Need spec info for new computer

[FLACHUSNRET]

I just found this site today and I am not only a newbie to this site but a computer dummy. I am planning to get a new desktop computer to dedicate to streaming TV on our 46" Sony TV.

We cut the cable recently as we discontinued our Direct TV subscription and I installed an antennae in our attic. It works great for network programs but I want to be able to watch previously broadcast network shows from the internet. I am not a sports fan but my son who lives out of town and occasionally visits us said he can enter his private password from his satellite TV account and be able to view a movie or NASCCAR race via my computer while he is visiting. My first question regarding that is: Will it be legal for him to do that? (I don't want black helicopters flying around outside)LOL

Second: Since I am buying a new desktop to be able to record live TV like I previously did when I had Direct TV with a DVR, what are reasonable specs that I should buy in order to insure a good quality smooth picture of the TV during recording playback and when viewing live stuff when my son is here.

Should my new desktop have built-in WiFi or should I hard wire to the new computer?

I am assuming that HDMI is the preferred connector between the CPU and the TV.

What is the minimum amount of RAM I will need?

What is the minimum size hard drive I will need?

What is the minimum size video card needed?

Which processor do I need? i5 or i7

Someone in another thread said an Elgato capture card is a must. What is that and is that statement true?

I plan to operate the new computer via a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse that will stay on the coffee table about 8-10 feet in front of the TV and desktop CPU.

My wife and I are old and retired and do not play any video games so we will be primarily interested in TV performance via the computer.

My old computer which my son tried to hook up, has Windows 7 Professional and very limited RAM. It worked but was too jumpy to enjoy watching. Should I go with Windows 8.0 or 8.1 in my new computer?

Please let me know anything else my new computer should have. I want it to be adequate for recording and streaming but not overkill since it will be strictly dedicated to the TV. We both have our own laptops plus a good desktop computer in our office.

Thank you for any info that will help me!

Sanford

[cwinfield]

Since you don't have cable and will only be recording OTA broadcast you could just get a silicon dust hdhr dual or comparable tuner. RAM 2-4GB should be fine but obviously the more the better and it's pretty cheap nowadays. You don't need wifi in my experience but the Bluetooth in most onboard wifi cards can be nice. You may want to use wireless n but anything less than 300mb/s isn't very good. HDD depends on how many hours of programming you want to store TB=700 hours SD/100 hours HD. As far as a processor a haswell i3 should more than be capable and also eliminates the need for a graphics card. I have never heard of Elgato so I would say you likely don't need it. HDMI would be your ideal connection to your 46" Sony. Sick with windows 7 unless you want to pony up more $ for WMC.

[milli260876]

if you wanted to go compact the intel NUC's are worth a look.
The BayTrail ones are dirt cheap(new atoms with good HD graphics)
If you want more oomph the haswell i5's are more than enough....
Ram wise, go 4gb at least just makes things that little bit snappier...
as said previously go Ethernet/wired if possible

[smcmillan2]

HDD depends on how many hours of programming you want to store 1GB=700 hours SD/100 hours HD.

I think you meant 1TB?

My OTA recordings (college football, HD) average about 5.25GB per hour in WMC, or about 190 hours per terabyte. Different content will produce different numbers.

[cwinfield]

HDD depends on how many hours of programming you want to store 1GB=700 hours SD/100 hours HD.

I think you meant 1TB?

Corrected, thanks

[FLACHUSNRET]

Thanks for the responses! I don't understand some of the acronyms like NUC. Please remember that I am a computer dummy who can send and receive emails and knows what RAM and Hard Drive are. Most things beyond that are Greek to me.
The following is what I garnered from your posts: I need a Haswell i3 or i5 processor.
I need a minimum of 4 gb RAM
I should go Ethernet/wired if possible
I should go with 1 TB harddrive
I am confused about staying with Windows 7 unless I want to spend more $ for WMC (I am assuming WMC means Windows Media Center)
Which Windows 7 should I go with? I have three computers now with different levels of Windows 7. My wife's laptop has Windows 7 Ultimate, My laptop has Windows 7 Home Premium and my desk top has Windows 7 Professional.

