Receiver for my PC

[calnbs]

I have basic knowledge enough to build a computer every now and then but have never really look into building a PC with a 5.1 sound with a receiver before so I am not quite sure which reciever can be easily hook up to a PC and which sound card is needed.

My budget for Receiver is $200. I looked at Amazon and seems like the JVC model can be easily hooked up to a PC.

To be honest, I haven't kept up on the latest features of receiver (what can be hooked up to) and sound cards for PC. Anyways, fire away. I don't have a budget for sound card but would also like to keep it under 200 as well.

My speakers are going to be 5 Insignia NS-B2111

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7705307&st=insignia+speaker&lp=7&type=product&cp=1&id=1138085354138

Sub:

Dayton sub 80 or sub 120.

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id=3&CAT_ID=43&ObjectGroup_ID=620

They are not the greatest but I've already spent waaaay too much on my HT along with the 10 speakers this year. Can't push it anymore or my wife is going to find herself a divorce lawyer.

If there are other options out there, wanna hear what ur opinions are.

Thanks.

 

[gus6464]

Denon 1508
http://www.dakmart.com/itemdetails/31848/18/

 

[wire]

Denon 1508
http://www.dakmart.com/itemdetails/31848/18/

Wow
Cant beat that price .

 

[Adam]

You have three main options for connecting a PC to a receiver (at least, that come to mind):
1. USB cable
2. Digital audio, either optical or coax
3. Analog audio, with up to 7.1 going over four cables

Option 1 is pretty rare, and JVC did have some model that included it. Option 2 is pretty common on sound cards, and receivers in the $200 range typically (if not always these days) come with digital audio inputs. Option 3 would apply to any sound card (with most being 5.1 or 7.1 these days), and you'd just want to get a receiver that had 5.1 or 7.1 analog audio inputs.

My preference would be Option 2 because it only uses one cable and is a commonly available choice. The Denon mentioned above looks good, and Amazon has the Onkyo 505 (last year's model) for $190 that will support either Option 2 or Option 3.

 

[calnbs]

I would like to thank everyone for their input.

Adam,

Thanks for the information. That is exactly what I wanted to hear. Makes my life easier.

 

[Adam]

Glad that it was helpful!

If you would, let us know what you end up getting/doing. I built my last PC, but when it was all said and done, I spent more building it than it would have cost me to buy one pre-made. Granted, the components were higher quality, but computers aren't really heirloom type products - they just need to last a few years. I'm not trying to pimp for HP, but I just bought one last week and am quite happy with it (it's my second HP desktop, and my second time being happy with them). Until tomorrow, coupon code DT3325 takes $400 off a customized HP Pavilion desktop of $999+ at hpshopping.com. Those coupons come around every now and again, so no reason to rush into anything.

 

[calnbs]

Adam,

Thanks for the code. I'll check it out to see if they have what I'm looking for. I agree about building one and finding one on sale. Not too long ago Dell ran some pretty good deals on their PC with a 22 or 24" screen. I almost went with Dell but couldn't get all the parts I wanted in them.

Only reason I take a build one over a mass production one is because my computers are used for MMORPG games. LOL....... Yeah, another hobby that is also time consuming and quite expensive buying new computers every 2-3 years.

 

[wire]

Adam,

Thanks for the code. I'll check it out to see if they have what I'm looking for. I agree about building one and finding one on sale. Not too long ago Dell ran some pretty good deals on their PC with a 22 or 24" screen. I almost went with Dell but couldn't get all the parts I wanted in them.

Only reason I take a build one over a mass production one is because my computers are used for MMORPG games. LOL....... Yeah, another hobby that is also time consuming and quite expensive buying new computers every 2-3 years.

I here yeh , I just built a new one , had to get a new case and power supply this time and forced to get a new motherboard , damn PCI e . Back to Nivida and 1st time with Intel for me .
But it super fast and can play any game out there . Oh yeh , the sound isn't 1/2 bad also , only 2 channel ( with Sonic Hologram on ) , but Carver CT 7 pre with a Carver TFM 35 Amp ( 250 x 2 ) with some bookshelf Klipsch and a Polk Sub .

