New Computer

[peackshelb]

On the monitor, whats the difference between the one listed above and the LG one
@ £147.74 (Other than 1" & Sorry can't post links!), As i prefer the look of the LG one!

I don't know either of these monitors myself, but as well as the extra inch, the BlueH does come with speakers and an HDMI input.

That being said I'd probably be more inclined to go for something like this:
http://www.oyyy.co.uk/product.php/83..._source=WebGai
or this:
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/2684...658&srcid=3690
if I couldn't stretch to really nice monitor like the Dell Ultrasharp 2209WA here:
http://www.pcbuyit.co.uk/product_inf...roducts_id=586

If you have time you may find the following thread useful:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=39226
I know I did

[Pob255]

No that should be fine, some people can be very picky about monitors, a nice IPS panel monitor would be nice (that's the type of screen used) but they tend to be £200+

The main differences the BlueH has are; an inch larger, speakers and 2 HDMI inputs, so you could also have a consol or simular pluged into it as well as the pc

[lulu1484]

Ok no HDMI, but as its DVI it is still a digital connection and therefore HD - Correct?

One thing i almost listened to as my friend was prattling on!

Not really fussed about speakers in the monitor as i do want some separate ones for music! (Forgot to add those to my list!)

Right, so monitor is check.... Not bothered about wireless keyboards but one thing i am wondering, do they have remote controls for computers?

[peackshelb]

Ok no HDMI, but as its DVI it is still a digital connection

Correct.

and therefore HD - Correct?

Not quite. HD usually just relates to the resolution. HD ready being at least 1280x786 pixels and Full HD being 1920x1080 pixels. So it's the screen resolution that determines if it's HD, but a digital signal is definitely preferable.

The two important differences between DVI and HDMI are that DVI can carry resolutions greater than Full HD, so very large 2560x1600 resolution displays can't use HDMI, and HDMI carries digital audio as well as the image, while DVI is image only.

[peackshelb]

do they have remote controls for computers?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is way too long for one post. On the simple end many TV tuners for PCs have an IR receiver to receive the signal from a TV type remote control to allow basic stop/play, record, fast-forward, rewind, etc functions in a media player. More advanced remote control can be gained by using a mobile phone, smart phone or PDA as your input device. Of coarse it also depends what you mean by remote, as there are ways of setting up remote control via the web, so that you can control you computer remotely from any internet connection anywhere in the world, not just a few meters away.

To get some idea of the more advanced possibilities you could take a look here:
http://www.byremote.com.au/HIP/Default.htm

(The simplest and most powerful local remote control is just a wireless mouse and/or keyboard - as long as you are not too far away to actually see the mouse pointer/text, or beyond the limits of your wireless keyboard/mouse. )

[CK_1985]

Just a quick thought on the hard disk issue - now is not a great time to be buying SSDs unfortunately. A lot of them have shot up in price recently (I think due to bif price rises on the manufacturing side, but don't quote me on that...) so you won't get a lot for your money at the moment. I'd say a Samsung Spinpoint F3 or two would be a much better use of the cash. Unless you can wait for SSD prices to stabilise again? Will probably be a couple of months though.

[lulu1484]

I'm not really on a time scale for buying the bits, just when i'm sure that what i'm buying is right for me!

I've looked into the remote thing and i've seen a Windows Media Centre remote that i like the look of, its a Dell one but it apparently works on Windows 7's media centre which i can watch my video's through.

I've been looking at boxes and am struggling, does anyone know of a quiet computer box thats not vulgar? Not too bothered if its one that goes horizontal or vertical.

Thanks for all the help so far!

[peackshelb]

Just a quick thought on the hard disk issue - now is not a great time to be buying SSDs unfortunately. A lot of them have shot up in price recently (I think due to bif price rises on the manufacturing side, but don't quote me on that...) so you won't get a lot for your money at the moment. I'd say a Samsung Spinpoint F3 or two would be a much better use of the cash. Unless you can wait for SSD prices to stabilise again? Will probably be a couple of months though.

The same is true for RAM, but hopefully that will come down in price a little sooner according to this article:
http://channel.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=21293

[peackshelb]

I've looked into the remote thing and i've seen a Windows Media Centre remote that i like the look of, its a Dell one but it apparently works on Windows 7's media centre which i can watch my video's through.