I definitely want my new desk top to have an HDMI port. (Currently the only computer that I own with an HDMI port is my laptop)

My laptop is a Toshiba Satellite with the Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel inside, CORE i3, with 4 GB RAM and 581 GB HD and it does fairly well when I hook it to my 46" TV via HDMI cable. Is CORE i3 and Haswell i3 the same thing?

Again, thanks for the help!

Sanford

[Bryan]

NUC is Next Unit of Computing, it's just what Intel calls their series of small systems. For the hard drive, 2TB models are often only a few dollars more, but 1TB would be good.

For Windows 7, you just need Home Premium, but every edition has Media Center. In Windows 8, you have to have Windows 8 Pro, which costs more, plus a $10 add-on for Media Center.

Haswell is the generation of the Core i series processors. There have been four generations so far, you'd be better off with the most recent, not the earlier ones. For what it's worth, the lowly Pentium dual-core (current gen) I'm using is more than I need, and it's inferior to the i3.

[cwinfield]

Intel NUC=Next Unit of Computing, it is a form factor which are a very small, here is intel site:http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ ... rview.html

Last I heard the pro pack for Windows 8.1 which gets you Windows Media Center is $99.

Keep in mind 1Terabyte hard drive will give you around 100 hours high definition or 700 hours standard definition programming.

Windows 7 Home Premium has Windows Media Center so it would be cheapest.

Haswell is the latest microprocessor design from intel, these start with a 4 number eg i3 4370, previously Ivy bridge was it's
successor. they start with a 3 eg i3 3370

[blueiedgod]

ElGato is Silicon HomeRun Over the Air tuner for Apple. If you are going with Windows Media Center, you don't need overpriced ElGato.

Look for deals on Silicon Dust Home Run Dual (not PRime!) they have been sold for as little as $50. But, they are network attached tuners, which means you will have to have a wired network, not Wi-Fi.

Alternative is to use internal tuners like Hauppauge, or even USB tuners. All you need is an ATSC (look for it in the specs) to tune over the air HD broadcast TV.

Out of the box, WMC will be able to recognize 4 tuners of the same kind at once. So, you will be able to record 4 shows at once, record 3 shows, watch 1 live, ect.

Quite honestly, if you are not planning on using extenders to set up a whole house DVR, an Atom processor is all you need in terms of computing power for Windows Media Center to function as DVR.

If you go with Windows 7 32-bit, then 4 GB of RAM is all you need, because that is all that will be utilized by the OS.

i3, i5, i7 is an overkill.

Determine how much you want to record, which will tell you how big a hard drive you will need. We are up to 30 TB for the recorded TV drive.

[mike_ekim]

These days most new desktop computers will be able to do what you want. Some people build their own computers with components they bought online for the lowest price possible, but if you are the type of person who buys computers at Best Buy or Staples, you can probably buy just about any new i3 computer with Windows 7 and it will be 'good enough'. However, I would suggest that you get a 'Haswell' or '4th Generation' CPU. You can tell that it's 4th generation because the CPU will have a '4' in the first digit of the processor number, i.e. i3-4130 or i5-4960. If you are buying a 4th gen Celeron or Pentium processor, it's won't start with a 4 because...well, I don't know why.

I recommend the Haswells because they save electricity and they have more recent graphics.

My first question regarding that is: Will it be legal for him to do that? (I don't want black helicopters flying around outside)LOL

It's not a matter of 'legal', but a matter of if he is violating the terms of his agreement. Ask him.

Second: Since I am buying a new desktop to be able to record live TV like I previously did when I had Direct TV with a DVR, what are reasonable specs that I should buy in order to insure a good quality smooth picture of the TV during recording playback and when viewing live stuff when my son is here.

Should my new desktop have built-in WiFi or should I hard wire to the new computer?

