Help me spec a machine :)

Azzy · 04-02-2007, 03:10 PM

Ive got the go-ahead to budget a new computer for the house, something that will serve as a HTPC and media server.

Im looking for my best bang for buck CPU / mobo combo that will let me watch HD content, as well as serve up files, and record in the background in normal TV res. Also need it to host SATA (should be common these days) and optical dobly out is a huge plus onboard (nvidia?)

Also, any recomendations on a vid card that can do component out? Im not looking at doing much gaming, so a 3d powerhouse is not needed.

That and anything that can keep well fed on least amount of power is good too, but Im not looking at VIA power specs here either.

Guess I am looking for some P4 setup. Any help?

Schmitti · 04-02-2007, 03:27 PM

And if people can think of similar but with AMD chips that would be appreciated by me..... I'll probably be waiting until VISTA has been around long enough that people get time to have their machines puke on them.. not mine.

E

Azzy · 04-02-2007, 03:30 PM

IM all for an AMD setup (all my current machines are AMD) but if the P4 will get me lower running temps / better bang for buck, then Im for it.

Christian Nelson · 04-03-2007, 11:54 AM

You looking to build top down, or premade?

I saw a nice ASUS board that supported the INtel Core duo extreme, with Dual SATA RAID, two gig ethernet ports, and so forth, for around $200.

Throw in a low end P4 Duo, and upgrade later when the processors get cheaper.

Duo's seem to have the temp advantage. They are not near as hot as the older ones.

You looking for barebones, or full machine with support contract type of stuff?

Older NVidia cards with component out can be had for around $40 from newegg/Tiger Direct types.

Do you need audio component out too?

You want dual monitors capability?

ASUS boards are one of the top in reliability, along with ABIT. None of that means much when it comes to corperat buying usually, since what they want is a support contract, which usually means Dell, HP, etc.

I like Dell for the big box support contract types, plus an added bonus for me anyways, they will give you the option of "parts only" when you have a problem, and know what it is. I love that.

You just log onto thier site, chat for a while with a support rep, and they send you a part next day.

So bottom line, it really matters what sort of level of support you want.

You could buy a big box machine, and upgrade it with a video card with component out, and have a nice support contract for probably less than building your own machine.

Pretty much anything with a duo processor gets my vote for temperature/speed/reliability.

One thing I noted, that alot of moards that will support any Core duo processor, will usually support even then highest end one.

There is a big price difference from low end Duo to top o' the line.

I would put in the low end Duo (I saw one for $150) and upgrade in a year or so to the high end one that is $1000 right now. By then, it should be much cheaper.

Dell could get you a computer with a Duo, where the chipset could support the high end Duo later.

Just check the chipsets to see what they support. Dell uses INtel chipsets, so it's pretty easy to check.

Sorry to repeat myself, but the Core Duo has (to me atleast) been the most exciting thing in computing for about 5 years to come along.

Heat is very VERY low on those comparitively, and they may be as bullet proof as the old 486 processors, that could bake along with no cooling fan for years without nary a hiccup.

Christian Nelson · 04-03-2007, 12:09 PM

Just an additional piece of advice.

You also want to wiegh whether you want the fun of building the machine, or whether you are wanting the best value.

Usually, unfortunately, building your own is much more expensive than buying a cheap Dell, and upgrading it to what you want these days.

Especially if you consider the cost of non OEM OS, and so forth.

Also, even the best components can fail, and do you want to have to buy them again, or do you want a nice warranty to cover the machine?

If you like messing with it alot, (Like me) building your own might be best. If you want it to just work, and not be a pain (like I want for my customers, or my wife) you probably want a big box machine with support contract, and rebates and all that sort of thing.

Christian Nelson · 04-03-2007, 12:28 PM

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...3&Sku=I69-2145

This was the chipset of the ASUS board I saw, same thing, only thisone is INte. This chipset looks to be the one you want by your description.

I am sure Newegg has it, Tiger is just a bit easier to browse for stuff.

Then, just go with a lower end Core Duo, and wait till the higher end ones come down a bit.

