Because, the TV in the living room does have 10800p! :)
What would you recommend for my TV if it only has S-Video and Composite inputs?
This.
Flame Sage wrote:
This. | |
Good call. A cheap graphics card will do the job nicely, and leave the option for 1080P if needed(DVI to HDMI converters are cheap, and do actually work, from what I hear).
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For VGA to Composite conversion you need a scan line converter; f.ex http://www.amazon.com/Cables-To-Go-40971-Converter/dp/ B00129O46O/ref=pd_bbs_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1237735493 &sr=8-3
DVI to HDMI works fine. | |
Since nobody felt brazen enough to reply to my reply, I shall show you what I mean
 Add a monitor (or TV in this case), keyboard, mouse, and power cord, and you're all set. Now I'm sure I'll get replies criticizing all these choices, etc etc. Well, it's less than $200 after the $10 mail in rebate, so ~nyaa :P Spend a bit more to get a bigger hard drive, or perhaps the newer Intel Atom combo that is dual-core. I could definitely see a problem if you were trying to record and play HD video at the same time (the atom is not very powerful), but as a big media hub to play videos off of, it should be no problem**. Downsides with its cheapness: *) No HDMI or DVI output! Unless you put it an overpriced PCI card, you're going to be stuck with VGA. *) Puny PSU! Power supply will probably die after a while because its teeeny-watts! *) Not much power there! Intel Atoms are low-voltage and low-heat, but they perform about half as well as a Pentium M of the same clock. Enough for HD video, not enough for your Crysis deathmatches! However, a wise man once said: "You'd be surprised how powerful a single-core really is." Advantages: It's less than $200 and could be used for a low-power home media center. [EDIT] LG DVDRW is OEM, so you'll have to get your own cables, or choose a different, non-OEM model. ~Kujila **dual core model shown | |
Alathon wrote:
For VGA to Composite conversion you need a scan line converter; f.ex http://www.amazon.com/Cables-To-Go-40971-Converter/dp/ B00129O46O/ref=pd_bbs_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1237735493 &sr=8-3 I think that's actually the opposite of what he needs (composite input, VGA output) according to the description. Still, even at that price he's likely better off just picking up an 8400, eh? | |
That's the thing, if I want QUALITY parts, I'm going to have to pay a little more.
I want this thing to last for a LONG (10 years? :P) time. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121302 This card looks great, but I'm not sure how I'm going to hook it up to my TV. I looked, at it's actually a little cheaper to buy the card and motherboard separately. I want a card with an HDMI port though, which it has. Perhaps I can do DVI -> S-Video -> Red Yellow White? :D | |
Flame Sage wrote:
That's the thing, if I want QUALITY parts, I'm going to have to pay a little more. The card you link to has worse reviews and doesn't have the outputs you require. You know, several of us continue to try to help and you just don't seem to listen. And if you want stuff to last, you shouldn't be picking up a thirty dollar sempron. While cost does not always indicate quality, I don't understand how you can expect to build something that's going to last ten years when you're nickel and diming the hell out of us. I looked, at it's actually a little cheaper to buy the card and motherboard separately. I want a card with an HDMI port though, which it has. Read this: DVI to HDMI. That's it. It's an extra $4. Perhaps I can do DVI -> S-Video -> Red Yellow White? :D No. [edit, I'll elaborate] You have two options here, quit dicking around and listen to us, or stop asking for our help. For the second time now, you don't go from S-video (or VGA, or DVI, or any other strictly video output) to red + white. You go to the yellow composite. Second of all, the amount of money you'll be wasting on those converters is going to cost more than if you just built it right, never mind the quality loss. | |
Would I still get sound using the DVI -> HDMI Adaptor?
It's cheaper to get the card I mentioned above. It has native HDMI, and DVI / VGA. I think I'm confused, since I look at newegg for HDMI (Via Adaptor) and it doesn't list the card you mentioned. | |
Flame Sage wrote:
Would I still get sound using the DVI -> HDMI Adaptor? I can't even answer this question without feeling the need to stab you in the face across the Internet. DVI stands for Digital Video Interface. DVI does not output sound. If you want hi def sound, get a mobo that has onboard optical out, or buy a sound card. | |
Exactly!
