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Building a Media Center.

L

Luni

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
156
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc:Streaming Netflix, Watching movies on a tv anywhere from 40-55in Movie and music storage (Basic media center stuff)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? I would like to try and stay under 500$ however, if needed, it can be saved for.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible. United States, Denton Texas
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need. GPU, Sound card, speakers, possible PSU, anything else that can be needed for watching movies and such in a living room on a tv
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. Asus p5n-esli, Intel core 2 duo e 6850 conroe, nvidia 9500, 8 gigs of ddr2 800 mhz 500w psu can't make out the maker.
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it? 43in LG TV not sure on the max resolution
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc. I would like to keep my current motherboard if possible.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
 
$75 - nMEDIAPC 6000B ATX HTPC case
$40 - Corsair CX430 430W power supply
$74 - Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS SATA Blu-ray burner (retail package)

Based on your initial post, I figured that you needed a new case, a new power supply, and a Blu-ray drive (with software to play movies). I went with a retail Blu-ray burner to ensure that you have the media software on hand (most OEM drives don't provide any software). "But a Blu-ray burner?" you ask. Well, it's only a bit more expensive than a Blu-ray combo drive (and it's more versatile than a BD-ROM drive).

Depending on your specific needs, I recommend a few other "optional" parts:

$95 - MSI N650-MD1GD5/OC GTX 650 1GB PCI-E 3.0 video card
$95 - Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB hard drive
$28 - Asus Xonar DG 5.1 channel PCI sound card
$86 - Asus Xonar D1 7.1 channel PCI sound card

The GTX 650 is essentially an improvement over your current video card. It's capable of not only playing back 3D Blu-ray movies, but it also has an HDMI port that carries both digital video and 7.1 channel digital audio (thus eliminating the need for a separate sound card). The reason why I list it as optional is because the 9500 (GT? GTX?) can easily handle a 1920x1080 resolution for movies. Plus, the GTX 650's onboard sound only outputs to the TV speakers via the HDMI cable (which may not be what you want... but more on that in a moment). If you were to use a DVI or a VGA connection, you won't have any sound.

Regarding the hard drive, more storage space always helps -- and the case I chose can support up to six 3.5 inch drives. Of course, you could go for a 3TB drive, but I wanted to leave some room in your budget to cover the sound (more on that in a moment). The new Seagates also use 1TB drive platters that make them much faster than your older hard drives.

The Asus Xonar series offers better-than-onboard sound quality. Choose the one that best fits your budget. (I didn't pick any of the Creative/Sound Blaster/X-Fi cards as I've heard many complaints about the Windows 7 drivers.)

Since you wanted better sound for your TV, here's a relatively cheap setup:

$52 - Dayton Audio B652 6-1/2 inch 2-way bookshelf speaker pair
$24 - Lepai LP-2020A+ hi-fi stereo mini amplifier
$9 - AmazonBasics 50 feet 16-gauge speaker wire
$4 - Belkin 6 feet Y-cable splitter (one 3.5mm, two RCA)

The bookshelf speakers sound much better than similarly priced computer speakers, but to use them with your computer, I added the mini amplifier, the speaker wire (to connect the speakers to the amp), and the Y-cable (to connect the amp to the computer). Since you needed several components (and depending on how much space you have to work with, you may also need a pair of speaker stands), I focused more on price than quality. But again, the sound quality will be considerably better than a similarly priced computer speaker system.

That said, you could also go with a soundbar, which takes up considerably less space and is easier to connect to either your TV or your computer system. (Some soundbars even have multiple outputs that allow you to connect them to both your TV and your HTPC.) You could find a few relatively cheap soundbars with or without a subwoofer.

For the best sound possible, many soundbars require the use of optical audio cables that they conveniently don't provide. (Both Xonar sound cards and your TV can utilize them.) Some of the more expensive soundbars even support HDMI. But the sound quality from the soundbar, which is considerably better than the TV speakers, still doesn't match that of the bookshelf speakers.

To make things easier for you, choose the soundbar (ideally, the $119 Philips setup) for convenience and ease of use. Choose the bookshelf speakers setup if you want the best sound possible for your budget.
 
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I do want a subwoofer but right now on my Nvidia 9500 I have the TV hooked up, but for some reason where time is displayed is partially cut off and the left side of the screen isn't line up with the TV borders, is this cause the GPU really can't handle the TV size as for price points this is kind of a side project but I would rather spend more, on reliable good quality products then go with cheap end savings, after all, isn't reliability>price? And the case wasn't needed but thanks lol as for storage, I have a 2tb and a 1 tb hard drive.
 
You don't need a case or some hard drives? Fine; go with the new video card and sound card. The new video card should be able to handle the resolution of your TV (what model is it?) and the new sound card offers better sound than your onboard audio chip.

I still recommend the PSU as it's better to go with a new, (known) quality model than wonder whether (or when) the old one will die out.

If you watch Blu-ray movies, either go with the internal Blu-ray drive or (IMO, even better) a dedicated Blu-ray player. The latter is easier to work with than some software programs.

As for your audio equipment, how much do you want to spend? The inclusion of a subwoofer to the bookshelf speakers adds more cost and requires a different, more expensive amp (or a receiver) to handle it. And if you want the ability to expand your sound system in the future, be prepared to spend more than you initially planned.

I'm still going with the cheap recommendations (for now) for a reason: inexpensive doesn't necessarily mean crap. The Dayton speakers I recommended earlier would still produce better sound than, say, the $110 Logitech Z623. The Daytons would last just as long as the Logitechs, or maybe even longer, since they're more versatile in their use. You'll also pay a price premium for "quality" audio parts just as you would for computer parts. If you're not careful, you could easily spend more on audio equipment than you actually need.

(Remember: You're in a forum focused primarily on computer hardware. There aren't a lot of us here who are as well-versed in audio or home theater setups as we are in computer systems. I'm not claiming to be an expert on those matters, but I do know enough to offer some recommendations based on your budget. If you really want "expert" advice, head to our HTPC forum or visit AVS Forum.)
 
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Price isn't a HUGE deal, since I will probably have help with it. The reason I want it is cause every weekend friends come over to my place, and watch movies or anime at my house so we can socialize and enjoy. I want it to be good enough to where everyone is okay with it and the sound doesn't cut out or bottom out or anything, The TV is an LG 42 inch not sure if LED or LCD
 
How much can you spend right now (or, rather, this weekend) on a sound system (read: everything you need for both your TV and your computer)?

Do you see yourself expanding your system over time from 2.1 (two speakers and a subwoofer) to, say, 5.1?

Do you see yourself buying a newer, larger TV or a projector? (What's the model number of your existing TV?)
 
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