 

[gus6464]

PC manufacturers like Dell and HP skimp mostly on one thing in their PCs, which also happens to be one of the most important; the power supply. The power supplies that come with their systems are barely sufficient to sustain the hardware the systems come with, let alone any hardware you install later on like video cards. Also most of them have modified power supplies which are smaller than your regular ATX size so when it comes time to swap it out you will have a hard time fitting an aftermarket PSU in the same spot, without some case modification.

 

[Adam]

Gus, I agree! One reason that I gravitated towards the HP that I got was that it comes with a 460W power supply. Seems good to me, but my thinking is based on when I did my research back in 2004 when I built my last PC. I think that I put a 400W unit in my last PC, and it had a higher power processor and higher power graphics card.

 

[Alex2507]

Also most of them have modified power supplies which are smaller than your regular ATX size so when it comes time to swap it out you will have a hard time fitting an aftermarket PSU in the same spot, without some case modification.

quick ?: do they have external ones?

 

[Adam]

quick ?: do they have external ones?

Yep, sure do.

 

[gus6464]

quick ?: do they have external ones?

External PSUs are a real pain to use. Think about all the cables you have to route to the inside of the case (2 for motherboard, optical drives, hard drives, graphics cards, fans, etc.). You can put any power in an external case it's just a matter of wanting to route all those cables.

 

[Adam]

This Nova unit (looks just like the XG Magnum 600) looks pretty clean in terms of the cables. I have no experience with external PSUs, so I'm not arguing that they aren't a pain. This model just didn't seem bad at all in terms of routing cables.

 

[gus6464]

Gus, I agree! One reason that I gravitated towards the HP that I got was that it comes with a 460W power supply. Seems good to me, but my thinking is based on when I did my research back in 2004 when I built my last PC. I think that I put a 400W unit in my last PC, and it had a higher power processor and higher power graphics card.

Yeah nowadays 400W is pretty much the bare minimum. A middle of the line Nvidia 8800GTS needs a PSU with a rating of ~500W. Plus when you take into account the quality of the PSU (# of rails, efficiency, # of amps per rail) one can easily see that not all PSUs are built alike. I bought a cheapo PSU one time back in the day and it lasted a year. Thank god it didn't take my mobo and everything that was hooked up to it when it died. That was the first and last time I skimped on a PSU. For example a lower end Antec 400W earthwatts which runs for $60 is actually more efficient and will deliver more power per rail than a cheapo $30 500W+ Rosewill or equivalent. Nowadays $80 or so is about the magic amount one should spend on a PSU that will last for many years running 24/7. Companies like Antec, Enermax, Seasonic, OCZ, PC Power & Cooling, offer extremely good PSUs for the money. My favorite bang for the buck brands are Antec and Enermax.

 

[gus6464]

This Nova unit (looks just like the XG Magnum 600) looks pretty clean in terms of the cables. I have no experience with external PSUs, so I'm not arguing that they aren't a pain. This model just didn't seem bad at all in terms of routing cables.

That's expensive for a 600W PSU though. Why spend over $200 on the PSU to run a $200 video card when you could spend $100 on a PSU and get a $300 GPU. Of course that is just my way of thinking since I am all about the bang for the buck.

 

[Adam]

That's expensive for a 600W PSU though. Why spend over $200 on the PSU to run a $200 video card when you could spend $100 on a PSU and get a $300 GPU. Of course that is just my way of thinking since I am all about the bang for the buck.

Not going to argue with you there. Just looked like a clean system. Didn't say that it wasn't an overly expensive piece of junk.

 

[Adam]

A middle of the line Nvidia 8800GTS needs a PSU with a rating of ~500W.

I'm guessing that my bottom dwelling 9300GE probably doesn't need quite as much...

Actually, I'm quite happy with the graphics performance, given the size of the card and the low noise. When I built my system, I put in a $300 (at the time because they were brand new) 6800. Sucker is huge, and the stock fan sounded like a turbo jet. I put on an aftermarket cooler that is quiet, but it made it even bigger. The 9300GE performs better. Gotta love how technology (usually) keeps getting better.