[hollipharm]

Hey guys,
I am brand new to the site and was just wondering if anybody has a pc as the "brain" of their home theater. I would like to run an HD TV, Bose 5.1 surround, Blue-Ray, etc. with a PC and am looking to by a custom made box to suite my needs. Any suggestions as far as sound card, video card, processor, etc. Don't mind to spend the money but i also dont want more than i need!

Thanks for you thoughts!
Chris

 

[hollipharm]

Thank all of you guys for the info! I will post the specs on the pc and stuff on this thread before i buy. Maybe someone can give the go ahead at that point?

 

[hollipharm]

Here is the specs of the pc i am looking at buying (magicmicro website)

Intel Barebones #4
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz, 1066FSB (Quad Core) 8000K
Coolit Domino A.L.C, extra quiet Liquid Cooling System
ASUS P5KPL-CM G31, 1600FSB, Onboard Video,PCI Express,Sound,1gb LAN
ATI Radeon HD 4650 1GB PCI Express 16x dual head, tv out
500.0GB Maxtor/ Seagate 7200rpm SATA2 UDMA 300 16m Cache
Hard Drive Cooling Fan Aluminum Internal
LG Blu-ray/ HD DVD Reader, 16x LightScribe DVD Recorder SATA combo drive
Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Wireless 802.11 N 150MBs Network Card PCI
APEVIA X-Plorer Black, Side Window, front USB,iEEE,Temp control
Okia 400W ATX Power Supply

Going to use Bose 5.1 for speaker system. Dont have a reciever or TV at this point so any suggestions are welcome!

 

[hollipharm]

I also have one more quick question. I was wondering if i used the HDMI connection from my pc videocard then where does my sound card come into play?

 

[hollipharm]

I agree... I think i'm prob gonna go with 500GB internal and use an external hard drive for my main storage. Possibly a little more secure if my machine ever decided to crash and i think the machine will run better if i dont load it down. The only thing that is really making me uncertain at this point is the potential software issues? I've seen a few threads that have mentioned different programs that are needed in order for true digital sound to be sent to my receiver and speakers. Then other threads make it sound as though if i have new equipment (sound and video card with HDMI output) that it should just work and the data will be transferred perfectly? I just dont want to spend the money on this build just to find out it will not do what i want it to do!