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razorboy5
June 1st, 2010, 06:41 PM
Hey

my dad's looking to get a new comp (or a old comp i should say)
he's looking to basically play movies and stream tv shows

was wondering what the specification of a machine to do that should be

does it even have to be dual core? how much video graphics would it need? was hoping to run the shows on a 21' lcd.

how much would it cost generally? (guessing i could find these kinds of machines at used shops- if u can recommend any shops near toronto/niagara falls ontario i would appretiate it) or if i decide to make it would it be cheaper?

cariboo
June 1st, 2010, 06:58 PM
I'm doing basically the same thing on an atom 320 powered system, using the on-board graphics and 1Gb of ram. With all new parts it came to about $400CDN.

Frogs Hair
June 1st, 2010, 07:05 PM
I hope this works ! http://computers.toptenreviews.com/media-center/

98cwitr
June 1st, 2010, 07:16 PM
most anything will new parts will do what you are asking...a minimalist budget build would do the trick without a problem. The thing you might want to keep in mind is future proofing the machine. So in that case I'd say dual core processor, DDR3 memory, and good onboard graphics (say NVIDIA 7xx/9xx chipset or something like that) would be a good idea.

mamamia88
June 1st, 2010, 07:52 PM
ddr 3 is unnnescessary. i say get 2gb ddr2, a mobo with onboard graphics, and an amd dual core processor.

98cwitr
June 1st, 2010, 07:54 PM
ddr 3 is unnnescessary. i say get 2gb ddr2, a mobo with onboard graphics, and an amd dual core processor.

but the graphics that are now coming with DDR3 boards are superior to those on old DDR2 boards....

chessnerd
June 1st, 2010, 07:57 PM
If you want, you could build him one for under $300.

Take a look at this:

http://computershopper.com/feature/the-250-linux-media-pc

mamamia88
June 1st, 2010, 08:05 PM
but the graphics that are now coming with DDR3 boards are superior to those on old DDR2 boards....

sure but how great do the graphics have to be to stream video? most of the processing isn't done on your computer hence the term streaming. edit unless it's flash then you might be in trouble.

98cwitr
June 1st, 2010, 08:12 PM
sure but how great do the graphics have to be to stream video? most of the processing isn't done on your computer hence the term streaming. edit unless it's flash then you might be in trouble.

It will work fine for now, but as I was saying he'll want to future proof the machine. That means in a few years, when HD flash content is running rampant on the net, he won't have to listen to him bitch and moan about the machine not handling the content.

earthpigg
June 1st, 2010, 08:19 PM
see attached, for a friend. this is in USD - most of it was a "combo deal" thing i came across.

razorboy5
June 2nd, 2010, 12:51 AM
thx for all the info :P

"future proofing" doesn't sound too bad of an idea, maybe i'll even upgrade it after school to get a lil gaming done

budget is a lil higher than expected but i guess 250-400 isn't a huge chunk of change

Old_Grey_Wolf
June 2nd, 2010, 01:20 AM
If he wants to use Netflix streaming, then he will need a Microsoft Windows OS. :)

K.Mandla
June 2nd, 2010, 02:16 AM
my dad's looking to get a new comp (or a old comp i should say)
he's looking to basically play movies and stream tv shows

I do all that with a 550Mhz Celeron, but that's probably not the answer you want to hear.

Hunt down a halfway decent Pentium 4, pay the $25 someone wants for it, and save yourself a bundle.

uRock
June 2nd, 2010, 02:22 AM
If he wants to use Netflix streaming, then he will need a Microsoft Windows OS. :)

Yup. Hulu is going to start requiring membership, too. Hope they don't switch to Silverlight also.

mamamia88
June 2nd, 2010, 04:24 AM
why not buy an xbox for the price of a copy of windows and watch netflix on your tv?