Under $300 Multimedia PC

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bryceGerso

Honorable
Jul 8, 2013
8
0
10,510
Hi,

I am from Australia and have come across this deal on the net and wanted some opinions on whether it would make a good multimedia pc?

I already have extra hard drives to add to it which won't cost me anything.

https://www.cnettech.com.au/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=70769#.UnNMaBCK4ct

$303.00 AUD Delivered

These are the specs:

Processor: AMD A8-5600K Quad Core Socket FM2, 3.6GHz

Chipset: Asus A55M-E

Memory: 8GB 1333Mhz DDR3 RAM

Hard Drive: WD 1TB 7200RPM

Optical Drive: LG 24 +/-RW Burner

Graphic Card: Integrated on Board

Power Supply: 550W PSU
 
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TheLastDoomguy
Playing back most High Definition video only requires about 566MHz (peak) of one core of an Intel Core i5 processor. The actual video decoding only uses about 66% of the resources within the core too. :)

Such a system could easily get by with 3GB to 4GB of RAM.

These processors are typically clocked closer to 6.5x to 9.0x times this, and have two to four (or more) processor cores. Sometimes with HyperThreading. :wahoo:

So yeah, pretty much any system today can serve as a multi-media system.


That said, don't buy something that is potentially junk with a possibly unknown Power Supply Unit that is running in a confined case with unspecified cooling and airflow, that might be stored somewhere where there is less than half an inch of...
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Novuake

Novuake

Champion
Aug 27, 2011
14,308
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56,960
System should be perfectly fine. HOWEVER.

1. You have no idea what sort of PSU that thing has in, it is likely a junk unit.
2. You could make some optimized changes and likely get a better build at the same price.

So my suggestion is that you need to spend a little more to ensure that you have a reliable system with parts you KNOW are decent quality.
 
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TheLastDoomguy

TheLastDoomguy

Honorable
Oct 23, 2013
156
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10,710
Playing back most High Definition video only requires about 566MHz (peak) of one core of an Intel Core i5 processor. The actual video decoding only uses about 66% of the resources within the core too. :)

Such a system could easily get by with 3GB to 4GB of RAM.

These processors are typically clocked closer to 6.5x to 9.0x times this, and have two to four (or more) processor cores. Sometimes with HyperThreading. :wahoo:

So yeah, pretty much any system today can serve as a multi-media system.


That said, don't buy something that is potentially junk with a possibly unknown Power Supply Unit that is running in a confined case with unspecified cooling and airflow, that might be stored somewhere where there is less than half an inch of surrounding space (such as a TV cabinet) and run it for extended periods of time.

The parts I would be looking more closely at are:
- The PSU or Power Supply Unit.
- The HDD or Hard Disk Drive (make sure it's a 7,200rpm unit with a good/large cache and ideally a SATA 3Gbps or 6Gbps interface).
- The case itself, as its dimensions dictate where you can 'install' it; you will require at least half an inch surrounding the unit in all directions, except the base, for cooling purposes.
- Anything else worth looking at that others mention or that you consider after reviewing the specifications (which are more than just the hardware components inside the box).

One thing that does concern me is that the Chipset is listed as the motherboard.... so you've gotta wonder about the people selling it.
 
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