Asus it would still be cheaper. If I was replacing my main PC the St20G5 would be near the top of the list but it seems a bit overkill for a media player.

One optical drive will be fine as it will only ever be used for ocasionally installing software or playing cd's / dvd's.
 
If you're thinking about getting the Asus T2, then think again. I have one and the noise is deafening, I can't stand it. The "QuietFan" technology cannot be changed so it flicks from spinning the fans fully to not constantly and it is so infuriating and intrusive.

They also look a bit dated now.
 
mortstar said:
If you're thinking about getting the Asus T2, then think again. I have one and the noise is deafening, I can't stand it. The "QuietFan" technology cannot be changed so it flicks from spinning the fans fully to not constantly and it is so infuriating and intrusive.

They also look a bit dated now.
Click to expand...
No it will be the S1-P111, which looks a bit in your face and gimicky but does everything I want and is just a shade over £100 :cool:

...I say will be, I actually put an order in for one a couple of hours ago.

I haven't used OCUK for a while as I had a couple of problems but I had to go with them on this. I could't find it within £40 of there price anywhere else :eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom