Hey I need some help. I am planning on building another computer but haven't really followed the new stuff that has came out for computers for about the past year lol. So I am planning on building a new media pc. this pc will be mostly for hd movies, streaming onto the ps3, music (must have a good audio card), and a good tv tuner card. i dont game that much so it is not that important but a decent graphics card will be good too. My budget is around 1200-1500. thanks any help would be appreciated
Quick run down of parts, Core i7 860 Gigabyte,MSI,or Biostar Mobo Corsair XMS, G.Skill, or Patriot memory. 5750 GPU, or a 5770 Corsair PSU +500 watts Hauppage(sp?) TV Tunner Card Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
For some reason none of the Gigabyte motherboards in Xplorer4's list support the LGA1156 socket which is required for the i7-860 processor (which I agree is the processor of choice). Gigabyte's web site lists several excellent boards compatible with the i7-860. The BIOSTAR TPower I55 is also an excellent board. Dick
For a mediapc you don't need a high-powered I7 cpu. You only need a I7 if your going to use this computer for video editing/encoding then the quad will be useful. For a true mediapc, a low wattage dualcore will be better. Get a motherboard with several PCI slots (to add multiple tuner cards). A radeon HD4670 (cost 80.00) can supply your HD video and play the occasional game with no problems. The HD4350 is even a lower price video card that is totally quiet (large heatsink) cost 40.00. For tuner cards get the HVR1600 it can handle HD video and with the built-in hardware mpeg encoders it will work great with all the latest media software (sagetv/beyondtv etc) You can also install more than one of these cards to record multiple shows at the same time. My mediapc CPU Type DualCore Intel Pentium E2140, 1600 MHz (8 x 200) Motherboard Name Foxconn Core 2 Quad/ Intel G31/ DDR2/ A&V&GbE/ ATX G31AXK (5 PCI slots) 2 gb ram windows xp pro and sagetv media software 4x hard drives 4x PCI tuner cards PVR150 400 watts "works brand" power supply. onboard audio onboard lan (streaming video to 4 other PC's)
Perhaps a solid state hard drive as the OS drive, storing all data and "work" files on different drive(s). It's faster and silent since no moving parts to crunch. Most newer HTPC's strive for silence too.
@k7vc, I didnt list any specific gigabyte mobos, only specific brands. @jony, your right but for his budget he can easily afford a high end build so I dont see the problem. @deadrum, I dont see much point in an SSD for this build, but thats just me.
I wonder if it is a feature of AD. Your reference to Gigabyte was linked to http://www.afterdawn.com/hardware/manufacturer.cfm/gigabyte which lists a gazillion different GB products, none of which was a LGA1156 motherboard. I was just a little confused. Ignore me. Dick
