help building an entertainment pc

TheOrangeDude · 05-01-2007, 05:35 AM

hello every one. I'm planning on spanding arround 800 dollars building an entertainment pc for my hdtv so I can watch movie and brows on it. here is what I planning to get.

cpu: intel core 2 duo 4300

ram: 2gb ddrII(brand suggestion?)

mother board: really need help on this cause have no idea what is the latest great cd2 combo

HD: 320gb seagate

video card: 8600 gts

ok thats about it. I'm building this pc mainly so I can install vista with out worrying about the dx10 since my current only supprot dx9. While I just bought a big tv I'm thinking its about time I buy another pc so I can play and watch tv in the living room, instead sticking my head on a 23" monitor.

all suggestion r welcome.

PabloTeK · 05-01-2007, 07:34 AM

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...803&CatId=2013

This board has HDMI built-in and look at Corsair for the memory.

TheOrangeDude · 05-01-2007, 05:44 PM

alright thx bud. looks like I'm going to go over a little of my budget

.

taylormsj · 05-01-2007, 05:53 PM

whats wrong with your current ram?

TheOrangeDude · 05-01-2007, 06:42 PM

there is nothing wrong with my current ram, but since I dont really want to pull my comp out from my bed room and bring it all the way to my living room to watch a movie. I decide to just build another one in the living room next to my tv and use my tv as monitor.

darksideleader · 05-01-2007, 11:01 PM

i would get one of these mobo's for HD instead :
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...324&cid=MB.526
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...075&cid=MB.526
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...503&cid=MB.526
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...306&cid=MB.526

of course they are AMD mobos, 4800+ can easily compete with the 4300
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...14&cid=CPU.907

TheOrangeDude · 05-02-2007, 05:22 AM

thx bud but I really dont want to build a amd base pc atm, since my current one is amd already. I will probably spend some extra cash if need to boost from 4300 to e6600 since its only 300 doolars now.

tlarkin · 05-02-2007, 05:30 AM

Are you stuck on getting vista? I know a way to cut the money down and still have a rock solid entertainment/DVR computer. It would require a decent spec machine (not too high) a TV tuner card, Linux, and mythtv. Myth TV is a very powerful multimedia application that can record cable TV, automatically edit out commericals as it records, stream audio/video over a network, has a built in video game emulator so you can play all your old classic games, has adaptive AI - meaning it learns from your actions and will keep your recording options as you go, acutally I will just list the features from the website

Quote:

MythTV has a number of capabilities. The television portion allows you to do the following:

* You may pause, fast-forward and rewind live Television.
* You may install multiple video capture cards to record more than one program at a time.
* You can have multiple servers, each with multiple capture cards in them. All servers are centrally managed and all programs are scheduled by the Master backend.
* You can have multiple clients (called "frontends" in MythTV parlance), each with a common view of all available programs. Any client can watch any program that was recorded by any of the servers, assuming that they have the hardware capabilities to view the content; a low-powered frontend will not be able to watch HDTV, for example. Clients can be diskless and controlled entirely by a remote control.
* You may use any combination of standard analog capture card, MPEG-2, MJPEG, DVB, HDTV, USB and firewire capture devices. With appropriate hardware, MythTV can control set top boxes, often found in digital cable and satellite TV systems.
* Program Guide Data in North America is downloaded from Zap2It.com, a subsidiary of Tribune Media Services. This free service is called DataDirect, and provides MythTV almost two weeks of scheduling information. Program Guide Data in other countries is obtained using XMLTV. MythTV uses this information to create a schedule that maximizes the number of programs that can be recorded if you don't have enough tuners.
* MythTV implements a UPNP server, so a UPNP client should automatically see content from your MythTV system.

Other modules in MythTV include:

* MythArchive, a tool to create DVDs
* MythBrowser, a web browser
* MythControls, an application to configure your remote control
* MythDVD, a DVD viewer / ripper
* MythFlix, a Netflix module
* MythGallery, a picture-viewing application
* MythGame
* MythMusic, a music playing / ripping application which supports MP3 and FLAC
* MythNews, a RSS news grabber
* MythPhone, phone and videophone using SIP.
* MythVideo, a media-viewer for content not created within MythTV
* MythWeather
* MythWeb, which allows you to control your MythTV system using a web browser. With MythWeb, you can schedule and delete recordings, change keybindings and more. With proper security, you may even schedule a program over the Internet and have it immediately acted on by the scheduler.

here is the home page

http://mythtv.org/index.php

If I actually had HD cable and a HD TV I would totally build one of these boxes. It was works on OS X if you have a mac. You can also install it on your Xbox 360 which is also pretty pimp.

