Desktop with LCD TV as monitor?

[Paddy]

Hi guys!

It’s been a while, but when faced with a hardware query, I knew this was the place to ask!

My laptop has died Too many children jumping up and down on it! I am looking for a replacement.
I haven’t got the space for a dedicated desktop, but don’t really need the portability of a laptop. I was thinking along the lines of a HTPC type affair. It would also be a good opportunity to replacing the aging TV.
Samsung do some nice LCD - Something in the region of 40” should suffice!
Whenever I have seen a PC connected to a TV, I have always been disappointed by the lack of clarity. I understand it is to do with the TV over scanning and cropping which distorts the text. If I bought a TV with a dedicated PC mode, i.e. overscan disabled, would it be suitable to use as a monitor?
I was looking along the lines of the LE40A656 or the UB40B7000 should the finances stretch!

Assuming this is a viable option for a permanent monitor replacement, I was looking at getting a desktop PC that would have a similar footprint to the SKY box. I’m not looking for anything fancy, but I’d want to take advantage of the HD output for watching DVDs etc.. I certainly don’t think I will be doing any gaming on it!

Is there a particular brand/range of that I should look at? I’m looking for something quiet!
Any thoughts on a mobo/CPU combo. Will i get away with onboard video, or will I need something dedicated due to the HD output?

Thanks in advance guys!

Paddy.

[UtwigMU]

You have a few form factors to explore:
Shuttle cuble-like, you can fit up to 3 HDDs+optical and/or a fancy GPU, though, you can't upgrade much and when motherboard goes, you need to buy another barebones. Research these on newegg (drill down, then see what's available near you).
Desktop PC - either get htpc case and DIY or get desktop from OEM. With OEMs you can fit bigger GPU but be careful if BIOS/CPU supports VT (XP mode in Win7), etc...
Mac-mini
Imac or another AIO (Dell, Lenovo also make them).

[Evildead666]

My New FileServer thread has piccies of a nice quiet nas box, and the mini-itx Athlon Mobo.

If you want a small footprint, and low power and thermals, then a good mini-itx solution is pretty good.
Rather expensive tho, unless you already have some of the parts for the entire system.
the onboard HD3200 ATi video with UVD should be fine for any video flux, and you have audio over hdmi as well....

[Paddy]

Cheers guys!

The laptop finally died last night, so I am having to jump. My 46" LCD is sitting proudly on my wall ready and waiting.

As my needs are modest, it seems silly spending more on the Shuttle bearbones than the rest of the components put togeather!

I was thinking along the lines of either itx or microATX with a 2.8 Dual Core yorkfield and a passivly cooled ATI 4550/4600 series. The Zotak (sp) ITX mobo with wifi looks good, but I fear it will be very hot in such a small case.... Any thoughts?

[Fat Tone]

Apple TV with hacks?

[Paddy]

more along the lines of:

Intel Core 2 Duo, E8400, Wolfdale Core, S775, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz, 6MB Cache
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400
512MB Sapphire HD 4670 Ultimate, PCI-E 2.0, 1746MHz GDDR3, GPU 750MHz, 320 Cores
Silverstone SG05B Sugo Mini ITX
Zotac FG9300-D-E, GF 9300
Samsung HD154UI EcoGreen F2 DT

[Evildead666]

Looks good to me.
I personally wouldn't go for a Nvidia Chipset, but since you won't really be using the integrated video it shouldn't heat up that much....

[Paddy]

I wonder if the E8400 is too much.... well if there is such a thing - Everything else is passivly cooled... i'll have to look into a nice cooler that will fit on the Zotac board.

[Mehen]

I wonder if the E8400 is too much.... well if there is such a thing - Everything else is passivly cooled... i'll have to look into a nice cooler that will fit on the Zotac board.

The E5200 would probably be a better bet.