I’m looking to build a reliable, basic, no-frills computer primarily for Internet browsing and watching movies. Not sure if it matters, but it would be running Linux Mint. I may also look to do some amount of photo and/or video editing on it at some point too, but i don’t have any real needs for gaming with it. There’s a million choices when it comes down to the mobo and cpu and all the rest of it, though i think i know which case i want to get so i think that may help narrow my options. (Fwiw, it’s a Fractal Designs North model case I’m considering)

Any advice, please?

Edit: thank you all so much for your responses, I’m really glad i posted here! I have a much better sense of which way to go now. I really appreciate the time y’all took to help me out. 😄

  • talEnglish
    2·
    3 days ago

    Case in question:

    https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/north/north/chalk-white/

    I think that that’s really a question of aesthetics, how you want your living room to look.

    I mean, pretty much anything can handle browsing and movie watching. If you want to tamp down on the price a bit, you could get a smaller system. But if you’re happy with the system, can’t say that anything’s wrong with it.

    The last time I needed a media PC for the living room, I bought a used PC for $45 and plonked it next to the TV, but I didn’t especially care about what it looked like.

    You’re probably going to want Bluetooth if you’re going to be using wireless headphones, keyboards, or gamepads.

    Other than that…nothing terribly demanding.

    The case is ATX, so if that’s what you want, you’re going to get an ATX motherboard, which is the most-common motherboard form factor out there. That’s probably the only kind of constraint it imposes.

    • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
      2·
      3 days ago

      I love the idea of buying a really cheap mini profile, and just putting it inside a pretty case. Mac mini in an ATX.

    • frunch@lemmy.worldOP
      1·
      2 days ago

      Thanks for the response! Sounds like i really don’t need to overspend on this, certainly a plus! Good thinking on Bluetooth–that’s something my current pc never had. I’ve got a wireless keyboard and mouse but they each have their own little receivers. It would be nice to finally just get everything on Bluetooth, plus that would finally allow me to use my wireless headphones with the computer (not that i find the need to that often, still would be a nice option)… Thanks again!

      • Fondots@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 days ago

        Just FYI, you may need your old keyboard and mouse to initially set up your computer so don’t get rid of them quite yet. You’ll most likely need to boot into the OS to pair them, so that’s probably going to have to be after your initial setup. Also if you ever need to get into your computer’s BIOS I don’t think most of them support Bluetooth keyboards (I could be wrong, I’m not totally up to date on the state of things, my own motherboard is pretty old so that may have changed) so you’ll probably want to keep them around

        Some Bluetooth keyboards/mice do work as a wired device as well or have the option to use a non-bluetooth dongle, but check the specs, just because it has a USB port for charging for example doesn’t necessarily mean it will talk to your computer over USB.

        • frunch@lemmy.worldOP
          1·
          1 day ago

          Good call! I do keep a wired keyboard and mouse around for the occasional need for something of this sort… I will be sure to locate them before i get down to business. Thanks!!