media centre pc

[bouloux129]

hi guys,
I'm looking for a media centre pc to fulfill the following functions
Ability to play full HD +HDMI
Free pci/ pci exp slot for tv tuner with s video in/ dvb-t/inbuilt IR for remote
Quiet
Game play, football manager and latest command and conquer games
Good sound card
Small case

Optional
Good video conversion speeds

can anyone recommend a prebuild from a major company, or a prebuild +some small bits to fulfil the small details?

[ocgw]

hi guys,
I'm looking for a media centre pc to fulfill the following functions
Ability to play full HD +HDMI
Free pci/ pci exp slot for tv tuner with s video in/ dvb-t/inbuilt IR for remote
Quiet
Game play, football manager and latest command and conquer games
Good sound card
Small case

Optional
Good video conversion speeds

can anyone recommend a prebuild from a major company, or a prebuild +some small bits to fulfil the small details?

What's your budget?

Here is a "pre-built" @ $800USD that meets your needs, you might need a gfx card depending on what games you play

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883228003

$90USD ATSC Tuner/Analog capture card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116016

ocgw

peace

[bouloux129]

Thanks, I'm uk based, so was hoping to be able to buy it from over here, but will be visiting the states in the enxt 6 weeks so could sort something out if required.My price range is around 500-600 quid which is about 800 to 1000 bucks

[lowellriggsiam]

I am sure you don't want to bring a computer back from the US, we have different power standards and power cords.

[mh2360]

http://www.mediapc4u.co.uk

They have a few good looking units around your price range. I have never used them before so I can't rate their service.

[ocgw]

I am sure you don't want to bring a computer back from the US, we have different power standards and power cords.

Technically speaking modern psu's automatically adjust for voltage and frequency, but I would shop closer to home too

input frequency standard is 47-63Hz covering any power standard

cheap psu's can handle 100-240v, really good ones go from 90-264v

ocgw

peace

[dj4monie]

Let's see -

You want to watch Free To Air (Over The Air) HD

Be able to play games and have quick conversion times of video formats.

First to clear up a few things -

You'll be hard pressed to find better sound than the current crop of Realtek on chip sound processors. There's no need to spend the extra moola on buggy Creative Cards or some other expensive audio card.

Next if you want super fast conversion speeds, get a program that supports dual, triple and quad core processors. Sony Vegas, Pinnacle Studio 10 and higher (those are the only ones I know of).

DIY (Do It Yourself)! It will cost far less, so you can spend money on components and it doesn't take that long. I built my last PC from start to finish and watching TV in about 4 hours.

Here's what I recommend -

Get a AMD Black Edition Dual Core (550): This $100 CPU is capable of being unlocked to a Quad Core CPU, with a AMD SB710 or SB750 Chipset. The cheapest board is a one with a SB710 - $70-80US

Get 4GB of 1066Hz RAM - $100 (Dual Channel!)

Not sure what DVB-T cards are available, but that shouldn't be a problem to find locally

Finally for Gaming, I'm a ATI loyalist, so with that. If your playing at 1900x1080 or 1920x1200 you need at least a HD4770 512MB video card, if not a HD4870 1GB and call it a day.

1TB Drives are under $100US here now, not sure about the UK.

As for US vs UK PC parts, its all the same, its the power supply outlet plug that's different. As long as you bought your case and power supply locally you won't have any problems, you'll need to buy your tuner card locally anyway.

Building a PC is easy, Windows 7 has been trouble FREE since I installed it, no errors, no reboots, nothing.

I higly suggest you download that and use that, then buy the upgrade when available, here its $49 for Home Premium and I think $99 for Ultimate, I could be wrong about Ultimate.