Home 'entertainment' system price?

Mic · 19 May 2006 at 23:53

Looking to create a home cinema unit on the 'cheap'

Im really just looking for a ballpark figure.
What id need:

1.Case, SSF would be great but im sure it would push up the price

2.Good dvd

3.Good sound

4.Big ass HDD.

5.Doesnt ham up while playing dvds or music. I dont want slow down when watching a movie

6. Doesnt have to be uber quite but it would be nice if it wasnt a jet engine.

Rough price anyone?

semi-pro waster · 20 May 2006 at 00:03

Something along these lines ought to give a decent starting point. It will play DVDs more than comfortable and is SFF, it uses onboard graphics and sound, if you want you can add an Audigy4 for ~£35.

CA-008-AS OcUK Value Aspire X-Qpack Cube Case - Silver (CA-008-AS)
£59.95 £59.95
MB-119-AS Asus A8N-VM CSM Micro ATX (Socket 939) PCI Express Motherboard (MB-119-AS)
£47.95 £47.95
MY-005-GL GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) PC3200 Value Dual Channel Kit CAS2.5 (GE1GB3200BHDC) (MY-005-GL)
£49.95 £49.95
CP-117-AM AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA3000BPBOX) (CP-117-AM)
£61.95 £61.95
CD-030-NE NEC ND4570 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM (CD-030-NE)
£20.95 £20.95
HD-018-SA Samsung SpinPoint P SP2504C 250GB SATA-II 8MB Cache - OEM (HD-018-SA)
£50.95 £50.95
Subtotal £291.70
Shipping (City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)) £9.95
VAT £52.79
Total £354.44

Mic · 20 May 2006 at 00:06

Thats not bad. Thanks man. Just what i was looking for

squiffy · 20 May 2006 at 00:30

faster cpu imo (55% cpu load 6150) on 3700+ also if scalin ffdsow
replace stock case fans. i own same mobo, not bad but add zalman sb cooler (blue one)

Mic · 20 May 2006 at 00:31

squiffy said:
faster cpu imo (55% cpu load 6150) on 3700+ also if scalin ffdsow
replace stock case fans. i own same mobo, not bad but add zalman sb cooler (blue one)

Ill be waiting till mid-summer to get it. I have to get the tv first. So im just weighing up my options right now. Thanks for the tip.

Messiah Khan · 20 May 2006 at 01:08

Are you hooking the system up to a hi-fi amp or anything? If so, it might be worth considering trying to get a soundcard with optical out.(Thats if your amp has optical in anyway)

Mic · 20 May 2006 at 01:11

messiah khan said:
Are you hooking the system up to a hi-fi amp or anything? If so, it might be worth considering trying to get a soundcard with optical out.(Thats if your amp has optical in anyway)

Ah yes, should have mentioned that. It will be a replacement for both hifi amp and dvd player.

Id also like to play some......snes games if you get my drift.

Messiah Khan · 20 May 2006 at 01:20

What are you doing about speakers then? Have you got any decent Hi-fi ones, or are you going over to pc speakers? Pc speakers are getting better all the time, but still can't touch decent hi fi ones. If you are using hi fi ones, it might be a bit fiddly connecting them without a seperate amp, as you will most likely have to wire on some jack plugs.

Edit; Snes games shouldn't be a problem on the spec mentioned earlier

Mic · 20 May 2006 at 01:24

I was plannning on using a pc speaker setup. I didnt think they would be that bad really.

Wiring on jack plugs wouldnt be too difficult for me. But id rather go down the pc speaker route. I ll consider the seperate amp though.

EDIT:
The speaker system is also gonna have to be hooked up to a 360. I have an optical input on the xbox cable though.

squiffy · 20 May 2006 at 02:03

A PC sound system won't provide a great home theatre experience, but it'll do for normal TV. You'll want a soundcard with analogue and digital outputs with ASIO drivers (output PCM from CD's as 44.1khz) also pass Dolby Digital and DTS streams. You'll also need a remote control receiver/transmitter bundle.

Mic · 20 May 2006 at 02:08

squiffy said:
You'll also need a remote control receiver/transmitter bundle.

Id be using my Axim X51V as my main remote control for the whole set up.

squiffy · 20 May 2006 at 02:17

ok you still but need a ir receiver - I use a decent learning remote but still needed ms remote bundle.

Mic · 20 May 2006 at 02:22

squiffy said:
ok you still but need a ir receiver - I use a decent learning remote but still needed ms remote bundle.

Ah..now thats gonna be a problem.
The computer will be positioned behind me, with wireless keyboard/mouse(or if i could use the pda through a wireless lan link) So ill have to turn around to use the IR.

squiffy · 20 May 2006 at 02:24

ms ir receiver cable is pretty long, probably 7 or 8 feet. also 2 blaster ports and cables supplied.

Mic · 20 May 2006 at 02:25

squiffy said:
ms ir receiver cable is pretty long, probably 7 or 8 feet. also 2 blaster ports and cables supplied.

Ah thats plenty of lenght actually. Thanks for that

Got me worried for a second.

jim5000 · 20 May 2006 at 10:52

You dont need speakers for watching dvds. Surely you can just use the ones built into the TV!!!

squiffy · 20 May 2006 at 11:51

jim5000 said:
You dont need speakers for watching dvds. Surely you can just use the ones built into the TV!!!

ever heard a decent audio system? i use my audio system even for Simpsons.

Messiah Khan · 20 May 2006 at 12:34

No way could I watch a DVD through my telly speakers. For most of my listening I use my Sennheiser heaphones, as I can turn it up as loud as I want without disturbing people. As I say Mic, pc speakers are getting better all the time, so if you get a decent 5.1 or 7.1 system it should sound perfectly fine. Also makes it easier for cabling if your not hooking it up to a hifi system.

Mic · 20 May 2006 at 13:07

messiah khan said:
No way could I watch a DVD through my telly speakers. For most of my listening I use my Sennheiser heaphones, as I can turn it up as loud as I want without disturbing people. As I say Mic, pc speakers are getting better all the time, so if you get a decent 5.1 or 7.1 system it should sound perfectly fine. Also makes it easier for cabling if your not hooking it up to a hifi system.

Ill read as many reviews as i can before i decide. Ill have to do some research now