I am looking to build a PC to run all my movies off of. HDMI is a must and I want the absolute lowest cost to do this. Have HDs to use already. Just want to hook it up to the network to dump media on it or stream. Or any other recommendations to solve my dilemma. Thanks
Is this a media server...where it streams to other systems, or is it a media player? Also, what format of movies do you have? I ask because if you just want a media player, then a 360, Ps3, or even a jailbroken apple TV might do the job just as well and cheaper.
Well, I have both 360 and PS3, but I am unhappy with the media playback limitations. I would like to be able to have all my media contained on this machine and play it directly on the tv it is hooked up to as well as stream it other computers in the house. On the HD note, It seems my roommate decided to use my HD I had laying around so I would actually be needing a HD as well.
Mainboard (onboard video & sound): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394 Processor & heatsink: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687 Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145201 Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139017 Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136514 Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811204037&Tpk=N82E16811204037 You did not mention anything about bluray or DVD support so I skipped those, but the case does have room for one of these drives if you should want to add one. This won't be a gaming rig or a super computer or anything...but it will excel at video and it should last a very long time thanks to high quality parts.
I'm not sure how well the onboard graphics for the 785G fare for full on 1080p rips, but for everything else that machine is fine. If you wanted to eliminate all doubt you could always easily fit a basic HTPC card like an HD5450 in there.
