My ultimate HD theatre

[leaf_on_breeze]

Hello all. Im new here (duh ) but have been reading for a fair bit of time and you seem knowledgable people

I have decided to construct myself a Home theatre system and have been considering the following:

Panasonic PT-AE1000U 1080p home theater projector
Arcam Logo + Muso 5.1 speaker pack

I wish to couple these with the pc i have just built (built for silence not speed )

Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.2Ghz
4Gb Reaper 1000Mhz (2x2gb)
8800GT silent fan thingy
2x500gb hdd
bluray reader writer/hd-dvd

My question is: Will they all "join together" and would they give me my HD experience in a good way?

Cheers

p.s the projector and sound system are setting me back "£1500"

Thanks again

p.s forgot to add, im making the screen myself. Some other forum has a nice guide on how to make a good screen using some odds and sods. twill be a good DIY lark lol. (unless you guys can recommend something else?)

[Tr1cK]

I'd go with a ATI 38x0 card.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/472/3

[leaf_on_breeze]

meh, the 8800GT i got because it was ULTRA cheap. I might swap to the ati if needed though. Im more concerned at this point in time in whether or not the projector and speakers are any good and if the will do HD-DVD and blu-ray well.

cheers

[Tr1cK]

It's hard to beat ultra cheap.

I think a 3850 would be price competitive though. I'm not sure, but I think it supports better decoding formats than the Nvidias. Evilchris would know for sure, but I'm not sure he's around anymore.

[leaf_on_breeze]

hmm. I got the 1gb 8800gt for £120 with tomb raider anniversary so i seized it. Might swap over though.

[XDanger]

Originally Posted by leaf_on_breeze

hmm. I got the 1gb 8800gt for £120 with tomb raider anniversary so i seized it. Might swap over though.

Nice

If its a multimedia/gaming/encoding setup that sounds great but just for movies 4gb a 1gb 8800gt and an e8400 is overkill.

I approve

[Zapablast05]

I think the 3870 or 9600GT with the HDMI port is a better deal.

[XDanger]

Originally Posted by Zapablast05

I think the 3870 or 9600GT with the HDMI port is a better deal.

ya and with those the cpu usage is really low for hd so an e4300 would suffice

But still this is ULTIMATE so overkill is good.

[leaf_on_breeze]

so what do you think on the speakers?

They are brand new with warranty for £670 ($1,357) which I realise is a fair bit to pay for some 5.1 speakers. Could I do better for the money in achieving my HD dream? Would this, coupled with a X-fi platinum card suffice (I could get another card (up to a budget of £120) to use.

Cheers


p.s not to be pusy but a urgent answer would be fantastic. thanks alot

[leaf_on_breeze]

p.s I do play games a fair bit

[leaf_on_breeze]

okay new developement, and quite a major one. Ive been offered a Definitive technology Supercube 1, and 5 Artcoustic speakers with artwork for £3000. Is this good value and will they give me good quality HD sound?

cheers

[Zelda_fan]

The problem with running your HD theatre setup through a computer as opposed to a standalone player/receiver is that the HD-sound will suffer. As far as I know, you cannot output Dolby TrueHD or DTS-MA through a computer, so it will be down mixed into DD or DTS if you output it over optical.

If you buy a standalone HD-DVD player (can be gotten for ridiculously cheap these days) and a blu-ray player it will cost less than the 1500 pounds you'll pay for the computer, and will destroy it sound quality wise.