Greetings folks,
I have been researching the implementation of an HTPC into my new man cave for a few months now and I always seem to get stuck on the following: pre-built (ZBOX/ION system) or a build of my own? I am not a novice builder; I have built my last 3 PCs spanning 11 years of gaming. But this one is a new foray that has me a little worried. I wonder if building my own unit will get me that much more performance/$ when compared to something like the following:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=7_126&item_id=74337P
My alternative would be a miniATX build with an nMEDIA PC case. I am not a stickler for any brands in particular when it comes to this build, so feel free to hit me with AMD/Intel/nVidia until the cows come home. Budget is in the range of the above link ($350-$500).
For further info, this rig will be 100% media only. Movies streaming wireless, some TV and music to my HDTV. There is a good chance that my wife will choose to hit the bean bag chair and surf the web on it as well, so there may be some light, browser based gaming. I would like to stick with a high-end mobile GPU (like the HD6000 series) just in case this branches out into something much more. That is why the ZBOX above is pretty heavy in that department. Additionally, I have a 2TB external for storage and I would most likely be running Ubuntu over Windows. I have a friend who is a Ubuntu fanboi/guru who has offered to help me out with that.
Any build advice that you guys can offer is much appreciated!
I have been researching the implementation of an HTPC into my new man cave for a few months now and I always seem to get stuck on the following: pre-built (ZBOX/ION system) or a build of my own? I am not a novice builder; I have built my last 3 PCs spanning 11 years of gaming. But this one is a new foray that has me a little worried. I wonder if building my own unit will get me that much more performance/$ when compared to something like the following:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=7_126&item_id=74337P
My alternative would be a miniATX build with an nMEDIA PC case. I am not a stickler for any brands in particular when it comes to this build, so feel free to hit me with AMD/Intel/nVidia until the cows come home. Budget is in the range of the above link ($350-$500).
For further info, this rig will be 100% media only. Movies streaming wireless, some TV and music to my HDTV. There is a good chance that my wife will choose to hit the bean bag chair and surf the web on it as well, so there may be some light, browser based gaming. I would like to stick with a high-end mobile GPU (like the HD6000 series) just in case this branches out into something much more. That is why the ZBOX above is pretty heavy in that department. Additionally, I have a 2TB external for storage and I would most likely be running Ubuntu over Windows. I have a friend who is a Ubuntu fanboi/guru who has offered to help me out with that.
Any build advice that you guys can offer is much appreciated!
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