Need help choosing out computer

[Watermelonwarrior]

I have a laptop right now but I would really like to have a desktop that I can have hooked up to my 50in 1080p tv thats in my room. Something that has a blu ray player and I can store hd movies on. I would like to keep this under $700. All this needs to do is play/store hd movies and use the google machine. Thanks for any suggestions.

[s2k-stig]

look on http://www.newegg.com on the prebuilt home entertainment computers. Newegg has great prices and have a good reputation. Check em out!

[Beancooker]

A computer that can display on a 50" 1080p TV, will need a graphics card that will cost you the petter part of $700. Heck, you might have to run a pair of badass cards in SLI just to get it to display on a set that big.

Basically, for $700, it's not going to happen.

[4WOFURY]

Not to mention the Blu-ray drive will be $150-300+

[nnorton44]

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz - $83.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/...16072

Foxconn G31MV-K LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX - $41.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/...86145

MSI Radeon 3650 HDMI - $54.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/...27335

Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 - $19.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/...48163

Western Digital 640GB SATA - $74.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/...36218

LG Blu-Ray / HD-DVD / DVD+RW Drive - $119.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/...36133

Anyware IR Vista MCE Remote - $21.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/...21001

Antec Fusion 430 Watt IR Case - $199.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/...29030

Microsoft Wireless Optical Keyboard/Mouse - $29.99http://www.newegg.com/Product/...09144

Thats $647.91 + SHIP, it will play 1080P content flawlessly. You do not need a badass GPU setup for a media center PC.

[Beancooker]

I'm sure that it will play 1080p flawlessly... but not on a 50 inch display.

Max Resolution 2560 x 1600 not even close to being powerfull enough to display 1080p on a 50"

Just as well, with 2GB of memory, if he runs Vista or W7, it will pixelate the display on the screen. The video card won't have enough onboard memory to process the info, and it will have to share the PC's memory. This will cause lagging and poor playback quality.

A GEforce 8500 GT would be able to handle more, since it will share much more of the memory from Vista/XP, but adding more memory would still be necessary IMHO. I wouldn't consider running anything that wasn't 4GB+.

Throwing down the extra $$$ for a proc with a 3 or 4 MB cache would definitely be worth the money.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Look to ATI for your videocard needs with a media machine. ATI's onboard video decoder is a really nice piece of work. It takes a lot of load off the rest of the machine and makes playing movies (be it bluray or any format) much more resource-efficient. A Radeon HD2600xt can be found for ~$100 and should be just fine running media on your big screen.

[nnorton44]

I'm sure that it will play 1080p flawlessly... but not on a 50 inch display.

Max Resolution 2560 x 1600 not even close to being powerfull enough to display 1080p on a 50"

Just as well, with 2GB of memory, if he runs Vista or W7, it will pixelate the display on the screen. The video card won't have enough onboard memory to process the info, and it will have to share the PC's memory. This will cause lagging and poor playback quality.

A GEforce 8500 GT would be able to handle more, since it will share much more of the memory from Vista/XP, but adding more memory would still be necessary IMHO. I wouldn't consider running anything that wasn't 4GB+.

Throwing down the extra $$$ for a proc with a 3 or 4 MB cache would definitely be worth the money.

It does not matter how big the TV is, it is still displaying a 1080P picture (1920x1080) as would a 25" with the same resolution. The Geforce 8500GT is an outdated card, and the Radeon 3650 is faster. It is most comparable with the 8600GT. As for memory, if 2GB isnt sufficient a 4GB setup can be had for $12 more. As for the processor I do agree, anything faster is always better.

Look to ATI for your videocard needs with a media machine. ATI's onboard video decoder is a really nice piece of work. It takes a lot of load off the rest of the machine and makes playing movies (be it bluray or any format) much more resource-efficient. A Radeon HD2600xt can be found for ~$100 and should be just fine running media on your big screen.

The Radeon HD 3650 is a newer card and just as fast as the HD 2600XT, both are found for about $55.
Modified by nnorton44 at 5:33 PM 1/11/2009

[Beancooker]

Cool. I must be wrong.

I suggested the 8500 GT since it is cheap.

You quoted MOD, and put my name in there. I would recommend an ATI card, right after I would recommend an Apple computer, which will be never.

[nnorton44]

Yeah the 8500 is still a good card. I guess the question now is if Watermelonwarrior can build a computer or if he is looking for a prebuilt system.

[Watermelonwarrior]

Yeah the 8500 is still a good card. I guess the question now is if Watermelonwarrior can build a computer or if he is looking for a prebuilt system.

I can build it. That wouldn't be a problem. I'm not really sure what I would need and how good they would have to be...

So you guys don't think I could get this done for $700? My brother has a nice HP and it puts out 1920x1080 and it looks flawless on his 73in it did cost him close to $1400 back in April though. I don't think the size of the tv matters to much. With my next pay check I wont owe my dad anymore money for my car and I can buy my new desktop.

[Beancooker]

You can build it, but I would suggest you invest in some higher quality stuff. Spend the few extra hundred and get a better graphics car, better mobo, and a better proc, with a larger cache.

I built a budget system, and it's a monster, but the proc needs to be upgraded. Not enough cache. I already upgraded the graphics card etc...

zerothread?id=314042

[MinisterofDOOM]

Cool. I must be wrong.

I suggested the 8500 GT since it is cheap.

Yeah, wasn't suggesting the ATI to contradict you (I didn't even read your posts before replying to the thread), the 8500 is a decent option, too.

The reason I recommend ATI particularly in this instance actually has nothing to do with my bias toward the brand. ATI's newish cards (HD series) have a fantastic onboard video decoder that takes a lot of the load of the CPU and system memory while playing movies. It's particularly ideal for DVD/bluray-purposed machines. Nvidia doesn't have anything similar, otherwise I'd say go either way since it's not a graphically-intensive rig.

[Beancooker]

[nnorton44]

Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 Wolfdale 2.66GHz 6MB L2 Cache

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...15038

[Watermelonwarrior]

My brother was telling me I should do this with a ps3. He said I would be able to get an external hd and store everything on that and watch the movies through the ps3. Can anyone confirm this? This would be much cheaper. I could buy a ps3 and get a TB of storage as needed.

[nnorton44]

What video file formats are you planning to play? I assume *.MKV?

[240Knightrider]

I can build it as well. Built three computers for Nico members already. 3-year warranty.

This can be accomplished. Newer motherboards and support 1080P through DVI or HDMI cable outputs.

[Watermelonwarrior]

What video file formats are you planning to play? I assume *.MKV?

Ya thats the one. Man I keep forgetting I have a thread under computers. I mostly stick to the 350z and 300zx sections.

I can build it as well. Built three computers for Nico members already. 3-year warranty.

This can be accomplished. Newer motherboards and support 1080P through DVI or HDMI cable outputs.

Under $700? The ps3 sounds like a much better deal since it will be cheaper and I can play games.

[240Knightrider]

Yes

Do you like this motherboard?http://techreport.com/articles.x/16159/1

Do your want AMD or Intel?

[nnorton44]

On PS3 you would need to convert the MKV file to a VOB file, it won't work without conversion.