The (new) Official PC building thread!

500 quid for any home theatre kit is ludicrous. You shouldn't have to spend more than a couple of hundred quid to get something decent.

For surround sound, the Z-5500s only hook up with analog. Whilst they take optical inputs they can only use those for stereo. They were meant to take surround but due to a firmware bug with the control module surround doesn't work over optical. That said, however, it may be fixed in the new revisions, and they also have a coax connector which might work, I haven't tried that.

For obvious reasons you can't hook the speakers directly to the TV and get surround sound unless you copy the stereo signal (not true surround), but if you've got a DVD player or whatever that has surround output in analog form, it's easily done.

 

Oh god. Gonna have to know what is what when it comes to sound.

So basically if my DVD Player has this, i can do surround?

But as for normal tv watching then my Z5500's would be no go?

Edit - Looked at the back of my DVD player and it had a coaxial and optical connection.

 

There is no magic bullet that can turn the sound you get from the standard TV channels you pick up into genuine surround sound, since it isn't surround to start with. The Z-5500s include the best methods of creating surround from stereo, which are Stereo copy (i.e. the rear speakers play the same as the front) and Dolby pro Logic, which is where the sound is 'intelligently converted' so it sounds sort of like surround sound. In my mind the jury's still out on how effective it is.

Since your DVD player has a coax connector, it *should* be able to run surround sound straight to the speakers, but not having done it myself, no promises.

 

Hey guys I am looking for a montor. I pulled up a few comparisons, can you tell me how much better the LG one is?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Sear...rd=w2252tqtf&searchSection=All&go.x=0&go.y=0#

 

tbh, I'd take an SM226BW over either.

 

I can't find it anywhere. Anyway I've decided to go along with this:

http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3829369&sku=M975-2401

 

The 226 is now the 2232 in most places I think.

As for the monitor you've chosen, 24" is all well and good, but for $300? There's going to be a reason why it's that cheap.

 

it's refurbished.

 

It's refurbished. It's either that or this:

http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3553267&CatId=2775

 

Preferably neither. With monitors many people have proven you don't get something for nothing. Most acer/benq monitors that I've seen look pretty terrible, and going with a refurb monitor is a big risk. If you want a 24" monitor should try and stretch to one of these: http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3106999&CatId=2775

 

here ya go abuzar http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...5&cs=19&c=us&l=en&dgc=SS&cid=27530&lid=627063

 

Does the contrast ratio matter?

I am leaning towards the dell right now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Dell-E248WF...ryZ86705QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Depends on your usage really. It does make for a better picture with dark games and films (examples Doom 3 and the film Alien). However, the picture quality of a Dell is not going to disappoint. Mine certainly doesn't and if anything the E248 has better specs.

 

Well I just bought the Dell. Now I await it. lol

I spent 75 more than I was going to, but it's probably going to be worth it.

 

Mort81 & abuzar1,
I'm somewhat surprised that the Acer has a better screen than the Dell, given how much praise there's been heard about them. An easy way to tell quite a bit more about the picture quality to expect is by the Pixel Pitch spec. All the better screens have a Pixel Pitch of 0.27". Next step down in video quality the Pixel Pitch drops 0.282". That's all I found for 24" LCDs.

The choice between the three should be easy. The Acer is the only one between it, the Dell and the Gateway that has a 0.27" Pixel pitch! The Dell and Gateway both have 0.282"! The 0.27" Pixel Pitch will have the best picture!

I used to think of Acer more in terms of their $199 System WalMart days, but after buying that Aspire notebook and seeing the quality and the well thought out overall layout, I've stepped back and taken a better look at the products they make today, and the quality that wasn't there in their old WalMart days has improved drastically! That's why I would buy the Acer if given the choice over the Dell or the Gateway! Taking a good look at the products they make today, like the laptop and seeing the obvious improvement in both design and quality it would be my choice over a lot of more expensive 24s!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Oh well, too late now.

 

abuzar1,

Bummer! If you can cancel without penalty, I would. The Dell with it's 0.282 Pixel pitch will not render as much depth in the color or be quite as sharp as with the Acer's 0.27 Pixel Pitch! There's just more pixel density to the screen. More picture elements for the given amount of screen area as more of the screen is dedicated to the actual picture it produces!

BTW, here's the link to where I bought the Enzotech NB cooler for $16.50. With tax and shipping (2nd Day) it came to right at $24!

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/encnfoconoco.html

Best Regards,
Russ

 

I can't really. It's alright, I'm sure the Dell will be a great monitor.

 

abuzar1,

That's the thing, it is a great monitor. That's why I was so surprized to see Acer using the better screen, for it's low priced models. That bode's well for the pricing on their 24" monitors in the near future. It also shows that Acer is committing itself to building high quality components at low prices! Hell, they already know how to keep the manufacturing costs down! ROFL But, they also know how to keep the quality high while keeping those costs down too! Hell, they're experts at it! Back in their very early WalMart days, their first computer for $199 they offered came with the console, keyboard and mouse and connected to your TV for the video. They weren't bad looking either! Inside it had this brown stinky stuff! Garbage, and cheap garbage to boot!

Now they build some very nice stuff. That laptop I bought is flat out the nicest one I've ever had, and I'm a Dell Latitude man! It feels super sturdy! You can lay the screen out 180 degrees and pick it up by one of the lower corners, and there's no flexing anywhere. It's even stronger than my ancient Dell C-610 Latitude, and that's a tank! I've had Toshibas, Sonys, Compaqs and Dells and I've never seen anything as good as the picture on the Acer's 15.4" widescreen. I even sent "Fairy Tale, A True Story" with it so he could see for himself that I wasn't kidding on how beautiful certain parts of Yorkshire England countryside really look at 1200x800 on that size screen. It's definitely raised my standards of what I will be looking for in my next monitor!

Best Regards,
Russ