Intergrating PC in a home theater.

[jamison]

i know most of you are Audiophiles or enthusiasts, but we also are computer orientated or we wouldnt be here. my question concerns intergrating a PC into home theater. more so for audio, im thinking about getting a customized computer for this application. does any one have any recomendations for Sound cards and video cards? im looking for high quality output with Dolby 5.1 EX and DTS ES support. I also am wondering if there is any video cards out there with component video outputs. i dont hav a high definition tv rather a hg 36 panasonic tau with component video inputs my receiver also has 2 component video inputs.
i want to have a computer built with 3 hard drives one a boot drive with xp pro and the other two hard drives built in for data storage. say 500 GB each.
i want to put my cd collection in full rate. i will also have the computer networked with my desktop in my office.

am i better off getting an external card or a built in one? also video card recomendations i want component but will use Svideo if i have to
thanks

[ericl]

I just added a Sound Card section (sparsely populated so far, some reviews borrowed from computingreview.com). Anyways,
I am using an M-Audio Audiophile USB external sound card. Its great. it has digital and analog I/Os, a power supply separate from the computer (important), volume control and a nice headphone output. it sounds great, I am getting really good sound from it. about $160 on ebay.

-Eric

PS, you make a great whiskey!

[jamison]

http://accessories.gateway.com/Acces...544_ProdDetail

[plextor guy]

or another company running Windows Media Center edition. Make sure to get the 2005 edition. The earlier version was a little glitchy. I mention Alienware specifically because they sell rack mount systems that will integrate nicely with existing equipment cabinets and racks. They can be customized to do everything you want. Noise is an unfortunate side affect of most pc's but the Alienware systems are supposed to be quiet. Concerning the storage you want: I'd go with external hard drive(s) for the content or at least to back up the content in the drive(s) you have in your machine. I'd also go with an AMD 64 based system especially if you plan on using machine to game. I'd also go with at least an ATI 9600.

[sc03979]

i know most of you are Audiophiles or enthusiasts, but we also are computer orientated or we wouldnt be here. my question concerns intergrating a PC into home theater. more so for audio, im thinking about getting a customized computer for this application. does any one have any recomendations for Sound cards and video cards? im looking for high quality output with Dolby 5.1 EX and DTS ES support. I also am wondering if there is any video cards out there with component video outputs. i dont hav a high definition tv rather a hg 36 panasonic tau with component video inputs my receiver also has 2 component video inputs.
i want to have a computer built with 3 hard drives one a boot drive with xp pro and the other two hard drives built in for data storage. say 500 GB each.
i want to put my cd collection in full rate. i will also have the computer networked with my desktop in my office.

am i better off getting an external card or a built in one? also video card recomendations i want component but will use Svideo if i have to
thanks

One of the biggest issues concerning htpc's is noise. If you are capable of building your own pc I would look at a barebones system(case and mobo) and supply the cpu, vid card, sound card, hdd, memory, and optical drive. HERE is a guide to barebone systems. As far as a sound card I would consider THIS and for a vid card I would consider looking at THIS forum before you consider getting a vid card for hdtv. There are some good threads there.

Good luck!!!