Multimedia build

[Kekewy]

My roommates and I are wanting to build a computer that we can hook to the TV and watch movies, Hulu, Netflix and the like on. One of my roomies would also like to use it to play little flash games on when no one's using it for TV. Gaming machines I can build easy, but I have no clue what to put together for a multimedia machine like this. We want something good, but not crazy expensive. No blu ray capabilies. I have a gaming rig with a blu ray player we can watch those on. All we need is HDMI and the red, yellow, and white hook ups because the current TV only has the latter.

We'd like to keep it around 500-ish. No case or harddrive needed. The OS that's going on it is Lynix Ubuntu, which I know I probably horribly misspelled. Any suggestions? My guess is we're not gonna need strong processing power, but a good video card. But I'm unsure.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Hmm. If you are going with Linux, then you probably want an Nvidia video card. If you were going with Windows, I would have recommended an AMD motherboard with onboard video, they are excellent for HTPC usage. (Are you SURE you won't want Blu-Ray in the future? Oh well, no Blu-Ray for Linux anyways, so I guess not.)

My HTPC is running Windows 7 64-bit. Foxconn A7GM-S, BE-2400 CPU (overclocked from 2.3 to 2.875), 2GB DIMM (single DIMM), HDMI output from the IGP to the 32" LCD TV.

One other issue, I know of no video cards offhand, that both support HDMI, as well as S-Video or Composite (the Yellow, Red, and White RCA plugs). Usually it's one or the other, and older cards tend to support S-Video/Composite, while newer cards support HDMI.

Btw, Composite video is extraordinarily crappy, and most S-Video/Composite outputs on video cards only support 640x480 or 720x480. Some older ATI cards supported 1024x768, through some GPU scaling magic, but that is unusual. No S-Video/Composite supports higher than that. Text is going to be hard to read, nearly impossible if you are sitting across the room from it. The only thing that S-Video/Composite TV-out is good for, is watching Standard Definition DVDs.

You would honestly be better off getting a new flatscreen TV.

 

[mnewsham]

Hmm. If you are going with Linux, then you probably want an Nvidia video card. If you were going with Windows, I would have recommended an AMD motherboard with onboard video, they are excellent for HTPC usage. (Are you SURE you won't want Blu-Ray in the future? Oh well, no Blu-Ray for Linux anyways, so I guess not.)

My HTPC is running Windows 7 64-bit. Foxconn A7GM-S, BE-2400 CPU (overclocked from 2.3 to 2.875), 2GB DIMM (single DIMM), HDMI output from the IGP to the 32" LCD TV.

One other issue, I know of no video cards offhand, that both support HDMI, as well as S-Video or Composite (the Yellow, Red, and White RCA plugs). Usually it's one or the other, and older cards tend to support S-Video/Composite, while newer cards support HDMI.

Btw, Composite video is extraordinarily crappy, and most S-Video/Composite outputs on video cards only support 640x480 or 720x480. Some older ATI cards supported 1024x768, through some GPU scaling magic, but that is unusual. No S-Video/Composite supports higher than that. Text is going to be hard to read, nearly impossible if you are sitting across the room from it. The only thing that S-Video/Composite TV-out is good for, is watching Standard Definition DVDs.

You would honestly be better off getting a new flatscreen TV.

It wouldn't even have to be new flat screen, my 8 year old LCD has VGA DVI and HDMI inputs.

 

[DominionSeraph]

No case or hard drive?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.581123
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231395
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139017

Buy yourself a new TV.

I would have recommended an AMD motherboard with onboard video

Are Linux drivers that bad? I know you're not going to get good gaming out of ATi on Linux, but HTPC all you need is for it to output video.

If they are that bad I'd just spend the $100 to get Windows 7 rather than waste money on a crappy video card.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Are Linux drivers that bad? I know you're not going to get good gaming out of ATi on Linux, but HTPC all you need is for it to output video.

If they are that bad I'd just spend the $100 to get Windows 7 rather than waste money on a crappy video card.

Well, my friend with a 3450 hooked up to his 32" 1080P LCD TV with HDMI, finally got his working with Linux. Have to hook up via VGA first, otherwise, you don't get any output (no HDMI support in Linux with opensource drivers), then load the proprietary Linux drivers.

Dunno if H264 video acceleration is supported in Linux. Probably no Linux Flash HW accel either.

 

[mfenn]

Needing composite output is a killer. You'll probably want to ditch that requirement (not to mention that it would royally suck).

Dominion's build looks like a good starting point. You can always throw a cheap Nvidia card in after the fact if you run into driver problems.

 

[Rockinacoustic]

If you have a Microcenter nearby, check out this combo I posted in Hot Deals: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2132935

For HDMI I picked up an eVGA 210GT on the cheap and HD playback is smooth.