discussion Media esque PC

[xilocient]

I'm trying to put together a media PC for my dad as a retirement present, but i'm not sure what the main guts of the computer should be. The computer will probably mostly be used for web browsing, watching TV, and some simple games. However, he is a big fan of dual monitors.

I've already decided to put a SSD and a large 1.5-2TB HDD in, but i need advice on the CPU, motherboard, TV tuner, graphics card, and case.

Its going to be a completely new build with a budget of $1000-$1200, and i don't mind buying from reputable e-tailers (NCIX, DC, etc.)

I'm currently thinking of a a H55 setup with a low end radon card to power the dual monitors.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

 

[Raserei408]

I'd probably say go for a 785G board and an AII of some sort. Discrete graphics shouldn't be a problem (if he's not playing recent 3D games), and it's relatively upgradeable if he feels he needs more.

For the SSD, how big were you looking for? 64GB? 128GB?
For the HDD, I'd say something like the Caviar Green 2TB would be a good choice, and if you've got the room and cash you may want to get a second for RAID1. Nothing like losing $1000 of movies, tv shows, and music to HDD failure. That said, you're probably fine with a single one.

For a case, I'd look into the GD04. It's fairly expensive, but beautiful and quiet. Just make sure any CPU coolers you get are VERY short.

 

[xilocient]

Thanks for the suggestions

I'm thinking of an X-25 for the SSD, since its at a good price (Newegg.ca - Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - SSD). I assume this is the one with TRIM support.

For the RAID, is there a way to convert a RAID 1 array to a RAID 5 array, when you add a third HDD?

 

[Raserei408]

If you're mostly keeping just the OS and apps on the SSD, that's a good one to get.

As for RAID 5, you may want to delegate that to an separate NAS in the future. But yeah, there should be a way to get the information from a RAID 1 array to a RAID 5. Not sure how direct it is, since I've never dealt with that myself.