In this article, Fusion NET will be looking at Media PC’s and providing an in-depth look at how to build a hi-spec machine at a lower cost. The article will compare pre-built, brand named products, to that of a custom built solution. As a foundation for the article, we will be using SilverStone Technology’s LC16M case, as well as various products from their product range.

With today’s growing capacity for data storage, increased ISP downstream, and advances in multimedia PC technology, the demand for a single serving multimedia platform has increased significantly within the past few years. Many consumers are now aware that PC’s can do pretty much anything, whether that may be television, radio, music, film or communication. The expansion of content on the Internet and more affordable high-speed ISP solutions has significantly aided the growth and accessibility of entertainment within the home.

Consumers are unlikely to use their PC’s as part of their living room entertainment system, as most PC’s are unsightly and noisy. Therefore, buyers tend to opt for alternative products, such as Hard Drive Recorders, DVD Recorders and DVD Players. However, these products are often limited in functionality and built to perform specific tasks.

With the introduction of the Media PC, consumers are now able to enjoy the functionality of their PC, whilst introducing an aesthetically pleasing look and relatively quite solution to their living room. Media PC’s are essentially your standard PC but come with reduced specifications and are incorporated with IR remote hardware and a user-friendly software interface. Media PC’s can get away with lower specifications as their main purpose is to display multimedia content. This means that most Media PC’s can be incorporated with quieter cooling solutions, such as reduced airflow fans or even water cooling.

Most of the big named manufacturers have introduced their own pre-built versions of Media PC’s, which are available at a price tag of around £1000 (excluding display). This price will usually get you a P4 3.0Ghz machine with TV tuner, 250GB Hard Drive, CD Rom Drive and 512MB of RAM. In essence, this hardware configuration would be quite cheap to reproduce. However, manufactures tend to get away with charging high retail costs, which is partly due to the aesthetic looks of their product, as well as the software they use. In fact, most manufacturers tend to use Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Centre Edition, which is simply Windows XP Pro SP2 with a few additional add-ons.

In the next section of this article, we will be looking at how to build your own Media PC, whilst incorporating greater specifications, better looks and providing it all at a slightly cheaper price tag.