blu ray player osx image
Richie D
looking to add a home theater pc to my setup. i love OSX so i would love to use that in my setup, but understand the limitations (front row really sucks). plus i'm sure it's more expensive than just building a media center pc. is it worth it to spend the extra money just to use OSX?
Answer
No. It's not worth the extra money, especially because most home theater PC software is for windows. The mac mini doesn't have HDMI or a blu-ray player, so you won't be able to watch blu-ray's or take advantage of 7.1 or uncompressed audio. Also, you can't upgrade a mac, but if you build your own, you can always upgrade the components whenever blu-ray 2 or 9.2 sound or HDMI 2 or whatever else you could dream up comes out a few years from now.
Try something like this:
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3563&p=7
No. It's not worth the extra money, especially because most home theater PC software is for windows. The mac mini doesn't have HDMI or a blu-ray player, so you won't be able to watch blu-ray's or take advantage of 7.1 or uncompressed audio. Also, you can't upgrade a mac, but if you build your own, you can always upgrade the components whenever blu-ray 2 or 9.2 sound or HDMI 2 or whatever else you could dream up comes out a few years from now.
Try something like this:
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3563&p=7
What is a good gaming laptops to get?
Angel
I know ASUS and Alienware are supposed to be good, but lately Ive been hearing Alienware is not that great anymore and ASUS certain parts break down pretty fast and their customer service is bad. Are there any good ASUS or Alienwares out now? in the 1,500-1,600 or less range.
Can some people name some good gaming laptops as well as brands, I keep coming across some but then they'll be some sort of error with them.
Memory 8 GB or more with ability to upgrade
Hard drive 750 GB or more
CPU i7 3r d gen.
Graphics Card 2-3 GB or more
Windows
Display 15-17 inch etc.
Although i want a gaming computer i wont be gaming on it much, I just want a gaming computer because they tend to have more memory, and hard drive space etc.
thanks
Thank you both..Alex i had checked that laptop out and i read reviews about freezing and touch pad issues...have you experienced any issues with that? and what yr is your ASUS? are there any others you would recommend?
Also anymore suggestions are appreciated thanks
Answer
The most important factor of a gaming laptop is the graphics processor. The stronger the graphics, the better the gaming unless particularly slowed by the CPU or a ram shortage or other factors.
Video editing needs a lot of ram and a faster CPU. Stronger CPUs and graphics power take more battery power, so if they still have a standard 6 cell lithium ion, a faster laptop has a shorter battery life.
Weight is also a factor in the portability, and many people are more interested in the portability. You get a much more powerful desktop PC with a bigger monitor at the same price as a gaming laptop.
For brand quality and reliability in general, I use the customer survey published annually by PC World magazine. December 2011 is the latest, with this year due out soon.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/244419/laptop_reliability_and_satisfaction_macbooks_rule.html
Although Macbooks are known as more reliable, their price to performance is terrible. They cost a lot for the CPU and graphics performance level, and the OSX operating system has a smaller list of compatible software. Also, Lenovo has 3 product lines; Essential, Ideapad, and Thinkpad. Thinkpads are considered the most robust and best keyboards and have other excellent characteristics, but they do not get high level graphics because they are business systems.
Most laptops have 2 slots for DRAM. 8GB laptops are generally 2x4GB, and that is usually plenty. The graphics ram is more important to be GDDR5 instead of DDR3 type rather than how much ram. The graphics level is important, but the ram can be shared system ram as DDR3 and so having 2 GB dedicated graphics ram is only really good if it is GDDR5 ram. In DDR3, just add it to the system ram.
You can see a reported CPU and graphics score average at this site on two tabs:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
One of the bargains in the industry is the Lenovo Y580 at Lenovo.com, but shipments are now delayed and prices were increased. They were perfect during black friday sale with $900 price on what is now $1,039.20. There are a few left at resellers.
3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3630QM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX660M 2GB GDDR5, backlit keyboard, 15.6" screen in 1080p, 8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz, 1TB 5400RPM+16G SSD, Blu-ray/DVD-RW, 6 Cell Li-Polymer, 2x2 wireless, bluetooth, HD CAM, HDMI, and a good set of extra features like one button recovery. You would have to wait for delivery. The only thing some people don't like is the screen has glare of overhead or lights behind you, but it has an extra wide color gamat with more accurate reproduction. In stock at Newegg for $1110 is DVDRW instead of bluray and a 750GB with 16GB acceleration SSD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834310661
The only manufacturers of laptops selling under their own name is Asus and MSI. Laptops are designed and produced by them and Clevo, Wistron, Quanta, Invertec, and a few other manufacturers all in China. The brands are actually just sales and service and procurement organizations doing selection of keyboards, HDDs, LCDs, and other sub-components made by other companies. Lenovo Thinkpad still has design teams some formerly of IBM and a lab for reliability testing in Japan.
At $1210 is an MSI with similar specs to the Lenovo Y580, but in a 17.3" anti-reflective screen, no SSD, and is DVDRW:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152369
You can see gaming performance here:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html
If not gaming heavily, there would be no need to spend more as it is mostly only moving up the graphics power. Extra ram over 8+2GB is not very important.
I show the full HD 1920x1080 resolution since you are at the price point to get it.
