There are two things that tend to steer people away from using an HTPC. First is cost and the second is trying to add hardware. Many people simply don’t want to deal with trying to install a TV Tuner or extra hard drives.
For today only, Woot.com may have your answer. The “deal a day” website has listed a Gateway Media Center PC with Intel Core 2 Quad Processor for the price of $479 plus $5 shipping. I normally wouldn’t take time to list a deal like this but it seems that the PC listed today comes with an “Analog/Digital TV Tuner with 3-D Comb Filter”. I’m not sure what that means since Woot didn’t bother listing the actual tuner type but, going with what most analog/digital tuners are, I’d have to guess we’re looking at either a hybrid or combo QAM/ATSC and NTSC tuner.
That being the case, it’s not a bad deal if you want to jump into the HTPC arena. The PC comes loaded with Windows Vista Premium which gets you Media Center, and it’s certainly powerful enough to run SageTV if you’re so inclined.
Take a look at the full specs as listed by Woot:
Processor
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q8200
2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 4MB L2 cache
Operating System
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit) with SP1
Memory
8192MB 800MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (4 x 2048MB Modules)
Chassis
Premium Tower Desktop with Media Control Interface
Video
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT120 Graphics with 1GB DDR2 Total Video Memory
Hard Drive
640GB 7200RPM SATA II hard drive with 16MB Cache
External Ports
(6) USB 2.0 ports (2 Front, 4 Rear)
(2) IEEE 1394a Ports (1 Front, 1 Rear)
VGA (Rear)
(3) Front RCA Ports (Video, Left/Right Audio)
(2) PS/2 Ports
HDMI (Rear)
DVI (Rear)
Application Software
Microsoft® Works 9.0
Microsoft® Money Essentials & Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 (60-day complimentary trial period)
Audio
8-Channel (7.1) High Definition Audio with Dolby Home Theater® Sound
Available Expansion Slots
Available: 0 – PCI-E x16, 0 – PCI-E x1, 1 – PCI
Digital Media Software
Cyberlink® Power2 Go™, & Cyberlink® LabelPrint
Dimensions (Box)
11.42″ (H) x 23.68″ (W) x 19.6″ (D) or 290mm (H) x 602mm (W) x 498mm (D)
Dimensions (System)
17.7″ (H) x 7.5″ (W) x 19.0″ (D) or 449mm (H) x 191mm (W) x 482mm (D)
Keyboard
Premium Multimedia Keyboard
Media Card Reader
15-in-1 High Speed Digital Media Card Reader with Smart Copy Button
Memory Capacity
Maximum 8GB
Modem
56K ITU V.92 ready Fax/Modem (RJ-11 port)
Motherboard
Systemboard with NVIDIA® nForce® 720i Chipset (MCP7A-D)
Mouse
USB Optical 2-Button Wheel Mouse
Network
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 port)
Optical Drive
18X DVD +/- RW Super Multi-Format Dual Layer Drive featuring Labelfash™ Technology
Power Supply
400W Power Supply
Remote
Vista Media Center Remote Control
Speakers
Amplified Stereo Speakers (USB Powered)
TV Tuner
Analog/Digital TV Tuner with 3-D Comb Filter
Images courtesy Woot.com
for a smidge over £300 in Uk pennys that seems like a very good deal indeed, the specs didnt mention s/pdif output which is always handy to have but not essential, definately worth a closer look if your interested in getting into the whole Windows7 media center experience, the Vista version is fine but for the cost which could well be free if a Windows7 free upgarde is offfered, this offer is hard to beat.
for a smidge over £300 in Uk pennys that seems like a very good deal indeed, the specs didnt mention s/pdif output which is always handy to have but not essential, definately worth a closer look if your interested in getting into the whole Windows7 media center experience, the Vista version is fine but for the cost which could well be free if a Windows7 free upgarde is offfered, this offer is hard to beat.