PcDoctor · 05-02-2007, 07:42 AM

vista ultimate is awesome if you get the new xbox360 you can stream the videos through the computer too the xbox. i think vista is great putting media ccenter in ultimate was a good move.

daisymtc · 05-02-2007, 11:43 AM

IMO, you don't need a 8600GTS unless you use it for gaming

05-01-2007, 05:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
TheOrangeDude Gold Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Toronto Canada Age: 23 Posts: 383	help building an entertainment pc hello every one. I'm planning on spanding arround 800 dollars building an entertainment pc for my hdtv so I can watch movie and brows on it. here is what I planning to get. cpu: intel core 2 duo 4300 ram: 2gb ddrII(brand suggestion?) mother board: really need help on this cause have no idea what is the latest great cd2 combo HD: 320gb seagate video card: 8600 gts ok thats about it. I'm building this pc mainly so I can install vista with out worrying about the dx10 since my current only supprot dx9. While I just bought a big tv I'm thinking its about time I buy another pc so I can play and watch tv in the living room, instead sticking my head on a 23" monitor. all suggestion r welcome. __________________ Current comps: CPU: AMD AM2 3800x2 / Intel Q6600 Graphic card: XFX 7900GT / EVGA 8800 Ultra RAM: OCZ ddr 2 2x1g 667 / Crucial ddr 2 2x1g 1066 HD: WD 250GB / Seagate 500 GB Mother board: MSI K9N platinum / Gigabyte P35 DS3R PSU: antec 450watts / Corsair HX 620watts

05-01-2007, 07:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
PabloTeK Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: The Peoples Republic of Nae Butta! Age: 17 Posts: 2,356	http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...803&CatId=2013 This board has HDMI built-in and look at Corsair for the memory. __________________ Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 @ 2.8GHz \| Gigabyte EP43-DS3L \| GeIL 3GB PC2-6400 \| BFG GeForce 8800GT 512MB OC \| Seagate 500GB 7200.11 SATA \| Western Digital 250GB SE16 SATA \| Coolermaster CM690 \| Corsair HX520W AMD Athlon 64 3800+ @ 2.4GHz \| 2GB Samsung PC2-5300 \| LeadTek 7300GS 256MB \| Western Digital 80GB SATA

05-01-2007, 05:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
TheOrangeDude Gold Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Toronto Canada Age: 23 Posts: 383	alright thx bud. looks like I'm going to go over a little of my budget. __________________ Current comps: CPU: AMD AM2 3800x2 / Intel Q6600 Graphic card: XFX 7900GT / EVGA 8800 Ultra RAM: OCZ ddr 2 2x1g 667 / Crucial ddr 2 2x1g 1066 HD: WD 250GB / Seagate 500 GB Mother board: MSI K9N platinum / Gigabyte P35 DS3R PSU: antec 450watts / Corsair HX 620watts

05-01-2007, 05:53 PM	#4 (permalink)
taylormsj Diamond Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,837	whats wrong with your current ram? __________________ E2160 @3.2 (3.618 GHz max) \| 2Gb OCZ 6400 @ 890MHz \| 8800GT (725, 1895, 1970 MHz) \| Coolermaster CM 690 \| Hiper 530 watt \| Maxtor 160 Gb \| D-tek fusion, 5.5mm nozzle / Swiftech MCW60 with enzo's / Swiftech D5 / MCRres / MCR320 radiator / 3 high yate loon / 7/16" tubing / black feser one

05-01-2007, 06:42 PM	#5 (permalink)
TheOrangeDude Gold Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Toronto Canada Age: 23 Posts: 383	there is nothing wrong with my current ram, but since I dont really want to pull my comp out from my bed room and bring it all the way to my living room to watch a movie. I decide to just build another one in the living room next to my tv and use my tv as monitor. __________________ Current comps: CPU: AMD AM2 3800x2 / Intel Q6600 Graphic card: XFX 7900GT / EVGA 8800 Ultra RAM: OCZ ddr 2 2x1g 667 / Crucial ddr 2 2x1g 1066 HD: WD 250GB / Seagate 500 GB Mother board: MSI K9N platinum / Gigabyte P35 DS3R PSU: antec 450watts / Corsair HX 620watts

05-01-2007, 11:01 PM	#6 (permalink)
darksideleader Silver Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 117	i would get one of these mobo's for HD instead : http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...324&cid=MB.526 http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...075&cid=MB.526 http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...503&cid=MB.526 http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...306&cid=MB.526 of course they are AMD mobos, 4800+ can easily compete with the 4300 http://www.canadacomputers.com/index...14&cid=CPU.907

05-02-2007, 05:22 AM	#7 (permalink)
TheOrangeDude Gold Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Toronto Canada Age: 23 Posts: 383	thx bud but I really dont want to build a amd base pc atm, since my current one is amd already. I will probably spend some extra cash if need to boost from 4300 to e6600 since its only 300 doolars now. __________________ Current comps: CPU: AMD AM2 3800x2 / Intel Q6600 Graphic card: XFX 7900GT / EVGA 8800 Ultra RAM: OCZ ddr 2 2x1g 667 / Crucial ddr 2 2x1g 1066 HD: WD 250GB / Seagate 500 GB Mother board: MSI K9N platinum / Gigabyte P35 DS3R PSU: antec 450watts / Corsair HX 620watts

05-02-2007, 07:42 AM	#9 (permalink)
PcDoctor New Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: New York Posts: 18	vista ultimate is awesome if you get the new xbox360 you can stream the videos through the computer too the xbox. i think vista is great putting media ccenter in ultimate was a good move. __________________ PersonalComputerDoctor.com HOME OF LONG ISLANDS LOWEST PRICES! COMPONENTS LAPTOPS AND MORE!

05-02-2007, 11:43 AM	#10 (permalink)
daisymtc Diamond Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: UK Posts: 2,563	IMO, you don't need a 8600GTS unless you use it for gaming

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