I am assuming that HDMI is the preferred connector between the CPU and the TV.

What is the minimum amount of RAM I will need?

What is the minimum size hard drive I will need?

What is the minimum size video card needed?

Which processor do I need? i5 or i7

Use wired ethernet.

Use HDMI.

2 GB is probably fine but personally I would go with 4. I have 4 and when my computer is doing a bunch of other stuff in addition to TV, it uses a little over 2.

Currently people are advocating a 2 hard drive configuration (or more!), where the operating system (Microsoft Windows) is on one hard drive and the recorded shows are on the second hard drive. Its best to have the first hard drive with Windows be installed on a SSD (solid state drive). You can get a Samsung 840 EVO with 128 GB for $80 on Amazon (it is no longer the latest and greatest but I just installed one and it's amazing). Put Windows on that drive. Things like menus and searches will happen a lot faster. Then get a 1TB drive for your recordings.

Lately the onboard graphics that come with Intel CPUs have been fine, no other graphics card is needed. Sometimes the Intel graphics have issues with the default settings, so if you have problems (i.e. the brightness constantly changes) then you can come here and ask for help.

I have an i3, 2.9 ghz and it is more than fast enough for recording and watching TV.

My old computer which my son tried to hook up, has Windows 7 Professional and very limited RAM. It worked but was too jumpy to enjoy watching. Should I go with Windows 8.0 or 8.1 in my new computer?

First of all, exactly what computer do you have? That computer *may* be able to be upgraded. Some RAM, a SSD, and a fresh Windows installation might make it work great.

As other people have mentioned, Windows 7 Professional includes WMC (Windows Media Center) and almost every computer with Windows 7 happend to be 'Professional' so if you buy a Windows 7 computer you will be getting WMC. Windows typically 8.1 computers are not 'Professional', you need to pay $100 to upgrade to professional and then pay another $10 for MCE. If you are buying a computer with Windows 8, just keep in mind that if it's not 'Professional' you will need to spend an extra $110 later.

[Bryan]

Actually, all you need for 7 is Home Premium, which in the consumer segment would be the most common version. It's just in 8 that they limited it to an add-on with Pro. For anything else I'd say go with 8.1, but not for WMC.

Also, yes to the SSD. They make a big difference. It's also just nice to have a dedicated recording drive.

[FLACHUSNRET]

The reason I am thinking "NEW" computer is the old computer that my son tried hooking up is a Dell OptiPlex GX520 with Intel Pentium D.
The hard drive is 297 GB and it only has 2.0 GB RAM. I recently purchased the old desktop from a disabled guy that sells used computers out of his home for $100 complete with mouse, keyboard and monitor. It works fine as a regular computer for email, etc.,with the Windows 7 Professional but is just not suitable for what I need.
It also does not have an HDMI port so I bought a converter for USB. I hate to keep pouring more money into this thing.

Some of you have mentioned tuners. Can you buy a new computer with tuners already present or is that something you have to add. Is it internal or external?

Some mentioned two hard drives-Since this new computer will only be used for watching TV and recording TV do I really need two hard drives?

[cwinfield]

The computer you described very well could be upgraded but I understand not wanting to put money into it.

I can't think of any OEM computers that have TV tuners nowadays so that is pretty much not an option.

I would suggest that you get a silicondust hd dual because it has 2 tuners which you plug into your router, this will allow you to record and watch tv on another channel at the same time. You could also grab that tuner and use it on your laptop or other networked computer. another advantage is since your only recoding over the air it doesn't matter which pc you record on you could play it on any computer.

There are other options such as usb, pci-e, mini pci-e mostly from happauge or other companies.

It really depends on how much power you want it to consume, how fast of graphics performance is exceptable (will you be streaming movies at some point?), and how compact do you want it to be?

Using a SSD is definitely an advantage. It is the difference between 8 second boot and close to a minute, it all boils down to how much you want to spend.

