geek challage home tv and pc

[Mrs_giggles]

Simple one for you
1000 pounds to spend
need 42inch tv, tower pc and a laptop
all to run together, eg tv as monitor for pc and xbox
Include links to products for sale, winner gets a free night on the beer

Can be bigger than 42inch
Use pc for streaming movies etc
Obvious top spec if poss

[Dunn-y]

Any preference to LCD or Plasma? Or even LED?

[Dunn-y]

This is what I found after a quick search on PC World. Probably find same one's cheaper else where, but it's late so will have a look tomorrow. They all seem pretty good spec to me, definitely things I would be happy to buy if I had the money.

Desktop PC (£299) - http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/packard-bell-imedia-d3527-desktop-pc-10452203-pdt.html

Laptop (£249) - http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/acer-aspire-5552-15-6-laptop-black-10945118-pdt.html

42" Plasma TV (£449) - http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/panasonic-viera-tx-p42u30b-42-full-hd-plasma-tv-09919641-pdt.html

Coming to a grand total of £998.96

These are all pretty good for the money, like I said I will have a better look tomorrow but these are the sort of specs your looking at for the money.

[L3nny]

Over by £50 but you could use the laptop to stream films and not bother with the other PC.

Laptop £350 http://www.ebuyer.com/283159-fujitsu-lifebook-ah530-laptop-vfy-ah530mrsc2gb

Desktop £200 http://www.ebuyer.com/283809-acer-aspire-revo-r3700-net-top-pc-pt-semec-037e

TV £500 http://www.ebuyer.com/269743-lg-42lv550t-42in-led-full-hd-freeview-hd-smart-tv-42lv550t-aek

[Bibio]

depends on what you want to do with it?

TBH i would spend the cash on multimedia centre first e.g. TV, AV amp, speakers and a blu-ray to begin with then add rest later.

for instance this as your PC media streamer at a later date:

http://www.ebuyer.com/279898-acer-aspire-revo-r3700-net-top-pc-pt-semec-036

PC media centres are getting there but they are still no substitute for stand alone items.

start with a decent set up first then add later. for instance a decent amp will let you plug almost anything into it and use one remote to control everything.

[L3nny]

for instance this as your PC media streamer at a later date:

http://www.ebuyer.com/279898-acer-aspire-revo-r3700-net-top-pc-pt-semec-036


How did you find it cheaper than me on the same site :confused:

Edit, mine has 2gb more RAM, not bad for an extra tenner

[beabert]

.... edit :smt040

[Seggons]

Mrs_Giggles. What kind of movies are you wanting to stream? If it's your bog standard low definition movies then a sub £400 desktop will do. But if your going to be watching full high definition 1080p blu-ray movies then a cheap desktop might struggle. It will really struggle if you want to watch 1080p 3D movies.

[andrewsmith]

£40 over but not bad! The TV will be going sharpish!

TV £350: http://www.richersounds.com/product/lcd-tv/lg/42ld490/lg-42ld490

Media PC with BluRay £400: http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTCONFIGPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=889988&UTM_SOURCE=homepage&UTM_MEDIUM=online&UTM_CONTENT=BUDGET_PC_DT&UTM_CAMPAIGN=desktop_home_box1

Laptop £290: http://www.ebuyer.com/280743-fujitsu-ah530-lifebook-laptop-vfy-ah530mrsb2gb

[Electro]

Gem get andrewsmiths tv, dont bother with a media pc just stream thru the xbox with tversity like i`ve shown Dave. The media pc would be used less than u will think, buy a 2nd lappie if u both want to browse the web at the same time.

[andrewsmith]

Gem get andrewsmiths tv, dont bother with a media pc just stream thru the xbox with tversity like i`ve shown Dave. The media pc would be used less than u will think, buy a 2nd lappie if u both want to browse the web at the same time.