So why not get the Asus card that costs $1 that has HDMI?! Then use an adaptor to hook it up to my TV? S-Video wouldn't be able to give me 1080p quality if I ever wanted to hook it up in the living room, that's why I wanted something with HDMI. | |
Flame Sage wrote:
Exactly! The problem here is you're trying to solve too many problems with one computer. DVI->HDMI isn't going to give you any loss of quality; it's a digital signal. However, if you get the (again, lesser rated) card with no s-video, you won't be able to hook it up to your other TV. If DVI->S-video even exists, it probably isn't going to be just an inline adapter, but an actual piece of hardware like the one Alathon linked you to. This is because you're converting from one format specification to a completely different one. With DVI-HDMI, it's basically the same stuff. [edit] See this. In Summary:
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Most TV's will take sound from composite even if the video is HDMI if no audio is being sent through HDMI. So your sound is covered. So since you already have the sound wires, all you need for HDMI is This. Bam, S-Video and HDMI for a very low price.
Also, as Airjoe mentioned, don't expect a $300 PC to last ten years. Think about it this way. Picture a badass PC from 10 years ago, I'll remind you that's 1999. S-Video on a computer was unheard of, graphics cards were not capable of 1080P. You can't assume your hardware will last that long, aside from the just it being horribly out dated, harddrives fail, CD Roms fail, fans fail, cases get bent, processors die, ram degrades, and compactors explode(well, more like boil over). Computer hardware just isn't built to last like that. Sure, it may last that long, but assuming it will is foolish. | |
I realize I'm being extremely cheap here, and I apologize.
Also, the whole 10 years things was an exaggeration. Will any GPU that has DVI be able to output to the TV (with HDMI) with the adapter? Or does it have to specifically say "HDMI (Via Adapter)" Also, I'm confused where it says between... TV-Out * Composite Out * HDTV Out * HDTV / S-Video Out * HDTV / S-Video Out Composite Out * S-Video Out * S-Video / Composite Out Are they just talking about included adapters? | |
I was looking through the reviews on this one, and 90% of the bad reviews appear to just be ATI haters (Cons: Has an ATI chip.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121230 I browsed around, and they were saying that the card you linked me to could not do 1080p (on the reviews.) I'd rather go with an AMD / ATI, NVIDIA's Linux drivers have been really flaky lately. | |
The 8400GS is entirely capable of 1080p, and the reviews say it works perfect on Linux, and is again higher rated than the one you linked to. The card you linked to also has reviews stating it would not do 1080 [Cons: The card would stutter when playing back high motion rate HDTV material (particularly the 1080i NBC broadcasts) which has forced me to remove the card and put in an older louder video card which works but isn't ideal.]. If you're really concerned, get the 8500GT on newegg for < $40.
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Ok, I've sat and made some changes...
I'm going to stick with the Rosewill case, it's gotten REALLY good reviews. The video card has S-Video, and DVI.  | |
Looks good, but since you're 20 dollars under your budget:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000 Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail 91% five egg rating There's also a combo with a motherboard, you might be able to get out cheaper than your current config. [edit] $255 + $23 shipping, and $10 mail in rebate. No video card (HDMI on mobo) or remote (I have no experience here, pick your own). If you only need to hook it up to the hi-def TV and not both of them, a setup like this is really going to be your best bet. You can always pick up a video card later if the on-board isn't good enough or you are really going to move it back and forth across multiple TVs. | |
It's going to be hooked up to my main TV 99% of the time (with S-Video), my living room can always be hooked up via HDMI through the adapter on the card (DVI -> HDMI), right?
EDIT: Some of those parts you picked out are, well... ECS motherboard I want to steer away from, since they've been getting TERRIBLE reviews. I'm just trying to get the best quality for under $300 | |
Yeah, an 8400 should have more than enough power to push 1080P video.
Flame Sage:An DVI to HDMI converter will work on any DVI source to any HDMI target, but you wont be able to play blu-rays on it unless it can do it's whole encryption thing, but since you aren't getting a blu-ray player, that's really not an issue, and if you decide you want blu-ray and your hardware isn't capable, you just have to get a new graphics card that costs a bit more, but if you are already purchasing a blu-ray drive, you will likely also have the money for a new graphics card. Also, Linux's Blu-Ray support is pretty much nill, because the Blu-Ray people can't make it work with their DRM scheme like they can with Windows and OSX. You might also look into Boxee(http://boxee.tv). It's based on the XBMC, runs in Ubuntu, and despite being a little buggy, it's pretty sweet. | |
What would you recommend for my TV if it only has S-Video and Composite inputs?