Buying help !!!!

T

tyhatts

New Member
Hey all

Ok, the ole'lady and I are in need of a new computer !
We want a laptop. Im going to use if for a home theater PC, Streaming HD movies and TV shows, Suurfing the net, downloading music/movies, and I want to be able to rip my DVD collection. I will be plugging it into my receiver via HDMI and using the TV as the monitor 95% of the time.
I dont plan on doing any editing or gaming or anything to over powering.
I want to be able to futureproof my self for the next few years... so I dont want just a BASIC "get me by for now" computer.

I went to futureshop last night and priced out a couple ... I believe a SONY and a TOSHIBA.... both were approx $1000 ..... I7 processor.. 6 GB ram, 750GB storage....

I dont have a budget, I just want the BEST computer for my needs. Suggestiongs on Brands, specs, etc. would be a reeeeal help !

Any input would be much apreciated.

Thanks
 
For just a HTPC a laptop is not really ideal due to the price. Those $1000 laptops are good substitutes for gaming machines or for mobile gaming machines, they are that powerful. For $1000 you could build a $600 HTPC/gaming capable machine and a netbook or notebook for mobile use. You can always buy a prebuilt desktop as well, there are plenty of HTPC-orientated pc's out there, they come in all shapes and sizes as well.
 
The laptop you described in that is very much like the high powered gaming laptop I am working on purchasing. I really don't know if you need all that but hey, if you don't have a budget then why not?

I reccommend the Dell XPS 17 for that. Price is generally from $800-$2000. (You can customize them on the Dell website).
 
You said future proof and laptop in the same sentence, kind of does not exist. Look for a desktop, It will cost less and you can get a lot more. Plus how much Video are you looking at putting on there. For 1k you could get a desktop that has 1.5 to 2 TB of HDD space which is key for future proof. Laptop is no good for what you want.
 
Best bet as mentioned above is to build a HTPC and get a laptop or netbook.

My ideal setup for what you are doing is a mac mini as an HTPC with a drobo and any mac laptop to go with that.

The reason why is that the mac mini doesn't tie you down like an apple tv (you have to go throught iTunes) you could use plex media server for all your home entertainement needs. you can use the drobo for backup or extra storage if needed.

you could also use that mac mini as a server for your home.

if you don't like Mac OS don't bother.
Also wait for the next mac mini update (should be announced soon) the current mac mini isn't worth the price.
 
That sounds cool a "Mac Mini" HTPC, my only question is what is the difference between the Mac mini and anyother Mac cause they all run OSX right? Not saying anything about Apple I just seriously Don't know.
 
DMGrier said:
That sounds cool a "Mac Mini" HTPC, my only question is what is the difference between the Mac mini and anyother Mac cause they all run OSX right? Not saying anything about Apple I just seriously Don't know.
Click to expand...

Yes all mac run Mac OS the advantage for the mini is form factor and energy consumption. However for the 699$ price tag it isn't really worth it as mentioned above wait for the update if you go this route.
 
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