So, my laptop is dead and I need something to replace it. I have a nexus 7 that I use for all browsing and emailing etc. My laptop was used to do work invoices on, to run Sibelius on (music notation software), store photos and iTunes. Given how much I use the nexus, a laptop is not strictly required now, and I’m thinking of getting a desktop and hooking it up to my TV….it would only really be used at the end of the month when I do my invoices, but it’d be nice to watch Eurosport player through my TV too.

So, is a desktop tower through my TV a good idea? I don’t really need a massively powerful setup but I’d like it to last longer than the 2-3 years that budget laptops seem to last. Cheaper is better, or should I just get another cheap laptop?

Bump! Please don’t fail me stw massiv!

My default answer in these things is always to look at the Dell Outlet Store.

Bump after 25 mins?

It was in danger of dropping off the main page!! If this was a post about racists 25 mins would see 100 posts, a few bannings and thread locked 🙂

Small Pear?new brand, should be available in the uk soon!

If you want something that could stand a chance of not looking stupid near your tv then maybe something like a Shuttle PC?

Mac mini?

Tom B – Member

It was in danger of dropping off the main page!! If this was a post about racists 25 mins would see 100 posts, a few bannings and thread locked…

…which would pale in comparison to a religion thread. Or even a thread that doesn’t begin as a religion thread but becomes one within a few posts. 🙄

Sorry, but I can’t really help on the computer front. I’ve got a few tablets, a few laptops, and a main desktop (an iMac) which gets used for all domestic entertainment. I just tend to accumulate computers and find them all useful.

I could hide it behind the tv unit so no need for it to be on show.

Trouble is what looks OK on a monitor at ~3′ will appear tiny on a TV at ~10′ you might find the best thing to do is pump all your photos in to Dropbox and get a Sibelius style app for the nexus. Spend the saved cash on parts for the bike….

Otherwise, i see you already use itunes, what about a mac mini

Yeah, I’m not too fussed about what stuff looks like-I just want to store the pics on the computer….it’s mainly to do invoices on tbh-the nexus is shite for this, and it has to be sibelius as I transport project files from my computer to school computers a fair bit. I’ve just looked at mac mini’s….a little expensive tbh-I can pick up a cheap laptop for £300 so I was hoping that I could get something for less than that.

Basic Shuttle with Intel I3 low power chip will run silently with HDMI or DVI out to the TV. Don’t bother with svideo/vga etc as the resolution will be painful for anything other than movies & tv.

Couple that up with a TV tuner or something like XBMC running on windows and you have a fully functional deathstar media box and PC. I’ve been using various versions for years now, finally went to the shuttle as the PC was too noisy. The PSU is a laptop style powerpack so only a couple of tiny fans in the case.

Also has optical sound out which works with the surround sound properly 🙂

Only bad thing is the power pack died and they took a few weeks to sort the warranty though I put that down to the shop and the importer over here in Oz.

Dell tower, from the outlet if you know computers, from the store if you don’t. Sorted.

Acer do really mini PCs which might fit the bill. Not sure offhand if they have HDMI though.

http://www.ebuyer.com/395476-acer-revo-l80-nettop-pc-dt-smcek-002

£149 nettop

Would need to buy Windoze to run your music software

I could hide it behind the tv unit so no need for it to be on show.

Mac Mini. Mine sits just under one corner of my Bravia, barely enough room to put a beermat between them, HDMI into telly, hybrid TOSLink optical cable from headphone socket into optical-in on my Yamaha a/v amp, BT keyboard and Magic Trackpad, Robert’s your Mothers brother!
Mine has 4Gb RAM, and because it was the 2010/11 model, I got it cheap when the latest one was introduced August last year. I had the optical drive taken out, and a 750Gb HDD put in, and got a cheap external optical for ripping CDs.
It’s now got 1.1Tb of internal storage. Lovely little computer, chuffed to bits with it.

The Alternative

Cheers guys, plenty of stuff to look into.