Given that my HDTV has only 3 hdmi inputs and 1 component , trying to combine as many devices in one machine I thiught I would ditch my WDTV , DVD player , and 360 and replace it with a tower PC through HDMI.
This way way I can play games on my tv that is for PC , Emulation , make it my dvd player , Bluray player , bluray burner, use it for digital media like Plex and iTunes and can use it to browse the web or watch youtube videos.
Any one has a similar setup with wireless keyboard and mouse? What are the positives? what are the negatives?
I can always add another console like PS4 for example if I find it worth while.
Are current day PCs noisey with their fans? And how much will it cost me to get A decent pc? should I buy off-shelf or build my own? I will not lie , I think the last time I dealt with a tower PC was 10 years ago. I thought I'd buy a mac mini but at $500 I thiught I can get a much more powerful PC
PC for everything
Re: PC for everything
kingmohd84 wrote:Are current day PCs noisey with their fans? And how much will it cost me to get A decent pc? should I buy off-shelf or build my own? I will not lie , I think the last time I dealt with a tower PC was 10 years ago. I thought I'd buy a mac mini but at $500 I thiught I can get a much more powerful PC
Can be noisy but nothing that wouldn't be covered by whatever is playing at the time. Build your own, price will vary depending on how much beef you decide to put on your plate. Even so, you will still get more bang for your buck plus the satisfaction of knowing you created Frankensteins Monster.
Re: PC for everything
I've had a PC in the living room since apartments in college. I still usually use DVD and Blu-ray playback in my PS3 though. It has gotten very heavy usage the past few years, easily more than anything else in my entertainment center.
Main advantage to it is flexibility. Anything streaming online, practically any codec you can find, it'll work. If you want to set it up with a nice front end, you can do that. If you want the basic OS, that too.
Wireless keyboard and mouse can work fine. There are keyboards with trackpads and such built in as well. Range depends on the product.
One issue some PC games have for the living room is the lack of a "10 foot interface". IE, a HUD that's too small to comfortably read from far back. OS/browser you can usually compensate, but with games you may just need to run them at a lower resolution. It is doable though, I know people who have their primary PC on their living room TV.
Noise depends on what you put in it. My previous HTPC had all SSDs, a passively cooled GPU, and a relatively low power CPU (45W TDP), and was all but silent. I bought a Mac Mini last week to use for the task, but obviously that's not up to par for gaming (or if you want to use disc media really). Fits more what I tend to use that machine for - though the jury is still out on whether it'll stay running OS X (lacks DPI adjustments, Hulu Plus application, etc).
Unless you go particularly extreme, most PC towers won't be *that* loud anyway. Likely quieter than first-gen PS3 or 360 with the fans going at least.
Main advantage to it is flexibility. Anything streaming online, practically any codec you can find, it'll work. If you want to set it up with a nice front end, you can do that. If you want the basic OS, that too.
Wireless keyboard and mouse can work fine. There are keyboards with trackpads and such built in as well. Range depends on the product.
One issue some PC games have for the living room is the lack of a "10 foot interface". IE, a HUD that's too small to comfortably read from far back. OS/browser you can usually compensate, but with games you may just need to run them at a lower resolution. It is doable though, I know people who have their primary PC on their living room TV.
Noise depends on what you put in it. My previous HTPC had all SSDs, a passively cooled GPU, and a relatively low power CPU (45W TDP), and was all but silent. I bought a Mac Mini last week to use for the task, but obviously that's not up to par for gaming (or if you want to use disc media really). Fits more what I tend to use that machine for - though the jury is still out on whether it'll stay running OS X (lacks DPI adjustments, Hulu Plus application, etc).
Unless you go particularly extreme, most PC towers won't be *that* loud anyway. Likely quieter than first-gen PS3 or 360 with the fans going at least.
Re: PC for everything
Plus - You can use a dual-monitor setup and run Soft 15Khz to make most emulated systems output original resolution to a tri-scan arcade monitor while still playing your HD stuff on your 1080P flatscreen sitting beside. Much cheaper than going with original systems and you don't lose the display (scanlines) of the orininal systems - you get optical audio @ 44100+ going into your surround receiver too. You can even get a full Blissbox (or 2) and use original controllers on every emulator.
Minus - you show off your game room here with no cases or systems and everyone says "Dude... you're doing it wrong"
Minus - you show off your game room here with no cases or systems and everyone says "Dude... you're doing it wrong"
Re: PC for everything
my problem is that I have zero knowledge in PCs especially when it comes to picking a motherboard or a graphics card. what I know is that I dont want to pay 200% more in hardware just to gain 10% faster performance for the top notch graphics card that has been just released. Also 0 idea about pc cases , r they all the same with different looks or is there a difference, and will the power box be able to handle 220v here where I live?
i can figure the HDD, optical drive , and processor on my own though :p
i can figure the HDD, optical drive , and processor on my own though :p
Re: PC for everything
Motherboard selection tends to narrow itself down as you determine other elements, like CPU, case, necessary ports, and so on. A lot of the features that enthusiast level boards tend to add are overclocking related, which is probably outside of the scope for a first build.