Agreed buy a BluRay Player for £100.
Hardwire the XBOX to the net and the stream rate will be good

[Bluefish]

Mrs_Giggles. What kind of movies are you wanting to stream? If it's your bog standard low definition movies then a sub £400 desktop will do. But if your going to be watching full high definition 1080p blu-ray movies then a cheap desktop might struggle. It will really struggle if you want to watch 1080p 3D movies.
I recently tried streaming a 1.4 gig film through the ps3, ok i got it to work but it was quite laggy, every 5 mins or so it would stutter for a bit, so not something that works well, so now i have gone back to plugging the hd lead into the tv, is there a spec that is required for smooth running or is mine not quite set up right, computer is a packard bell running Intel core 2 quad, q8200 at 2.33 ghz, with 4 gb of ram, cheers andy.

[Seggons]

I would've thought a quad core CPU would be sufficient. If your having playback issues it could be other software running in the background taking resources up. 4 GB of RAM used to be a lot but in this day in age I'd say it's around the minimum mark, especially if your running Vista and have many things running in the background.
Some of the newer graphics cards have been developed to offload some of the stress from the CPU when watching Hi-Def movies. So if you have a dated graphics card that also isn't going to help.

This might be a bit overkill but I'd recommend a Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM and at least a Nvidia GTX 4xx series card with Windows 7 installed if your going to watch HD movies a lot.

I went a bit OTT when I built my system. Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, Nvidia 560Ti, 3D compatible monitor and the Nvidia 3D glasses setup. Handles anything I can throw at it.

[Bluefish]

Hi mate, so your saying i would need a new computer then? lol, as i suspect it would cost a fair bit to upgrade that lot, and yeah running vista :(

[beabert]

Hi mate, so your saying i would need a new computer then? lol, as i suspect it would cost a fair bit to upgrade that lot, and yeah running vista :(


Your computer specs are more than adequate already :-P I get by with far less.

[Bluefish]

Your computer specs are more than adequate already :-P I get by with far less.
well it's not getting changed any time soon, just the streaming don't work properly which was relevant to the thread.

[andrewsmith]

well it's not getting changed any time soon, just the streaming don't work properly which was relevant to the thread.

Ditch vista or put it on an epic diet

[beabert]

Ditch vista or put it on an epic diet

First thing id do too :smt040

[andrewsmith]

Ditch or diet?

[beabert]

Ditch or diet?

I'd ditch it quicker than a curvy snow shovel tail thing.

[Bluefish]

and how do i ditch, replace with windows 7 i assume? Edit Can i copy windows 7 from another laptop we have?

[L3nny]

and how do i ditch, replace with windows 7 i assume? Edit Can i copy windows 7 from another laptop we have?

You'll need to install Windows 7 from a Windows 7 CD. Legally you need to purchase a separate copy of Windows for each PC you install it on.

[beabert]

Choice is yours really, i just avoid vista like the plague. I use windows 7 with all unnecessary services switched off.

Linux is an option.

If you wanna be legit, you will have to buy windows 7.

[andrewsmith]

Choice is yours really, i just avoid vista like the plague. I use windows 7 with all unnecessary services switched off.

Linux is an option.

If you wanna be legit, you will have to buy windows 7.

Could you PM me the unnecessary services mate and how to switch them off

[Bluefish]

Ok cheers guys, found win 7 for 65 quid ish, as opposed to about 100 from Microsoft, any cheaper anywhere?

[Electro]

Find a copy on the net that's registered. If you like it buy a genuine key then if u don't you haven't wasted your cash ;)

[beabert]

Ok cheers guys, found win 7 for 65 quid ish, as opposed to about 100 from Microsoft, any cheaper anywhere?

My suggestion was based on you not paying for it.

If you are wanting windows 7 just to correct your streaming issues, i wouldn't bother, you can get it to work on vista. But id start from a fresh install.

However windows 7 is a breathe of fresh air after using vista for a while.

[beabert]

Could you PM me the unnecessary services mate and how to switch them off


Will do later matey :smt040

[andrewsmith]

Will do later matey :smt040

Cheers.
Putting the work one on a diet before its networked.

7 is damm sight better than vista. The first release of 7 was shocking (when on a vista machine) but its improved massively