Lotsa SATA ports, Lotsa USB 2.0, optical out, Firewire, 3 PCI-E slots This board would be the ticket right here for me.

If you want more speed, you can go with an older dual core processor (not Core2) like this for $119

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...CP2-P4-840%20C

Or if you want tempurature savings (core2) you could go with this one. It should still be almost as fast as the 3Ghz one, but much cooler.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...=CP2-DUO-E4300

I love this stuff, I haven't had the money (or inclination) to build one for myself for quite a while. These Core2 Duo's are pretty nice.

Christian Nelson · 04-03-2007, 12:32 PM

This video card is cheap with dual Outputs, and hdtv too ($49.99 after rebate)

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...2&sku=B52-7866

This one has TV out (looks the same as the HDTV the other one had to me)
but 512 MB instead of 128.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=A177-3094

Christian Nelson · 04-03-2007, 12:34 PM

For playing with media, something like this could be added:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...640&CatId=1427

Christian Nelson · 04-03-2007, 12:46 PM

JUst one more to bug ya with.

Bare bones with the same motherboard mentioned above, for $299

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...5331&CatId=333

OK looking case, power supply included.

I should really check out new egg too.

I need to watch out, I might get the bug to build one too...

Maybe I can find someone around here that wants me to build one for them..

Azzy · 04-03-2007, 01:13 PM

Holy crap man... thanks

Let me look at this later with a clear mind, way too much info to take in at the moment.

04-02-2007, 03:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
Azzy Mod-O-Rator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Finleyville, PA	Help me spec a machine :) Ive got the go-ahead to budget a new computer for the house, something that will serve as a HTPC and media server. Im looking for my best bang for buck CPU / mobo combo that will let me watch HD content, as well as serve up files, and record in the background in normal TV res. Also need it to host SATA (should be common these days) and optical dobly out is a huge plus onboard (nvidia?) Also, any recomendations on a vid card that can do component out? Im not looking at doing much gaming, so a 3d powerhouse is not needed. That and anything that can keep well fed on least amount of power is good too, but Im not looking at VIA power specs here either. Guess I am looking for some P4 setup. Any help? __________________ Bryan "Azzy" Spiegel Riverside Renegade Paintball / C.C. S.V.S. Plankowner - LPPC#6 "It is my right to be uncommon—if I can. I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, “This I have done.” - Dean Alfange

04-02-2007, 03:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
Schmitti Out and about Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Schen. NY	And if people can think of similar but with AMD chips that would be appreciated by me..... I'll probably be waiting until VISTA has been around long enough that people get time to have their machines puke on them.. not mine. E __________________ Gone fishing

04-02-2007, 03:30 PM	#3 (permalink)
Azzy Mod-O-Rator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Finleyville, PA	IM all for an AMD setup (all my current machines are AMD) but if the P4 will get me lower running temps / better bang for buck, then Im for it. __________________ Bryan "Azzy" Spiegel Riverside Renegade Paintball / C.C. S.V.S. Plankowner - LPPC#6 "It is my right to be uncommon—if I can. I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, “This I have done.” - Dean Alfange

