what makes a good media center computer?

hank123 · 11-25-07, 09:05 PM

what makes a good media center computer?

and what makes um so good? So much has been talked about them.

trowakage · 11-25-07, 10:58 PM

Well, that would depend on what you define as a media comp? Like what would you want to do with it?

satandole666 · 11-25-07, 11:44 PM

Do you have a ton of music, DVDs, or an HDTV? It just seems to be an easier way to implement everything into one functional unit. My old stereo setup (5+ years ago) had a receiver, cd player, dvd player (got it after the CD player), and amp/equalizer, speakers, and a TV.

Now you can do all of that with speakers, TV, and HTPC from the comfort of your couch.

hank123 · 11-27-07, 08:32 PM

ok well i was thinking bout building one for the fokes for Christmas and was also wanting to know the cost or rather what i should look for parts wise?

oakstave · 11-28-07, 11:11 AM

IMHO, a media center computer only needs a few features.

1. A media center edition OS

2. Decent HD's (A couple of 500gig HD's should be plenty of space.)

3. A TV card or an ATI All-In-Wonder video card. (With the AIW card, you don't have to get a Media Center Edition OS.)

An entry level core2duo will give you all the poke you need.

1Gig RAM if it's XP MCE, 2Gigs RAM if it's Vista HPE.

Other than that, it's all up for debate. The Vista Home Premium has a very easy to use interface with the Media Center, but you'll need the two gigs of RAM to run it best.

JamesXP · 11-28-07, 11:38 AM

Or... Just get MythTV, Open source FTW.

11-25-07, 09:05 PM	Thread Starter #1
hank123 Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: With Yahweh in Colorado	what makes a good media center computer? what makes a good media center computer? and what makes um so good? So much has been talked about them. __________________ GIGABYTE P35-DS3L PENCIL VOLT MOD FOUND HERE! Mobo:ASROCK Z77 Extreme4 Ram: Gskill 2133 CPU:3570K @ 3.6 Load 1.224V Video: Diamond 7970 White box PSU: Antec quattro 850 Storage: 2 velociraptor 150 raid 0, 2 WD 640 RAID 0, Deskstar HDS721010CLA332 back up. Water Cooling: Dtec on CPU, 120X3 push pull system 23782 3dmark 06 P4542 3DMarks 11 My Heat
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11-25-07, 10:58 PM	#2
trowakage Member Join Date: Oct 2007	Well, that would depend on what you define as a media comp? Like what would you want to do with it? __________________ MSI P35 Neo-f Intel Core2Duo e8400 @ stock OCZ Vendetta 2 2x1gb OCZ Platinum DDR2-1066 ECS nvidia Geforce 9600GT 512mb PCI-E Passive Western Digital 250gb 7200rpm SATAII HDD w/ 16mb cache Enermax Liberty DXX 500W PSU
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11-25-07, 11:44 PM	#3
satandole666 Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Columbus, OH	Do you have a ton of music, DVDs, or an HDTV? It just seems to be an easier way to implement everything into one functional unit. My old stereo setup (5+ years ago) had a receiver, cd player, dvd player (got it after the CD player), and amp/equalizer, speakers, and a TV. Now you can do all of that with speakers, TV, and HTPC from the comfort of your couch. __________________ i7 920 Gigabyte X58 Extreme 6gb OCZ DDR3 2000 7970 Fuzion/MCP655/3x120 rad
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11-27-07, 08:32 PM	Thread Starter #4
hank123 Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: With Yahweh in Colorado	ok well i was thinking bout building one for the fokes for Christmas and was also wanting to know the cost or rather what i should look for parts wise? __________________ GIGABYTE P35-DS3L PENCIL VOLT MOD FOUND HERE! Mobo:ASROCK Z77 Extreme4 Ram: Gskill 2133 CPU:3570K @ 3.6 Load 1.224V Video: Diamond 7970 White box PSU: Antec quattro 850 Storage: 2 velociraptor 150 raid 0, 2 WD 640 RAID 0, Deskstar HDS721010CLA332 back up. Water Cooling: Dtec on CPU, 120X3 push pull system 23782 3dmark 06 P4542 3DMarks 11 My Heat
	QUOTE Thanks

11-28-07, 11:11 AM	#5
oakstave Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Oregon	IMHO, a media center computer only needs a few features. 1. A media center edition OS 2. Decent HD's (A couple of 500gig HD's should be plenty of space.) 3. A TV card or an ATI All-In-Wonder video card. (With the AIW card, you don't have to get a Media Center Edition OS.) An entry level core2duo will give you all the poke you need. 1Gig RAM if it's XP MCE, 2Gigs RAM if it's Vista HPE. Other than that, it's all up for debate. The Vista Home Premium has a very easy to use interface with the Media Center, but you'll need the two gigs of RAM to run it best. __________________ "If you consider the entertainment value of armageddon, the future doesn't seem all that dim."
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what makes a good media center computer?

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11-28-07, 11:38 AM	#6
JamesXP Epic Fail Guy Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: England	Or... Just get MythTV, Open source FTW. __________________ Intel i5 3570k @ 4.2GHz 8GB Kingston HyperX DDR 1600Mhz nVidia 8600GT ASRock Z77 Pro4 128GB Samsung 830 SSD Corsair VX450 My Saitek Eclipse III Review
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