Specs for Entertainment PC

[human1987]

As above. What makes a good entertainment PC? Music etc..

[TwoRails]

You'll probably get better suggestions if you give more detail on what you want, like is this going to be a standalone PC, in the living room, how many devices are you going to run off of it, wired / wireless, gaming, etc????

[human1987]

yes a standalone pc in my room...
running on a 5.1 wired speaker..
casual gaming, but more importantly viewin DVD movies on it.
and if possible, KARAOKE!

[pam123]

Originally Posted by human1987 yes a standalone pc in my room... running on a 5.1 wired speaker.. casual gaming, but more importantly viewin DVD movies on it. and if possible, KARAOKE!

You'll want a sound card and you'll need a good LCD monitor 22" - 24" ( more if the budget allows ) which brings us to the next question : What is your budget ?

[human1987]

I've already got a Creative Xtreme Gamer sound card which I would like to re-use.
Or would you recommend something new?

Budget for the whole CPU w/o monitor around SGD$1.6k (About 1k USD?)

For monitor budget to be less than SGD$400!

[pam123]

I don't remember if that card supports Karaoke but since you have the manual that came with it you should easily be able to check.
Now that Creative has it's Vista drivers act together ( Actually they were embarrassed into doing the right thing. ) the card should work well with either that OS or with XP.

That monitor budget would certainly get you an HDCP enabled widescreen 22" Samsung LCD in the US ( it would be about $270 USD) but do you have a link to an on-line store you can give us so that we know what's available where you are ?

[human1987]

A list of Philips brand monitor
Philips 22” 220SW9FB (Black) 5ms/DVI/10000:1..349
Philips 22” 220CW8FB (Black) 2ms(4000:1)/DVI..339
Philips 22” 220BW8EB (Black) 5ms/HDCP.....369
Philips 22” 220XW8FB (Black) 2ms/DVI/HDMI....399
and Samsung
Samsung 21.6” 2253LW (Wide) 2ms/DVI (8000:1)..299
Samsung 22” 2253BW (Wide) 2ms/DVI (8000:1)..349
Samsung 22” 225UW w/USB Hub........................409
Samsung T220 22” (Wide) Rose Black 2ms/DVI...429

All prices are in SGD.

Wonder which brand of TV tuner is good?

Oh and the Karaoke thingy.. i guess need an additional console?

[pam123]

That Samsung 2253 BW is certainly a good choice but I have no experience with Philips monitors.

If that's a Creative X-Fi card then you really need to check the software that came with it because it should include this : http://www.soundblaster.com/products...bsoft.asp?id=3

Should work just fine for parties with friends.

[human1987]

Should I get Intel core 2 duo or quad core?

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by human1987 Should I get Intel core 2 duo or quad core?

Depends on how long you want to use the computer for, if you want the most speed now, the dual core is a better choice since you can get it with a higher frequency than a quad core of the same price. If you want to keep your computer for a longer time, a core 2 quad is a better choice since more programs are becoming multithreaded and will take better advantage of the 4 cores.

[human1987]

How long is consider long?
What if i run my PC for about 8-10hrs / day?

[DarkPacMan77]

He means how long you plan to keep the computer in months/ years.

Do you plan on keeping the computer for more than 2 or more years? If so, I'd say it maybe best to get the quad core even though at the present time it wont be being used to it's best potential - that is, until more programs become multithreaded and thus taking better advantage of 4 cores, like Masaki says.

[human1987]

Haha.. all right.. i see.. yup.. i will keep it for more than 2yrs definitely.
My current PC lasted me for abt 4-5 years already.. it's P4 2.8GHZ HT. i think antique already!