How To Build a DVD-Making/Playing Monster

I, Tim, made this page to show the world my musings on designing the perfect DVD Computer. This page closely relates to Tim's Comps DVD Monster page which will show you all the prices for the parts needed. Refer to that guide for the information on pricing.

Okay, the first step in building a DVD computer is deciding you're going to go with the high costs. Please look at this page before you see the costs on the DVD Monster page. If you want a cheaper computer, you can mess with this perfect configuration of parts, or just buy a regular computer with DVD burner. It's up to you.

The first part when configuring this computer was the always trusty Antec Plus1080 Full-Tower Case ATX, with it's whopping 430watt power supply. This is a very easy to use, very powerful power supply, very good ventilation case. Just to be safe, however, I ordered 2 Antec 80mm case fans to put in. I highly recommend extra fans.

Next, I went looking at motherboards. My plan was to have a motherboard that could handle all the tasks I could throw at it DVD-wise. Recording DVD's is an incredible task, and watching them looks much better with no lag. I decided to go with the an Asus A7M266-D Dual Athlon MP Motherboard. Asus is a good company, even though their tech support isn't great. I do not recommend Tyans, as I have heard many bad stories about them and their tech support.

For DVD Burner powers I decided to get a very fast computer. As you can tell, it's already going to rock no matter what you put in it. Since you're not looking at prices yet, I'd suggest Dual Athlon MP 2000+'s. These are very fast, very stable processors that go well with Asus' motherboard. I recommend any MP's. However, keep in mind, in actual performance 1 XP 1900+ is faster than 2 MP 1600+'s. However, having a backup processor is always good, and stops lag time.

For a fast DVD-Player, I chose the Artec 16x DVD-ROM Drive which I found at TigerDirect. It seems to be a great DVD-ROM and I haven't found any problems with them. This plays CD's at 48x so you can do anything with this drives. I do recommend separating your drives. This way not only can you copy from drive to drive (CD's), but for every day use, I'd rather break a relatively inexpensive DVD-ROM then my DVD-RW if I make a careless mistake. I'm sure you'd agree.

Which brings me to my next point. I decided to get a separate CD-RW. Separate CD-RW's are faster, and better to separate. This way you use your DVD-RW as little as possible. While I know this is a DVD system, I know very few people who don't use CD-RW's for MP3's and such, and feel they are essential for computers nowadays. I picked out the Artec 24x10x40 CD-RW Drive with it's Nero 5.5 Software. I, personally, like Nero the most for my CD-RW's. You can use whichever you wish.

Now for the most important drive in this DVD machine. I chose the Sony DVD+RW drive. It may be a little more expensive, but it's backed my Sony and, in my opinion, a very good drive. It also includes a CD-RW, but I'm not planning on using it. This drive is now under $400 at Tiger, so that also added to my decision. But that's not it. There are many other important parts to this monster.

Alas, I decided to make this machine SCSI. While you can easily add the DVD and CD-RW to it, I chose not to. You can if you wish. I'm cheap in that regard and tried to cut back. Adaptec 29160N Ultra160 SCSI Card was the SCSI card I chose. If you don't want SCSI, you can skip down to two paragraphs down.

If you chose SCSI, remember, a movie file takes up a HUGE space. One DVD takes up 4.7GB, and you know how long a DVD movie is... imagine many many hours of this. I chose the Seagate Barracuda 180, 181GB Hard Drive From Upgrade Source. It's a monster hard drive, and will work well with your SCSI. You can use ANY drive you wish, or you could set up in RAID. If you chose not to do SCSI, don't worry. You sacrifice a little, but it's much cheaper. I would purchase TWO IBM Deskstar 120GXP 120.0GB Hard Drive's and set them up in RAID 0 format. That is, they are read as one in your computer. Much faster, and more efficient.

Now for RAM. As you notice, this is an AMD MP system capable of up to 2 GB of DDR. I intend to use this. I am buying 2 1 GB chips of DDR. I realize this could probably run on only 1 GB, but it's better to be safe. Go with 1 GB if you're on a budget or just don't see the need for 2 GB.

For the video card, I'd recommend the GeForce4 Ti 4600 128MB DDR Video Card. It's the best out there. Your pictures will be perfect, and for gaming and DVD viewing, this is a must. Buy it.

For the sound card, I'd recommend the Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy Platinum Sound Card. It's simply the best in its class, and while a little pricey, is worth it. If you wish to spend less, and not lose TOO much, I'd check out the Creative Labs SB live! 5.1 PCI Sound Card. For a cheap card, it's pretty good.

For the Speakers, I chose the Altec Lansing 641 - 5 piece Speakers which I found at Upgrade Source. These are superb speakers, which will compliment your sound card nicely. Nice surround sound for your DVD player. It'll make you want to use your computer over your TV. You really do need good speakers, believe me.

For a monitor, I chose the monster monitor they like to call the AquaView 22" .24mm 1600x1024 TFT LCD. Its a flat panel with a TV Turner (hook your TV up to it) and it's just awesome. It basically is a TV. This is the best monitor on the market, hand's down. There's nothing else to say.

For software, I put in the Microsoft XP PROFESSIONAL version. I dislike home because of a lot of features they leave out. I highly recommend spending the extra $100 for the Pro version. XP Pro is the best Operating System, and will make your computer great.

I topped it off with the usual Microsoft Optical Mouse that I love, and a standard Yahoo! 104 Key keyboard with 7 hot keys. I've never used the hot keys, but that's okay. This system will stand the test of time. This is the latest technology, and it's just a great system. I'd recommend it to anyone with cash and a need for DVD Recording and watching. It's fast, stable, and just the best you can get for all your DVD needs.

Disclaimer
Email Me
Email the webmaster