Graphics card tends to be similar. Figure out the budget, and you narrow things down a lot.
Cases have a few ways they can vary. The first major consideration is what size motherboard they can accommodate, generally using the ATX sizes. Most of the time, this is simply a split between smaller cases designed for Micro ATX boards only, or cases designed to fit a standard ATX board (which will also normally fix Micro ATX). There are other standards, but they tend to be fairly specialized, and not stuff you need to sort through while shopping (mini ITX maybe, but those tend to be very obvious).
While rare, you will find the occasional case that is designed to only take half-height expansion cards. Some HTPC oriented cases are like that. I'd avoid those, unless you know you can find components you want as half-height compatible.
Cases are also not all created equally with regard to cooling capacity, noise suppression, or general space for hard drives and things, and of course price.
All that said, there are usually multiple $50-60 cases on the market that will be perfectly suitable for a midrange build.
Most power supplies handle 100-240V. Just make sure whatever one you buy does. Also, while I wouldn't necessary cheap out on anything, the power supply is one area you should definitely not shy away from paying a few extra bucks for quality.
Graphics card tends to be similar. Figure out the budget, and you narrow things down a lot.
Cases have a few ways they can vary. The first major consideration is what size motherboard they can accommodate, generally using the ATX sizes. Most of the time, this is simply a split between smaller cases designed for Micro ATX boards only, or cases designed to fit a standard ATX board (which will also normally fix Micro ATX). There are other standards, but they tend to be fairly specialized, and not stuff you need to sort through while shopping (mini ITX maybe, but those tend to be very obvious).
While rare, you will find the occasional case that is designed to only take half-height expansion cards. Some HTPC oriented cases are like that. I'd avoid those, unless you know you can find components you want as half-height compatible.
Cases are also not all created equally with regard to cooling capacity, noise suppression, or general space for hard drives and things, and of course price.
All that said, there are usually multiple $50-60 cases on the market that will be perfectly suitable for a midrange build.
Most power supplies handle 100-240V. Just make sure whatever one you buy does. Also, while I wouldn't necessary cheap out on anything, the power supply is one area you should definitely not shy away from paying a few extra bucks for quality.
Re: PC for everything
isiolia wrote:Most power supplies handle 100-240V. Just make sure whatever one you buy does. Also, while I wouldn't necessary cheap out on anything, the power supply is one area you should definitely not shy away from paying a few extra bucks for quality.
Agreed - I went for a cheaper one and my external hard drives are flaking out during copying so I have to restart, error-scan, and resume. It sucks having to babysit my computer during routine stuff.
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RyaNtheSlayA
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Re: PC for everything
kingmohd84 wrote:my problem is that I have zero knowledge in PCs especially when it comes to picking a motherboard or a graphics card. what I know is that I dont want to pay 200% more in hardware just to gain 10% faster performance for the top notch graphics card that has been just released. Also 0 idea about pc cases , r they all the same with different looks or is there a difference, and will the power box be able to handle 220v here where I live?
i can figure the HDD, optical drive , and processor on my own though :p
I normally don't like referencing other communities and/or Reddit. However, if you want to build a PC with help from some friendly people, try posting in reddit.com/r/buildapc
As far as noise, it's entirely possible to build a mid-range machine that will be super quiet. On the other hand, you can build something like my PC where the GPU is loud enough to wake up the neighbors. A lot of this has to do with fan choice, I went the loud-efficient route. Stock case fans are iffy if you're doing a high end build, so that's something to keep in mind as well if you want quiet.
Older. Not wiser.
Re: PC for everything
Thanks for everyone's help i think i can figure out on my own fron here.
i am considering buying retail PC and just upgrading the gpu . I just want a machine that will be able to run games at least for the next 3 years. Also, buying a PC will save me money from buying a Windows license since its bundled. Windows alone will cost like $250
i am considering buying retail PC and just upgrading the gpu . I just want a machine that will be able to run games at least for the next 3 years. Also, buying a PC will save me money from buying a Windows license since its bundled. Windows alone will cost like $250
Re: PC for everything
Keep in mind that most off-the-shelf systems come with a fairly meager power supply, which may also need to be upgraded if you want to put a decent (or better) GPU in.
Typically, when building a PC, you'd buy an OEM license of Windows, which is about half the price of a retail license. It still is an additional cost to consider, but not quite that bad.
IMO, prebuilt really only wins for cost on very low end machines. It's difficult to put together a $300-400 machine that's appreciably better than what Dell or HP offers at that price point, especially while keeping a legal Windows license in the mix.
On the other hand, a gaming oriented build for $800-1000 will tend to vastly outdo what you can find on a store shelf at that price.
Typically, when building a PC, you'd buy an OEM license of Windows, which is about half the price of a retail license. It still is an additional cost to consider, but not quite that bad.
IMO, prebuilt really only wins for cost on very low end machines. It's difficult to put together a $300-400 machine that's appreciably better than what Dell or HP offers at that price point, especially while keeping a legal Windows license in the mix.
On the other hand, a gaming oriented build for $800-1000 will tend to vastly outdo what you can find on a store shelf at that price.