the_professor
08-17-2012, 04:14 PM
I built a desktop computer in... I think it was... 2008... and at the time it was pretty slick. That, of course, is no longer the case. I've been considering building a computer-driven entertainment center (custom HTPC), including buying a 55-60+ inch HD/1080p screen, several TBs of HDD space, 7.1 surround sound, blu-ray, etc.
Gaming is low priority. The high priority will be in viewing 1080p/blu-ray quality videos and listening to multi-channeled high quality recorded music. I might also use it for professional music production purposes.
Getting into the guts of the computer, inside the case itself, what hardware would be ideal for optimal viewing and listening pleasure?
I definitely do not want a bright shiny case with lights and glowy stuff. It will need to blend in so it doesn't distract from viewing movies/shows. I'll definitely get an uninterrupted power supply. I'm considering liquid cooled, if it truly is better than fan cooled. I like ASUS mobos but I'm open to other options. I like AMD CPUs but I'm open. I don't know how many cores or how powerful the CPU should be. I suspect a lot of RAM will be necessary, I like Corsair RAM but I'm open to something else. I don't know how much and of what type of RAM I should get. I've had great luck with my old Seagate HDDs but for the new system I'll need to get loads of new disk space. I use RAID5 now, I will probably keep some HDDs off of raid on the new system for faster read-write times and for any videos viewed on HDDs. I've had bad luck with my nvidia card, I might prefer another brand. I know nothing about BD readers and burners. And I use *nix-based systems.
The kitchen sink check-list:
Case?
PSU?
UPS?
Mobo?
CPU?
RAM?
HDD?
Network card?
Soundcard?
GPU?
BD reader & burner?
Additional I/Os?
TV/Monitor?
7.1 speakers?
Wireless keyboard/mouse?
Remote control (with possible device installed in case)?
Operating system & software?
Anything else?
Thank you!
http://ubuntuforums.org/images/smilies/icon_cool.gif
Gaming is low priority. The high priority will be in viewing 1080p/blu-ray quality videos and listening to multi-channeled high quality recorded music. I might also use it for professional music production purposes.
Getting into the guts of the computer, inside the case itself, what hardware would be ideal for optimal viewing and listening pleasure?
I definitely do not want a bright shiny case with lights and glowy stuff. It will need to blend in so it doesn't distract from viewing movies/shows. I'll definitely get an uninterrupted power supply. I'm considering liquid cooled, if it truly is better than fan cooled. I like ASUS mobos but I'm open to other options. I like AMD CPUs but I'm open. I don't know how many cores or how powerful the CPU should be. I suspect a lot of RAM will be necessary, I like Corsair RAM but I'm open to something else. I don't know how much and of what type of RAM I should get. I've had great luck with my old Seagate HDDs but for the new system I'll need to get loads of new disk space. I use RAID5 now, I will probably keep some HDDs off of raid on the new system for faster read-write times and for any videos viewed on HDDs. I've had bad luck with my nvidia card, I might prefer another brand. I know nothing about BD readers and burners. And I use *nix-based systems.
The kitchen sink check-list:
Case?
PSU?
UPS?
Mobo?
CPU?
RAM?
HDD?
Network card?
Soundcard?
GPU?
BD reader & burner?
Additional I/Os?
TV/Monitor?
7.1 speakers?
Wireless keyboard/mouse?
Remote control (with possible device installed in case)?
Operating system & software?
Anything else?
Thank you!
http://ubuntuforums.org/images/smilies/icon_cool.gif