Media PC spec

Uhtred · 5 Feb 2008 at 10:36

I'm looking to get a media pc downstairs for as cheap as possible. At the moment we have a rubbish TV but hopefully getting an HD tv in the near future.

The components i have already –

DVD RW
40gb HDD (media will be streamed from my server)
XP pro
ATI x1900 (this has TV out, can it connect to an HD tv ok?)

So i need a case, power supply, ram, chip (not bothered between amd or intel) and a m/b (gigabit network would be nice)

Case wise the Antec NSK 2480 looked good but not sure it can fit in my budget, only really looking to spend £150 odd if that’s possible. I really liked the ASUS pundit range of barebones systems but they are low profile so i don’t really see how you can get a decent graphics card with tv and hd out?

Any thoughts and input would be great.
Thanks

MivkM · 5 Feb 2008 at 10:41

have you though about a decent sound card at all?

Uhtred · 5 Feb 2008 at 10:55

we don't use surround sound or anything so onboard will do to start with

MivkM · 5 Feb 2008 at 11:28

Ok, how about a :

core 2 duo e2180 £50
Foxconn G33M-S Intel G33 Micro-ATX £60
1GB ram £20

perhaps try to find a second hand case and power supply to keep costs down?

Uhtred · 5 Feb 2008 at 16:22

humm i've been looking at the asus barebones range and it seems to be good value...

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3600+ 2.00GHz (Socket AM2) - OEM £20.99
OcUK 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit £23.99
Asus Vintage V2-M2V890 Barebones System - AMD64 (Socket AM2) £47.99

(any thoughts on a cpu cooler?)

Sub Total : £92.97
Delievery £8.95
VAT : £17.84
Total : £119.76

I'm not sure about all this HD stuff to be honest. thanks for your help thus far

MivkM · 5 Feb 2008 at 16:49

That does look pretty good value, what you not sure of HD wise?

Uhtred · 5 Feb 2008 at 17:14

the connections to the tv. If i use my x1900 with dual dvi out how will it connect to an HD telly?

MivkM · 5 Feb 2008 at 17:24

Dvi to HDMI cable, although you want get the full functionallity of true HD due to it not being an HD source

decto · 5 Feb 2008 at 17:42

For HD you'd be best making sure you have a PCI-E slot and buying a ATi HD2400

Product Features
Hardware based H.264/VC-1 decoding of Blu-ray™ and HD DVDs
HDMI with 5.1 surround sound audio

The rest of the system is up to you. I run my media centre with and X2 3800 and 1GB and it's fine.

Think carefully about the case if noise could be an issue. Some solutions have cheap noise small fans which can be........

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HummuH1 · 5 Feb 2008 at 17:42

MivkM said:
Dvi to HDMI cable, although you want get the full functionallity of true HD due to it not being an HD source

Being simple, DVI is exactly the same as HDMI, it just can't carry audio and uses a different connection. You can get full HD video functionality over DVI, but some TV's/AV Receivers do struggle due to HDCP issues.

Uhtred · 5 Feb 2008 at 23:29

ok thanks. that sounds easy enough. i've found a spare P4 630 CPU i can use so i've decided to go with the intel system and upgrade to core 2 at a later date if needed.

OcUK 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Kit £23.99
Asus Vintage V3-P5945GC Barebones System - Intel Core 2 Duo (LGA775) £55.99
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775) £14.99
Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop 3000 Black - OEM (69N-00015) £18.99

Sub Total : £113.96
Shipping : £8.95
VAT : £21.51
Total : £144.42

I'm unsure about the cooler, not sure if it will fit?

decto · 5 Feb 2008 at 23:44

Looks ok, the CPU mounting should be the standard 4 hole to support OEM intel coolers so no issues there.

For keyboard / mouse I have one of these.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=KB-001-KE&groupid=702&catid=23&subcat=2
Much easier than trying to use a mouse on your leg!! and has a decent range. Many of the desktop kits only work with a few feet wheras this has a decent range.

Only drawback is you have to press a key then give it 2 secs to wake up... but that's the same with all wireless.

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Dingleberry88 · 5 Feb 2008 at 23:50

Gigabyte Ga-73PVM - ~£50

This had onboard HDMI, so connecting it to your HDTV with an HDMI cable will give you both picture and sound.

E2140 - ~£40

2GB of DDR2 - doesn't have to be anything special - ~£30

Total - ~£120

Edit: That's pretty much what I have. Plays even 1080p without a hitch.

Uhtred · 6 Feb 2008 at 10:05

decto said:
Looks ok, the CPU mounting should be the standard 4 hole to support OEM intel coolers so no issues there.

For keyboard / mouse I have one of these.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=KB-001-KE&groupid=702&catid=23&subcat=2
Much easier than trying to use a mouse on your leg!! and has a decent range. Many of the desktop kits only work with a few feet wheras this has a decent range.

Only drawback is you have to press a key then give it 2 secs to wake up... but that's the same with all wireless.

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That looks interesting thanks, i may well get that. I know the cpu fan would fit in the socket but it's a small case and a large cooler which is why i am unsure