Building a living room computer in January. Suggestions?

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DerekMecca

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
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I'm wanting to build a computer in the middle of January 2010 for the purpose of hooking it up to my living room TV and sound system. I currently have a 5.1 DTS sound system and a 47" 1080p TV.

As of now, I'm not sure what my budget will be, but I know that I want the computer to be as future proof as possible. I'm thinking $1000-$2000. I do not have any parts, and so everything will have to be purchased including a wireless keyboard and mouse (thumb trackball... normal mice hurt my hand)... but obviously not a monitor since I will be using my TV.

The main focus and purpose of this computer will be for PC gaming. For example, I want it to run Shattered Horizon on max settings as well as any games coming out in the near future.

I realize I might be jumping the gun a bit with this thread, but I have been out of the computer hardware loop for about a year and so I want to start reading up on suggestions ahead of time.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
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I thought that I did. I guess I could re-write it in order.

1) Use? Livingroom computer mostly for gaming (stated)
2) Budget? $1000-$2000 (stated)
3) Residence? NE Kansas
4) Parts? Everything (stated)
5) Reusing parts? Not reusing parts. Buying everything new. (stated)
6) Overclocking? Not sure... probably not. Suggestions?
7) Monitor? Im using my TV (stated)
8) When are you building? January (stated)
9) Motherboard? Not sure, need suggestions. Not interested in SLI... costs too much.
10) OS? I'll be buying a license for Windows 7.
 
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Yeah November or two months in advance is barely above the my personal cut-off point for when to start planning a build.

I'll set up a build list in a while
 
$504 - Intel Core i7 920 CPU and Asus P6T Intel X58 ATX Motherboard Combo
$140 - Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$390 - Whatever HD5870 is in stock
$55 - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB 7200RPm SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$29 - LG GH22NS50 DVD Burner
$115 - Antec Truepower New TP750 750W PSU
$110 - Silverstone LC13B-E ATX Media Center/HTPC Case
$110 - Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM
----
Total: $1454 plus tax and shipping.

More than likely the entire build will be completely different by January.
 
That case is awesome. I didn't even know something like that existed. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll do some research on them.
 
DerekMecca said:
That case is awesome. I didn't even know something like that existed. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll do some research on them.
Click to expand...

I have that case, but in silver - you can't go wrong with most of Silverstone's cases for HTPCs. Also have a SG03 and a LC-17, in black and silver. Check out the LC-17 while you're considering - I prefer it over the LC-13 whose door makes it a little less functional though a little more aesthetically pleasing.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163054
 
Nice budget. Hopefully, SSDs will be cheaper by then, so toss in one or two X25-M 80GB drives. ;)

For KB/Mouse, you'll most likely want bluetooth, but I'm not sure how good/bad input lag would be for gaming. BT selection isn't that great right now, though.

Definitely revisit this thread in the 3-2 weeks before you buy.
 
Yeah... I don't think the wireless Logitech thumb trackball is BT. Hmm...

I think I want to go with a black case to fit in with the rest of my home theater hardware.
 
There's a bunch of home theater style cases. Personally, I went with the Antec Fusion Remote Max. Its about the same size as my receiver, but only a fraction of the weight (when filled with components), lol.

How far from the PC will you be? I'm about 9' back, and RF/IR was irritating to use, personally. It wouldn't always work, and I had to reboot often (which sux if you record a lot of shows). A BT kb/ms solved all of those issues, but as I said, I don't game on my HTPC, so I'm not sure how the current BT offerings would perform in-game.
 
Is there a major disadvantage to getting a mini case that uses a mini motherboard? Would I have to worry about the massive graphics card being able to fit without getting in the way of things like hard drives?

How do you get BT with a computer? Do motherboards come featured with it now, or is it something separate I have to buy? I have been using the flat Apple keyboard for about a year and it's the only keyboard I have found that doesn't hurt my hands and allows me to type super fast. I'll probably just buy the BT cordless version of that. As for a mouse, I have no idea. I was going to get the thumb Logitech trackball, but I don't want any issues. I'm worried about having lots of room to move a mouse around for gaming. A friend of mine has a setup sorta like this and he bought some sort of laptop table that you put on your couch and it attaches under the cushins for support. Anyone know of something similar that I can use for gaming?

I'll measure the distance from the TV to the couch later, but I'm considering sitting closer for gaming.

What are some other cool things I can do with a living room computer? Are they called HTPCs?
 
Most BT desktops (kb/ms combos) come with a BT dongle. If you can't find a good "mouse" with BT, then you can always go with your trackball and and active USB extension/repeater to help the signal while you're playing. This worked fine for me for a while, but since I've switched to BT, I have no real need for mine anymore, lol.

The only downside is less space, so heat buildup is faster, and depending on the case, you may or may not have enough room for high end vidcards. Also, some things may be blocked by large vidcards, like sata ports, usb headers, etc.

Yah, Home Theater PCs... you can use Win Media Center to record shows either OTA, or shows that are broadcast unencrypted on your cable line (ClearQAM; until the cablecard tuners, or something better, start rolling out in the next few years for watching encrypted shows). WMC also has a netflix plugin, and there are other free tv services online. You can also build a library of your current movies/music and play it all through WMC. My friend has his phone line hooked up, using a modem, and it'll popup with the directory info that you fill in whenever someone calls and the number is recognized... its kinda cool. There's a bunch of stuff you can do with an HTPC... just some things are harder than others (eg. watching'/recording HBO).
 
I think I'd rather go with something full size instead of mini. A top of the line graphics card is important, hard drive space is a must, and I don't want the thing to have ventilation problems. I might even end up just building a tower and putting it under the end table next to the couch. I don't know. My TV center's shelves are enclosed without a lot of ventilation and there is a glass door.

I wish there was a decent trackball that had BT.

So with WMC, I can watch Netflix and TV through my computer? I currently have Time Warner for cable so what would I need to watch TV through the computer in order to record shows? I hate using the time warner DVR.
 
Oh and also, I'm going to want a really nice 5.1 sound card. I have a nice sound system.. might as well fully utilize it. Suggestions?
 
DerekMecca said:
So with WMC, I can watch Netflix and TV through my computer? I currently have Time Warner for cable so what would I need to watch TV through the computer in order to record shows? I hate using the time warner DVR.
Click to expand...

Yeah with WMC you can watch Netflix and TV through the PC. To record HD content from TWC or any cable company for that matter, you would need to get one of these devices:
$205 - Hauppauge HD PVR
$210 - ATI TV Wonder Cable Card
 
A nice sound system usually implies nice A/V Receiver/amp, so you'd be using HDMI? or Optical? If yes to either of those, then no need for a soundcard, as the receiver will do all the processing. If using analog, try onboard HD Audio first.

From TWC, you'll be able to watch any shows in clearQAM/unencrypted with a standard $50 - $100 HDTV Tuner. You can check the TV channels under resources at the Silicon Dust website for specific channels, using both OTA and Cable signals (drop down box on top, after you enter zipcode). For such viewing, you'd need a ClearQAM tuner, like the AverMedia Duet. For encrypted channels, you'll need a CableCard tuner (listed by Danny), which would require a cablecard rental from TWC.
 
Well the speakers are nice... Polk Audio fronts and center and Sony rear surround speakers.. The receiver only has HDMI video pass through, but it does have optical which is what I use with my PS3. It's not an HD receiver unfortunately. Would be nice if I had the money to upgrade that along with building the computer.

Maybe I should just stick to watching TV with the cable box for now. I can always watch shows I've missed with Hulu or something.
 
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