04-03-2007, 11:54 AM	#4 (permalink)
Christian Nelson MCB Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wisconsin	You looking to build top down, or premade? I saw a nice ASUS board that supported the INtel Core duo extreme, with Dual SATA RAID, two gig ethernet ports, and so forth, for around $200. Throw in a low end P4 Duo, and upgrade later when the processors get cheaper. Duo's seem to have the temp advantage. They are not near as hot as the older ones. You looking for barebones, or full machine with support contract type of stuff? Older NVidia cards with component out can be had for around $40 from newegg/Tiger Direct types. Do you need audio component out too? You want dual monitors capability? ASUS boards are one of the top in reliability, along with ABIT. None of that means much when it comes to corperat buying usually, since what they want is a support contract, which usually means Dell, HP, etc. I like Dell for the big box support contract types, plus an added bonus for me anyways, they will give you the option of "parts only" when you have a problem, and know what it is. I love that. You just log onto thier site, chat for a while with a support rep, and they send you a part next day. So bottom line, it really matters what sort of level of support you want. You could buy a big box machine, and upgrade it with a video card with component out, and have a nice support contract for probably less than building your own machine. Pretty much anything with a duo processor gets my vote for temperature/speed/reliability. One thing I noted, that alot of moards that will support any Core duo processor, will usually support even then highest end one. There is a big price difference from low end Duo to top o' the line. I would put in the low end Duo (I saw one for $150) and upgrade in a year or so to the high end one that is $1000 right now. By then, it should be much cheaper. Dell could get you a computer with a Duo, where the chipset could support the high end Duo later. Just check the chipsets to see what they support. Dell uses INtel chipsets, so it's pretty easy to check. Sorry to repeat myself, but the Core Duo has (to me atleast) been the most exciting thing in computing for about 5 years to come along. Heat is very VERY low on those comparitively, and they may be as bullet proof as the old 486 processors, that could bake along with no cooling fan for years without nary a hiccup. Last edited by Christian Nelson; 04-03-2007 at 12:04 PM..

04-03-2007, 01:13 PM	#10 (permalink)
Azzy Mod-O-Rator Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Finleyville, PA	Holy crap man... thanks Let me look at this later with a clear mind, way too much info to take in at the moment. __________________ Bryan "Azzy" Spiegel Riverside Renegade Paintball / C.C. S.V.S. Plankowner - LPPC#6 "It is my right to be uncommon—if I can. I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, “This I have done.” - Dean Alfange

04-03-2007, 12:09 PM	#5 (permalink)
Christian Nelson MCB Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wisconsin	Just an additional piece of advice. You also want to wiegh whether you want the fun of building the machine, or whether you are wanting the best value. Usually, unfortunately, building your own is much more expensive than buying a cheap Dell, and upgrading it to what you want these days. Especially if you consider the cost of non OEM OS, and so forth. Also, even the best components can fail, and do you want to have to buy them again, or do you want a nice warranty to cover the machine? If you like messing with it alot, (Like me) building your own might be best. If you want it to just work, and not be a pain (like I want for my customers, or my wife) you probably want a big box machine with support contract, and rebates and all that sort of thing.

04-03-2007, 12:28 PM	#6 (permalink)
Christian Nelson MCB Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wisconsin	http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...3&Sku=I69-2145 This was the chipset of the ASUS board I saw, same thing, only thisone is INte. This chipset looks to be the one you want by your description. I am sure Newegg has it, Tiger is just a bit easier to browse for stuff. Then, just go with a lower end Core Duo, and wait till the higher end ones come down a bit. Lotsa SATA ports, Lotsa USB 2.0, optical out, Firewire, 3 PCI-E slots This board would be the ticket right here for me. If you want more speed, you can go with an older dual core processor (not Core2) like this for $119 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...CP2-P4-840%20C Or if you want tempurature savings (core2) you could go with this one. It should still be almost as fast as the 3Ghz one, but much cooler. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...=CP2-DUO-E4300 I love this stuff, I haven't had the money (or inclination) to build one for myself for quite a while. These Core2 Duo's are pretty nice.

04-03-2007, 12:32 PM	#7 (permalink)
Christian Nelson MCB Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wisconsin	This video card is cheap with dual Outputs, and hdtv too ($49.99 after rebate) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...2&sku=B52-7866 This one has TV out (looks the same as the HDTV the other one had to me) but 512 MB instead of 128. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&sku=A177-3094

04-03-2007, 12:34 PM	#8 (permalink)
Christian Nelson MCB Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wisconsin	For playing with media, something like this could be added: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...640&CatId=1427

04-03-2007, 12:46 PM	#9 (permalink)
Christian Nelson MCB Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wisconsin	JUst one more to bug ya with. Bare bones with the same motherboard mentioned above, for $299 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...5331&CatId=333 OK looking case, power supply included. I should really check out new egg too. I need to watch out, I might get the bug to build one too... Maybe I can find someone around here that wants me to build one for them..