I need a PC for web browsing, and media centre.

Styles

Styles

Styles

Soldato
Joined
16 Mar 2005
Posts
2,889
Location
UK
Hi,

I'm looking to build a PC to basically use as a web browser and media centre.
I want to link the PC to my Plasma TV through the HDMI port and to be perfectly honest I have no idea about this sort of thing so some help would be much appreciated.

I don't need a monitor, it's just the base unit. One thing I cannot stand is a slow computer, i.e slow loading times and all that. So what would you recommend? If I'm going to be playing HD content from the PC would a decent amount (4GB) be beneficial as I've noticed the prices arn't too bad.

Would like the computer to be of a high quality but as it's only for this it doesn't need to be hugely expensive. I won't put a budget on it because to be honest it really doesn't matter, so could anyone with an idea just tell me what they would buy if they were doing this same thing.

It's never going to be used for gaming as I have my 360 which is all I ever need.

Thanks in advance,

Adam
 
I'm not too clued up on media PCs but something like this might do what you require, I've picked a fairly smart case as I'm assuming it might be within sight. The graphics card is suitable I think but you might want to wait for someone else to confirm.

Zotac GeForce 8500 GT ZONE 256MB DDR2 HDTV/DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail (ZT-85TEG2P-PSL) £46.99
(£55.21) £46.99
(£55.21)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2200 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.20GHz (800FSB) - Retail £50.99
(£59.91) £50.99
(£59.91)
Gigabyte GA-G33M-S2 Micro ATX (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £48.99
(£57.56) £48.99
(£57.56)
OcUK 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit £42.99
(£50.51) £42.99
(£50.51)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKS) £54.99
(£64.61) £54.99
(£64.61)
Antec Fusion HTPC Case - 430HE Watt PSU £97.99
(£115.14) £97.99
(£115.14)
Pioneer DVR-115DSV 20x DVD±RW IDE Dual Layer ReWriter (Silver) - OEM £14.99
(£17.61) £14.99
(£17.61)
Sub Total : £357.93
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £64.38
Total : £432.26
 
The case in the post above is what lots of people recommend. Antec also do a cheaper option with a 380W power supply for around £70. You could cut back on the gfx card. A HD2400 would work well.
 
No need for 4GB at all on a HTPC, my HTPC has 2GB of RAM and even with Slimserver installed (100MB memory usage) Outlook, Media Portal, Opera peak memory usage is never above 1.2GB.

ATI 2600Pro, better HD accelertion afaik. Samsung drives for quietness. Also need MS Remote/Receiver. Get the NSK2440 case if you're on a budget.
 
how about this

2ly1xs2.jpg


maybe change the gfx for a passive 1 but you have to make sure it would fit into the
shuttle case. as some passive coolers take up a bit of room

or if you want to go intel you could go for this

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-094-SH&groupid=43&catid=110&subcat=343

and use the cpu semi-pro waster listed. it would only cost you abit more not much tho
 
Last edited:
Tosk gave a good spec. That shuttle can hold 2 hard drives btw so I would go for 2x500gb personally. Maybe with some cheeper ram for about £30 and as he said a Passive vid card is a must in a shuttle. Due to the gfx slot being right next to the case it can actually increse fan noise. I'm not sure how that fan performs though
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom