i can get a discount from dell so i'm going to stick with the brand... so please no "don't get dell" advice (unless there is a considerably cheaper alternative that doesn't require me ordering pieces from different stores).

i want to get a computer to run media center so I can stream data (music/video) to my PS3 and maybe the XBox 360. What kind of system requirements should I be getting? i do have a GB switch which the gaming consoles are connected to.

i'm leaning towards the inspiron 530s because it's relatively small. what kind of cpu/ram/graphics card will i need? does the sound card matter? which OS is better suited as a media center that the consoles will recognize?

thanks!

If you are sending data over a network, if you get a low-end desktop PC you shouldn't have much of a problem. If you want a little faster you could always get a gigabit ethernet pciex1 card if the onboard is only 10/100.

There are some more questions in there. I'm not too sure how the xbox works on a network, but I'm pretty sure that it required a windows os. If your using a PS3, a linux based OS would be better.

If you are sending data over the network to be played on your PS360, the current generation CPUs, RAM, Video card, sound card won't affect anything (someone correct me if some of these are needed for video playback on a PS360?)

just check forum like fatwallet or slickdeal, sometime they post out very cheap dell deal with good configuration. believe me you dont need the absolute best its waste of money because the pace technology change every 3-6 months your absolute best will look like crap in a year.

@Pk9394 - right, that's why i want as low as possible a configuration that won't affect the quality of streaming (and possibly web browsing).

@largedarryl - i will be sending the data over a wired GB network (the placement of my ps3 made wireless really unreliable). I just read that the PS3 is GB enabled but the XBox 360 is only 10/100.

To break up the questions for easy answering:

1. CPU doesn't matter because there is no crunching of data?

2. Will 2 GB RAM be enough even if I end up with Vista?

3. If I'm converting files from one format to another, should I get a better CPU?

4. If I'm streaming the data, I assume that it is the PS3 that is doing the crunching so the computer's graphics and sound card doesn't matter?

Well mtofu:

1) Present day CPU's are more than capable of processing more data then what can be shoved out of a gigabit network port, so basically every present day PC should be capable of this.

2) RAM will only be an issue if Vista forces your OS programs to use the page file for running applications, since any streaming data will have a data read bottleneck at the HDD read speed. So if you have Vista 2GB will be enough, if you get XP you could probably get away with 512MB. Although present low end Vista PC's (even from Dell) will have enough RAM to do your desired application

3) Video converting programs, depending on the program will be entirely dependent on the CPU/RAM. Now if the program is only capable utilizing a single core (not multithreaded), last gen processors would probably be just as good. So a current multi-threaded converter will get faster with upgrades to the CPU. The RAM will probably be a null here too, just as long as there is enough available to run the program (basically looking at the recommended RAM usage requirements of the program), anything extra will just be wasted space anyway. So I highly doubt any PC will have this limit, even a 2GB Vista box (it would be worth checking up on the program though).

4) The only number crunching your PC is going to do is by the network device (i.e. converting data into IP packets). Relating back to point 1, the current gen CPUs and RAM are all capable of doing stuff way beyond 10/100/1000 networks.

If you have some more questions I might be able to help, but my answers are based on the assumption that playing media files on the PS3 is basically having either the PS3 load the file to its local HDD or reading the file over the network from your PC (similar to PC to server access in a business network).

EDIT:  On a side note, in my line of work, I have found serious issues with actually having 10/100/1000 consumer grade switches/routers capable of transmitting more than ~250Mb/s.