which htpc? (1 Viewer)

[Chris Moen]

I'm just starting a new job and have a $2000 allowance to buy a new computer. I can justify purchasing an HTPC, which I plan to use for DVR, movies, media storage. I'm not much of a gamer, but with the right setup I could become one. I read some of the prior posts regarding building your own PC, so I have an idea what components to look for, but I can't justify buying them separately and building it myself. Any thoughts on the best setup? I've looked at Alienware, 2partsfusion, and some of the other online retailers, but they seem pretty similar to my newbie eye. Any thoughts?

 

[Parker Clack]

Chris:

As an owner of an HTPC by 2 Parts Fusion I can recommend them without hesitation. The great thing about them is that they only use quality parts, they are non-propriatary (they even send you WCE 2005 on disc instead of storing it on the HD) and have great after the sale service.

As I have read on a couple of other review sites that said basically if you really don't want to mess around building your own HTPC then 2 Parts is the place to go.

I am not a gamer either. I had them build mine with dual HDs for a lot more space to record on. I plan on getting an XBox 360 to act as a media extender so I can watch what I recorded on the HTPC in my living room on my bedroom setup. I also had them put in a dual tuner so I could record two shows at once.

Give them a call or email Harris Coltrain at [email protected] and he will be glad to work with you on a set that that will give the best bang for your buck with a system geared towards what you are going to be using it for.

 

[Quincy]

I recently got a HP model m7330n which was a AMD Athalon 64 x2 4200+ with a Tv Tuner, DVD Burner, Audio and Video inputs. It came with Windows XP Media Center addition on it and that allows you to record tv shows, watch live tv, setup season passes, etc. It also lets you integrate your other media into it like your music and photos.

The video card that came with it is built into the motherboard (ATI Radeon Xpress 200.) But I've also been using it as a gaming machine. Playing stuff like Half-Life 2 and Star Wars: Empire at War on it with no problems.

The only thing I did't pay attention to when I bought it was that it had no Video Out jacks so I'm stucking watching TV on my computer monitor which isn't that bad. I now know HP has other models with the Video Out option that I could have gotten.

I had planned on building my own machine based of the Athalon 64 X2 4200 chipset that this computer came with but after I added up all my options the price was about the same so I went with the HP. I got the system at Frys about 2 weeks ago for about 800-850. You might want to take a look at HPS media center PCS, they covered all me needs fairly well so far.

 

[Kimmo Jaskari]

The 2partsfusion machines, when looking at their web page, seem to be built in Origen AE cases and using standard PC parts. That's what I personally would buy (in parts) to assemble my own HTPC so I'd definitely go with them over a Dell or HP assuming the company gives good service (and Parker seems to be happy.)

 

[DaveF]

What are your professional needs for this computer? (assuming this is a work PC) Hard to make PC recommendations without knowing what you're going to do with it.

 

[Chris Moen]

Mostly basic things -- email, word processing, Powerpoint presentations, online research. So from a work standpoint, I really could use any computer. However, I might as well load it up with hardware to incorporate into my home theater, right?

 

[Harris_C]

Chris,

If you have any pre-sales questions please let us know and we will do our best to get them answered for you.

We also have a forum board for customer assistance.

http://www.2partsfusion.com/forums/

 

[Scott Smolder]

Chris,

Seems like you're pretty lucky with a $2k budget for HTPC and you only need to do word processing etc., with it at work. Check out htpcforums.com for some good info on what to look for.

Don't forget to get a nice LCD monitor! I've got a 24" Dell widescreen and it worth its weight in gold (well... maybe not that much). If nothing else your office work will be a lot easier because you don't have to keep minimizing/moving windows all the time.

Scott

 

[Chris Moen]

Yeah, I know, it's a lot of computer for my purposes, but if they're willing to pay the bill, I'm willing to spend the money. Thanks for the website, I'll check it out. And the widescreen's not a bad idea either...