System Builder Marathon (Media PCs): Day 2 : Introduction

By Ed Tittel, published on May 17, 2007
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: system, builder, marathon

Contents

1. Introduction

Yesterday, we built a low cost system priced at $1,004. Today, we'll assemble a much more powerful Media PC. In our third and final day of coverage on this topic, we'll summarize what we saw and learned, and make some recommendations as to how one might make best use of the two systems and others we've built in the past for Gear Digest, and we'll show you some photographs of these two builds.

Though we couldn't quite reach the esoteric heights of technology we hoped to explore with our high end media PC, we had no trouble tripling our outlays as compared to the low-end version documented in Part 1. We came in at around $3,300 and figured out ways to pump that total up to $4,000 and even more, along with a substantial boost to performance. Read this exciting installment to see how we blew all those bucks, what we observed along the way, and what we suggest you might do to chip away at your lottery winnings.

While working on a previous DIY story - one on HDMI PCs, in fact - we opined that there might be additional merit in going with a full-size ATX motherboard, if only to make room for more graphics. Given that real estate to accommodate oversize graphics cards is at a decided premium on micro-ATX boards, we can't help but think that more room might make a high-end 8800 graphics card more attractive.

The Components

Each Component Considered

Silvertone LaScala 14M Case

Close-up of some of the controls on the LaScala 14M Case

Compact, horizontal PC cases fit entertainment centers better than conventional desktop enclosures do. You can spend nearly $1,000 for a model like the OrigenAE S21T case, with its 12.1 motorized integrated 1280x800 TFT touch screen, built-in IR receiver, ventilation fans galore, removable motherboard tray (a very nice touch) and other bells and whistles.

OrigenAE S21T case

For this build, we chose a mid-range Silverstone LaScala 14M, which includes a basic vacuum fluorescent display (VFD), along with two 60 mm fans in back, over the port block (right across from the CPU cooler), and a 90 mm fan in front. (We cover all costs in a System Components table later in this story.) We could definitely have spent more on a case, had we chosen to do so: there are many options in the $300-$700 range when it comes to attractive, capable HTPC cases.