[Bryan]

Some mentioned two hard drives-Since this new computer will only be used for watching TV and recording TV do I really need two hard drives?

If you have the budget, it's a big upgrade. A traditional hard drive is spinning platters, whereas an SSD is flash, like a USB thumb drive with a much faster interface. Solid state drives are typically much lower capacity, however, so the common approach is to run your operating system and programs from it, and store data (in your case, recordings) on a slower spinning drive. It does mean another $80-$100, however, and the system will work well enough without one.

Regarding graphics, the onboard on my Pentium is more than enough, including for Blu-ray. You're not looking for a high-performance gaming system for this job.

[mike_ekim]

The reason I am thinking "NEW" computer is the old computer that my son tried hooking up is a Dell OptiPlex GX520 with Intel Pentium D.
...
The hard drive is 297 GB and it only has 2.0 GB RAM.
...
It also does not have an HDMI port so I bought a converter for USB.

Say no more. It's older and uses a lot of electricity, and it needs a few upgrades. You may be able to get it to work but you may be less than satisfied with the experience.

Some of you have mentioned tuners. Can you buy a new computer with tuners already present or is that something you have to add. Is it internal or external?

These days it's hard to find a computer with built in tuners. I agree with cwinfield's recommendation for something like a silicondust hd dual. In fact, you can get the silicondust hd dual and try it out with your existing computers (laptop and desktop), to see if you like the experience. It plugs into your ethernet router and into your TV antenna, it turns the antenna signal into a signal that any computer on your home network can use. It has two tuners. One computer can use both tuners (to watch one show and record another, or record two shows while watching a third show that you already recorded) or two different computers can each use one tuner. If you have three computers on the network, two of them can each use a tune and the third computer will just be out of luck. I have a similar tuner and I like it.

Some mentioned two hard drives-Since this new computer will only be used for watching TV and recording TV do I really need two hard drives?

Bryan answered that question perfectly. Adding a bit of info: when I had one Hard Drive, I would be using WMC and I would open the TV listings or do a search for upcoming movies. I would have to wait at least 30 seconds for the list to populate. Sometimes I would exit out of WMC and restart it because I was so frustrated with how long I was waiting. I put Windows on a SSD, now it takes 2 seconds or less to search. To my eye, it seems like it's limited by the speed of animations. However, large capacity SSDs are expensive. You can't save a lot of movies and TV shows on them unless you spend a lot for a big SSD. That's the only reason why I recommended 2 drives. If you are just switching between channel 5 and channel 7 because the soap opera just ended and it's time for the game, a SSD will not be needed.

My advice for you is to do an incremental upgrade. For example:
Step 1 - get something like a silicondust hd dual and try it out on your laptop and desktop. It comes with a no-frills program that lets you watch TV (not record TV, no program guides or fancy TV listings etc). Make sure it will tune your channels, you can get it working on your network, etc. For best results you should use wired ethernet (not wifi). This step costs about $100 with shipping. If you feel like you don't have a clue with what you are doing, and no one can help you, just return it.

Step 2 - If your existing laptop or desktop has Windows 7 (or windows 8 pro) set up WMC. Again, just see if you like the experience. This step is FREE.

Step 3 - get a dedicated computer for watching/recording TV. This step costs as much as you want. It cost me $300 because I bought a refurbished computer, but I got lucky.

Step 4 - you aren't paying for cable any more.

Step 5 - if you like the experience but the computer seems sluggish, upgrade to a SSD. They come with software for transferring files, it was way easier than I expected. This step costs about $100 with shipping.

[choliscott]

I will also recommend a SSD drive for Windows, which does help with the speed of menus & response. However if you didn't want to go that route, another thing that did help was adding a USB thumb drive & dedicate it as a ready boost drive. When I tried that, it did help

[hvinc]

I can't think of any OEM computers that have TV tuners nowadays so that is pretty much not an option.

Velocity Micro stills makes HTPCs.

[cwinfield]

Yeah, starting at only $1599...