I have an old Dell GX620 that really struggles when I stream a movie to my PS3 that needs to be transcoded.
Can anyone recomend a basic setup that will be able to stream fast to my PS3 and Apple TV that won't cost me a fortune.
I don't do any gaming at all and am happy to use the old Dell monitor so don't really need a monitor included.
Need a new PC to stream and transcode movies to my PS3
dan76n on 24/08/2013 - 09:13
Comments
I'm suggesting an i5 build, it'll last you a while. I have an i7 860 system from 2009 which is still going strong (4 years now). These would be my recommendations.
MSY is usually where I get my parts from, they usually offer the best normal prices, but if you find discounts, other places might be cheaper.
Motherboard - Gigabyte B85M-HD3 - $87
CPU - Intel i5-4430 - $208
RAM - 8G Single 1333 Patriot-S - $70
SSD - Samsung 840 Series 120GB - $105
HDD - Seagate 2TB - $96
Case + PSU - Coolermaster RC334 - $60Total - $626
That will be good enough for everything you could want it to do. Intel HD Graphics is really good and will be more than enough unless you intend to use it for gaming, CUDA computations or CAD…etc. graphical type of stuff.
The SSD is optional, it will make your computer much faster and more responsive for $105, in my opinion it's worth every penny, but it's up to you.
Also, MSY can build your system for $70 or so, but it's not hard and you can learn how to build a PC and build your first one within half a day. Youtube some videos if you're unsure, but it's fun and you save yourself a bit of money.
Why do you think that the OP will even notice the difference between an i3/i5? As for the full system, I wasn't going to suggest anything based on the little information provided, just that any i3 will address this specific need.
i3/i5, not much of a price difference, i3 is around $120, i5 is around $200, so $80 for 2 more cores and Haswell architecture, I think that's worth it.
Why transcoding? Its way easier to play pirated films on a WD Live for $120, not $600+ for a box to transcode and do little else.
yeah why transcode. you might want to consider building an htpc.
i used ps3, jailbroken apple tv 2 and android dongles for streaming but finally settled on a windows based htpc running xbmc.
using a openelec Zotac box streaming from my n40l :)
Umart Online Sydney
Antec ISK300-150 -Mini-ITX Desktop $99
ASRock H61MV-ITX $75
Intel BX80637I33240 CORE i3 $145
Kingston 4G(2x2G) $50.00
Seagate SATA3 1TB $68.00
Samsung SATA DVD $18.00Total $455.00 including installation (free).
Good enough to be a media centre! The case would look cool next to your PS
It will depend a little on what codecs you are transcoding to/from, the bit rate and the software used. In almost all cases though, anything with an i3 will be just fine.
Note that your network may be an issue also, particularly if you are using wifi.