Using a Desktop to power audio/home cinema etc...

15peter20

Hi,

I have an oldish laptop with 1gb Ram. It's time to upgrade. I'm thinking about a Desktop as a better option for the home as I can still use the laptop for portable stuff and I want to get the most out of the Desktop as a media centre. Here's what I need / would like and I need to know if this is practical or even possible:-

1. Large storage for films, music, photos etc... - 1TB
2. Large RAM for running some resource hungry TACX VR cycling software - 8GB
3. A large screen to watch films on.
4. Decent sound/video cards and speakers for playing music

As regards point 3, I was thinking maybe an HDMI linking to an LCD TV and then a reasonable sized monitor for everyday work.

So what I really want is a powerful enough tower to kick out the media stuff I need.

Any advice and/or recommendations greatly appreciated.

Gizmodo

Sounds pretty simple stuff - any decent tower with the spec you are asking for should do everything you want.

Just 1 word of warning, you have to have a 64bit Operating System to access more than 4GB or RAM. If you buy a tower with 8GB and Windows included, it should be Windows 64 bit. If you build it yourself, you must buy Windows 64bit.

32bit operating systems are limited to accessing 3 and a bit GB or RAM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Address_Extension#Microsoft_Windows

rozzer32

Just remember for a sound system you need watts and watts of power.

alan_sherman

It looks like the Tacx VR software is the only real driver for a high spec desktop machine - which is fair enough and I see why you would then make the machine a media centre. You've basically covered what you need above:
- A lot of storage
- Operating system and RAM to best run the software
- Blue ray disc reader would make sense if you have Blue ray discs.
- Make sure it has HDMI connection to get the Video and Audio to the TV
- Ensure the graphics card can output HD (1080p) signals via the HDMI
- Ensure the audio card can run Dolby Digital decoding
- get a HD ready TV - as you are going to use a computer for media then you don't need all the net connected stuff (so can pick up an older, simpler model). Just get the best picture you can, and ideally a freeview HD tuner (will be 5 HD channels next year) and a digital optical audio out for connecting to a decent sound system, and at least 2 HDMI inputs (one for the computer in, and a spare for potential Sky box, PVR or other set top box in the future).
- Buy a stereo / surround sound system with digital optical in, with Dolby Pro Logic II capability if a surround system. If the same brand as TV then they may operate as a single unit (one remote etc). Beware base model Samsung surround sound systems - I returned two of them for excess hum through the speakers (
- Bookmark iPlayer, ITV.com and 4 OD along with Youtube
- Use media software of your choice on the computer
- Enjoy - switching 3 things on to play stuff can be a pain though!


You could use a TV tuner card in the computer instead of the TV, but then it means you'd need to switch the computer on to watch TV.

GiantMike

Get one with a volume control that goes up to 11.

neiltb

AMD APU processor/graphics card will happily run 1080P all day and save you a few quid on a video card. I use a hybrid drive as boot disk and add a 2TB drive for media storage.

Some new motherboards have much higher quality sound cards (I like Asus). Build it yourself and save some more.

15peter20

belated thanks for all the replies.

I've just thought a projector might be better than a flatscreen with more flexibility.