This is a nice choice at Amazon of a Samsung:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Series-NP700G7C-T01US-17-3-Inch-Laptop/dp/B0098O6FIU
It's only flaw is bluray and DVD player, but does not show DVD writing. It may have it, but does not state it so probably does not. The color is yellow/orange. The screen is a 17.3" extra bright 400 nit. The HD 7870M is a little better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M. It has a 1TB HDD. The Samsung brand is a high quality one. It is heavy at 8.4 pounds.
You can browse around, but if you like the color (see it at various sites for sale by google of the model number), and don't miss DVD writing (you can buy an external one), the Samsung is an excellent choice. Just browse around Newegg by looking at laptops sorted by price at 100 per page, and then select at left the i7, and slidebar for 1920x1080, and parameters of GB of ram and HDD. You can also check Amazon, but they are harder to search.
With the article about quality, a site that shows reported CPU and graphics power and another with gaming by GPU and the places to buy being Newegg, Amazon, Tigerdirect, BHPhoto.com
it is just a matter of deciding what suits you.
The most important factor of a gaming laptop is the graphics processor. The stronger the graphics, the better the gaming unless particularly slowed by the CPU or a ram shortage or other factors.
Video editing needs a lot of ram and a faster CPU. Stronger CPUs and graphics power take more battery power, so if they still have a standard 6 cell lithium ion, a faster laptop has a shorter battery life.
Weight is also a factor in the portability, and many people are more interested in the portability. You get a much more powerful desktop PC with a bigger monitor at the same price as a gaming laptop.
For brand quality and reliability in general, I use the customer survey published annually by PC World magazine. December 2011 is the latest, with this year due out soon.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/244419/laptop_reliability_and_satisfaction_macbooks_rule.html
Although Macbooks are known as more reliable, their price to performance is terrible. They cost a lot for the CPU and graphics performance level, and the OSX operating system has a smaller list of compatible software. Also, Lenovo has 3 product lines; Essential, Ideapad, and Thinkpad. Thinkpads are considered the most robust and best keyboards and have other excellent characteristics, but they do not get high level graphics because they are business systems.
Most laptops have 2 slots for DRAM. 8GB laptops are generally 2x4GB, and that is usually plenty. The graphics ram is more important to be GDDR5 instead of DDR3 type rather than how much ram. The graphics level is important, but the ram can be shared system ram as DDR3 and so having 2 GB dedicated graphics ram is only really good if it is GDDR5 ram. In DDR3, just add it to the system ram.
You can see a reported CPU and graphics score average at this site on two tabs:
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
One of the bargains in the industry is the Lenovo Y580 at Lenovo.com, but shipments are now delayed and prices were increased. They were perfect during black friday sale with $900 price on what is now $1,039.20. There are a few left at resellers.
3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3630QM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX660M 2GB GDDR5, backlit keyboard, 15.6" screen in 1080p, 8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz, 1TB 5400RPM+16G SSD, Blu-ray/DVD-RW, 6 Cell Li-Polymer, 2x2 wireless, bluetooth, HD CAM, HDMI, and a good set of extra features like one button recovery. You would have to wait for delivery. The only thing some people don't like is the screen has glare of overhead or lights behind you, but it has an extra wide color gamat with more accurate reproduction. In stock at Newegg for $1110 is DVDRW instead of bluray and a 750GB with 16GB acceleration SSD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834310661
The only manufacturers of laptops selling under their own name is Asus and MSI. Laptops are designed and produced by them and Clevo, Wistron, Quanta, Invertec, and a few other manufacturers all in China. The brands are actually just sales and service and procurement organizations doing selection of keyboards, HDDs, LCDs, and other sub-components made by other companies. Lenovo Thinkpad still has design teams some formerly of IBM and a lab for reliability testing in Japan.
At $1210 is an MSI with similar specs to the Lenovo Y580, but in a 17.3" anti-reflective screen, no SSD, and is DVDRW:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152369
You can see gaming performance here:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Computer-Games-on-Laptop-Graphic-Cards.13849.0.html
If not gaming heavily, there would be no need to spend more as it is mostly only moving up the graphics power. Extra ram over 8+2GB is not very important.
I show the full HD 1920x1080 resolution since you are at the price point to get it.
This is a nice choice at Amazon of a Samsung:
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Series-NP700G7C-T01US-17-3-Inch-Laptop/dp/B0098O6FIU
It's only flaw is bluray and DVD player, but does not show DVD writing. It may have it, but does not state it so probably does not. The color is yellow/orange. The screen is a 17.3" extra bright 400 nit. The HD 7870M is a little better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M. It has a 1TB HDD. The Samsung brand is a high quality one. It is heavy at 8.4 pounds.
You can browse around, but if you like the color (see it at various sites for sale by google of the model number), and don't miss DVD writing (you can buy an external one), the Samsung is an excellent choice. Just browse around Newegg by looking at laptops sorted by price at 100 per page, and then select at left the i7, and slidebar for 1920x1080, and parameters of GB of ram and HDD. You can also check Amazon, but they are harder to search.
With the article about quality, a site that shows reported CPU and graphics power and another with gaming by GPU and the places to buy being Newegg, Amazon, Tigerdirect, BHPhoto.com
it is just a matter of deciding what suits you.
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Title Post: Is a Mac Mini an acceptable home theater pc?
Rating: 100% based on 998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Yukie
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
Rating: 100% based on 998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Yukie
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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