It’s been a while since I’ve written a post and I haven’t even had the time to keep up with my feeds. I did however find the time over the weekend to build a new Media Center PC. I managed to put the itself PC together fairly quickly, without too many cuts on my fingers so I was quite happy.
I decided to build a second media center PC because I’m moving to a bigger flat where I’m finally getting a dedicated ‘office’ that will also double as the games room when my friends come round to play Xbox 360. I’m not actually moving until hopefully next week so the new PC has been put back in its box until then.
Ordering parts for the Media Center PC was easy as I built it using components from my old main PC, which I upgraded and also rebuilt over the weekend. However, when choosing components for a media center PC then you should consider the following factors:
- Chassis: Where will your PC be located? If it will be located near other audio components or on ‘display’ near your TV then investing in a sexy case may be worthwhile, particularly as they are getting cheaper by the month
- Video Card: My advice is if you are planning on outputting HD resolutions then invest in a dedicated videocard even if you aren’t planning on playing games, as onboard cards just aren’t good enough.
- Sound Card: This one is tricky. If you are going to connect your PC up to an external amp via a digital connector (optical or coaxial) then you don’t need a great soundcard, just one that has the appropriate digital connection. If not, then invest in a soundcard that supports at least 5.1 just in case you get some good speakers in the future
- Cooling: This is often one of the areas that PC builders skrimp on. With a media center PC, particularly if it is going to located in a AV unit with limited airflow then good cooling is essential. It’s also important to check out the noise levels of your chosen fans as even if you like to blast out your movies or music, you still don’t want to hear your machine screaming like a banshee during the quiet parts
- Storage: If you are planning on storing movies or recording TV with your media centre PC, then think big – at least 500GB or more
- Optical Drive: Again like your cooling, do your research and find one that’s quiet.
