Making a home entertainment PC

[DanLikesCereal]

I have an extra, albeit slow, computer. I want to put it up in my room and use it as a Tivo/Music station type thing. Just a home entertainment deal. What is the best way to go about doing this?

Things that I need:

Graphics Card: I was thinking Radeon AIW 8500.

Monitor: Some kind of 17 inch LCD, I don't have much room for a CRT.

Wireless Mouse/Keyboard: Logitech seems to make the best of these...I think.

Speakers: I have Logitech 680s on my main computer. I was thinking of getting the 560s for this one.

I believe the computer is about 700-900 mhz with an Audigy soundcard and at the momment, no video card. It has something like 768 RAM. I'm just looking for general advice on how to go about doing this in the best possible way. Thanks!

 

[Slugbait]

If it's not going to be used for gaming (and gaming on an LCD isn't too great, anyway), you might also consider an nVidia Personal Cinema card. An MX440 version can be had for $30 less at comprousa.com (compared to the price of the AIW 8500 at newegg).

LCD monitors are really coming down in price lately. There's a Samsung model at BestBuy for $400 after rebate. But still, a regular 27" TV will only set you back about $300. For example, BestBuy has a 27" RCA that includes XBox connections (as well as S-Video...which you would need) for $280.

My Logitech MX700 is great. If you want wireless, it's highly recommended by me. My wireless Intellimouse sucks in comparison...

The Z-560's should sound pretty good. However, you will have to ghost the center channel (which kinda sucks for DD/DTS, and really sucks for ProLogic...and you'll likely be doing ProLogic more often). I would suggest going with a 5.1 instead of a 4.1 for proper audio. They're dinky, but perhaps you could check out the Z-640...another option is the 6.1 CreativeLabs Inspire 6600 for $130.

 

[mrman3k]

One item that you did not really touch on was RAM and more importantly hard drive space.

For RAM, I recommend that you have at least 256MB, preferably 512MB to ensure no hiccups.

Hard drive space is the most important if you want good quality video, which I am an advocate of. I would recommend that you get at least a 200GB hard drive, maybe even 2 if you can afford it. I have noticed the Maxtor 200GB drive on sale at Fry's lately for $180 for the retail drive which comes with a 3 year warranty if I am not mistaken. I know WD retail drives come with a 3 year warranty. You will find that the video will fill up space faster than you could ever imagine.

Good luck!

 

[BigFatCow]

Originally posted by: mrman3k
One item that you did not really touch on was RAM and more importantly hard drive space.

For RAM, I recommend that you have at least 256MB, preferably 512MB to ensure no hiccups.

Hard drive space is the most important if you want good quality video, which I am an advocate of. I would recommend that you get at least a 200GB hard drive, maybe even 2 if you can afford it. I have noticed the Maxtor 200GB drive on sale at Fry's lately for $180 for the retail drive which comes with a 3 year warranty if I am not mistaken. I know WD retail drives come with a 3 year warranty. You will find that the video will fill up space faster than you could ever imagine.

Good luck!

he said the machine had 768 mb of ram...


i currently have a celeron 766 with i think 128mb of ram running as my tv in my room, its hooked up with a hauppage wintv card, a 17inch envision crt, and some pos savage video card. I also have a wireless logitech mouse that i got for free, but no wireless keyboard...


you dont really need a good video card just as long as you get a tv tuner card, and a lcd wouldnt be too good for a tv because of the viewing angle.

 

[Ravenit]

How about a dvd player to really enjoy the experiance