Budget HTPC build advice

I

invalidbuffalo

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
419
I want to build an HTPC so I can stream TV shows/movies from my computer to our home theater but I'm not sure what hardware and software I want to use. It should fit the following criteria:

-$300 budget
-Case should be horizontal and black
-Motherboard/CPU/IGP needs to handle 1080p playback and should have enough power to play blu-ray discs if we added a drive in the future
-HDMI out
-Wi-Fi N connectivity (usb adapter?)

I've started to pick out some parts but I want to hear your recommendations, especially if there's a part that will do what I want for cheaper.

Case/PSU: hec Black 7K09BBA30FNRX

Mainboard: ASUS C8HM70-I/HDMI

Memory: G.SKILL 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333

HDD:SanDisk 32GB SSD

Input device: Logitech Black USB RF Wireless Standard Keyboard()

I haven't listed a wifi adapter because it seems to be dependent on the OS, which I haven't decided on. Any recommendations in that regard are also welcome. I've heard xbmc/openelec are good but can be finicky with wifi adapters.

Thanks for any input.
 
Any chance you can increase your budget by another $100 to $150? At $300, you're basically going to have to get crappy parts.

Off the bat: That SSD isn't meant to be an OS disk. It's suppose to be a cache drive only. In addition, the PSU in that HEC case is more than likely very shitty.

Also, any plans to watch 4K video? If so, that Celeron isn't going to cut it.
 
go with ubuntu.
i know i love it!
you could install xbmc in ubuntu to make it more htpc-y.
 
SanDisk 32GB SSD - too small

Not enough or bare minimum for HTPC. I have cheap i3 HTPC with 60GB SSD , I do not record and do not media storage and still I have situations when disk is full and I need to clean it. Not often but that happens.
 
Also, why go with new parts when you can save a lot with used parts? I built i3 htpc 2 years ago out of used parts for 300 Euro and it is still going strong without any problems.
 
I had to order the parts last night so stuff would arrive in time to have it set up by christmas. I changed the case from the hec to an antec isk300.

almalino said:
SanDisk 32GB SSD - too small

Not enough or bare minimum for HTPC. I have cheap i3 HTPC with 60GB SSD , I do not record and do not media storage and still I have situations when disk is full and I need to clean it. Not often but that happens.
Click to expand...

What exactly eats up the hard drive space? This computer will stream netflix and tv/movies off the network only...
 
I received all the parts except for the case... I connected everything and had openelec loaded all in under 30 minutes... It plays even my largest 1080p files without a hiccup. The cpu fan is a bit loud though...I've ordered a scythe mini kaze to replace the stock one.

So far I'm happy with my parts selection.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top