Sounds fine.

I've been looking at boxes and am struggling, does anyone know of a quiet computer box thats not vulgar? Not too bothered if its one that goes horizontal or vertical.

Quite computing is a huge topic, but the basic idea is to keep the noise down from all the components as no case can do more than just dampen the noise a little. You should definitely think about a quieter CPU HSF (Heat Sink Fan) than the stock cooler that comes with the retail versions of CPUs. Antec make many good cases for quite computers, and the larger version of the case recommended by Pob255 is one of the best for building a quite computer, so I assume it's also an excellent option. For an overview, and recommendations which unfortunately haven't been updated for a few years, have a read of this thread:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article75-page1.html
There are some newer case reviews and lots of discussion of other newer cases elsewhere on that site.

[peackshelb]

I knew I'd seen a review of that minP180 case. Here it is:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article810-page1.html

[Pob255]

The mini P180 is a lovely case for a matx system (that's the size of the motherboard) it's larger than most mATX cases, it's the size of a normal mid-tower case, which is the most common type of case, although mid-tower are normally use ATX motherboards.

As to what is a good looking case, that's very personal.
I suggested the mini P180 as it a nice case to work on, comes with decent fans which are simple to adjust (which run well in low speed setting, are fairly quiet and sill give decent airflow) while it's more money than a real cheap case, the quality is good and it's not very expensive (comparatively).

It also comes in white if you don't like black.

[lulu1484]

That one looks really nice, sorry i didn't remember that you'd done a link for that!

On the hard drive issue, i was thinking that i didn't want to bring all my DVD's to uni so my friend suggested making them into AVI files so that i can just have them on my hard drive, so will need space for that.

He also mentioned something about the Athlon X250 being good for the money and DDR3 memory being best, what do you guys think?

[Pob255]

Umm I think your friend means an AthlonII x2 250, which is good esp for the money, should be ok for what you want, just not as fast.
I'd consider the AthlonII x4 630 which is about £20 more but is a quad core as apposed to a dual core

If you want to start storeing big avi flies (which dvd's would be, unless you really drop the quality down) then I'd consider a fast 250gb hard drive, for OS and software and a cheaper slower 1tb hard drive for storage.

But better still I'd sugest a compact storage box, something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Discrite-CD-...ref=pd_cp_ce_3

If this is a pc to go with you to uni you may actually want to consider a smaller case (or box as you called it) and a smaller monitor, need to consider how much hassle it'll be to transport.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The OP may want to check out the build I have listed in this thread:

http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...media-rig.html

This Mesh computer look OK for the price:

http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default...UCT&KEY=490189

[lulu1484]

Moving the PC isn't a problem, i ferry this old thing around at the moment! Its been suggested that i should get a laptop but i just can't get to grips with the keyboards!

My friend has done a few films for me already and the quality is fine, they're about 990 megabytes each one. and i have around 400 films and loads of TV shows (Angel, Bones, heroes etc)

That quad Athlon sounds good, which mother board should i put with it? Would this one be OK? and with this memory?

[Pob255]

That motherboard is an ATX size, which means you need an AXT case (ie you'd need the full sized p182 not the mini P180)

A 24" monitor will be smaller and lightler than your current crt but also bigger.
It'll be less total volume but it's going to be much wider and maybe taller.
Same goes for cases, they can get large and heavy on you if you're not careful.

going back to my original list
replace the cpu with the quad athlon
swap the motherboard with the cheaper msi one
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-7...Board-Graphics
for the price the memory is fine, the ocz memory I linked to is slightly faster, but I doubt you'd notice.

For case, a real swap here, CM Elite 341 £29.84
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...X-Case-w-o-PSU
Far simplier design, enough air flow for your needs
To that you'll need to add a 2nd case fan as it only comes with one, Silverstone FN122 £5.16
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/120mm...bearing-design
No need to go crazy, these fans are cheap and very quiet, just don't move a lot air, again you'd only need a little air flow any away

Also add in an aftermarket cpu cooler, this is to bring volume down, the good old Xigmatek HDT-S1283 £22.87
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xigma...uad-Core-Ready

Advantage of this selection is cheaper, smaller and lighter system