building the cheapest HTPC

A

Atherton213

[H]ard|Gawd
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Dec 21, 2004
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...dont know much about this via systems...

whats the cheapest you could build a HTPC using a via system....

ready... go :D
 
500Mhz C3 + board
AC-DC PSU
RAM + HD's

It, however, will be quite anemic in speed, but it would be dead silent, since there's no hsf assembly and PSU's for these systems are typically no more than a notebook-esque power brick
 
whats the best site to look/buy these from?

i see mostly 800mhz... would that be fast enough for a htpc? some even have tv out on them? ive got a ATI tv tuner laying around already....

so would 800mhz be enough
how much ram
hd... obviously fairly big
OS? ive seen some out there made just for htpc? (not windows mce)
case..
yeah ive seen the powerbrick type psu's your talking about
a nice slim line dvd

anything im missing?
 
I would go with either an EPIA M or EPIA SP motherboard with the 1ghz C3 CPU. They both have TV out, so they are suitable for an HTPC. 512mb of ddr ram should be plenty (single stick). For a case, I would recommend the Travla C137. It allows for 2 pci cards if you want to have something other than a tv tuner (like a wifi card) and it has a CF card slot in the front (you could put linux on it and allow the entire hard drive to be used for media storage). The C137 case also allows you to use full size 3.5" hard drives so you aren't limited to small and expensive laptop drives...it's up to you on how much you are willing to spend on one (I don't know how much capacity you want/need). Next up is an optical drive. You will need a dvd drive at minimum and if you want it to look nicer, go for a slot loading drive (laptop sized). Lastly you will need a tv tuner and remote. They are usually bundled together. ATI and Hauppauge make some decent ones and a lot of them come with remotes. After you assemble it and load an os, you should be done! If you need more info or need to find stores that carry mini-ITX products, check out the VIA FAQ I wrote! :)
 
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