Costco.com
2007-11-30 01:37:39 · 4 answers · asked by DJ C 4 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
Since you put this question in the desktops section I'll assume you're looking at a desktop.
To be able to use your computer as a DVR you'll need to have a TV tuner card installed, preferable a two channel digital card of whichever standard your country uses for digital TV (DVB-T in sane countries, ATSC or something like that in the US) along with enough hard disk space to store the recordings (even 1 TB drives aren't that expensive so you shouldn't have much trouble there).
Pretty much any Dual Core chip on the market will have enough grunt to handle digital TV transmissions and even integrated graphics would probably do a good job of it (though getting a proper video card will be necessary if you want to game on it, though be aware that the high end cards often omit circuits that help with decoding of videos (on the grounds that the people who buy them probably already have computers powerful enough to not need the help) so a mid range card would probably be your best bet).
From a hardware point of view I'd probably just specify a gaming rig with a TV tuner card and gigantic hard drive.
You'll also need to put software on it but the software that you'll need to turn your computer into a DVR is easy to come by.
2007-11-30 02:23:56 · answer #1 · answered by bestonnet_00 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hmm...building your own will be much cheaper. you can buy some pretty good gaming barebones for around 500, you just need to put in whats missing. you can buy almost complete ones with 4gb ram etc. and only missing a video card or hard drive for around 1000. you can save lots of money that way. alot of times, the computers you see that go for 2000 to 8000 are making you pay just for getting its brand name slapped on it. for dvr, all you need is a tv adapter and alot of hard drive space, say 1 terabyte depending on how much you wanna record.
if you are looking for gaming, do not buy a laptop. most of them dont come with video cards that are good for gaming, especially the one above. an 8400 GS is crap, dont bother.
dont settle for anything lower than an Nvidia 8600 or an ATi equivalent (probably an HD 2600, less performance) which can only be found on desktops.
REMEMBER: You CANNOT upgrade the graphics card on a laptop, or anything else for that matter. the only thing you can do with a laptop is upgrade the ram. nothing else. think carefully before you choose what to go with, and do your research.
2007-11-30 01:45:21 · answer #2 · answered by cs_rvs 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buy a computer with Windows XP if you want to game with games that came out last year (they don't run so good on Vista). An Nvidia or ATI graphics card is recommended also. 2 GB ram minimum, especially if you get Vista as an operating system. 250GB hard drive MINIMUM for video editing. If you had your own built at a local OEM store it will be cheaper and you can buy the best/fastest parts. Computers in the store are dated for the price they charge. I like Asus.
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11246613&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11246583&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US
http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?cat=74658&eCat=BC|84|56671|74658&whse=BC&topnav=&hierPath=84*56671*74658*&lang=en-US
What is the max you want to pay?
2007-11-30 01:42:03 · answer #3 · answered by The Mentor 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
www.dell.com
You can build your own computer and customize it how you want to. They have laptops and desktops for general and high usage.
2007-11-30 01:40:31 · answer #4 · answered by Labman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