Cheapest HTPC Possible

E

Eli4672

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Jan 17, 2009
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I'm trying to put together the cheapest possible HTPC. It will only be outputting 720p to an old widescreen CRT, so I don't think it needs to be anything high end. All I'm looking for is something that will work with Windows Media Center, be a HDTV tuner and play all the files I already have.

I've come up with a list of components, but I had a few question about the suitability of several of them.

*Leadtek DTV2000h*
Does the remote this comes with work for navigating WMC in general, or is it only useful for controlling the functions of the tuner card itself?

*MSI G31M3-L*
Is there something horribly wrong with this motherboard that I'm not aware of?

*Intel E1200*
Is this powerful enough for what I'm trying to do?

*ECS 9400GT*
I'm pretty sure this has SVideo out, but I haven't been able to completely confirm that. Does anybody know for sure?

If anybody can answer any of these questions, it would be really helpful. Thanks in advance.

In case anybody cares, the full specs are:
Leadtek DTV2000h
MSI G31M3-L
Intel E1200
ECS 9400GT
1GB Kingston PC800
SATA DVDRW LG/SAMSUNG/SONY
Seagate 500GB IDE HDD (already have it)
Thermaltake Mambo Case (already have it)
430 watt Thermaltake PSU (know it sucks, but already have it)
 
I know the question about the remote is probably obvious to people who know anything about WMC, but I really want to make sure I can use the remote with the DTV 2000H to navigate WMC (not just to control the functionality of the DTV 2000H itself). Is this possible?
 
OP there's a couple of either confusing or conflicting points in your original post. You mention a 720P CRT, which is a rarity unto itself, then you mention the need for s-video output, s-video isn't capable of true 1280x720P, pretty sure s--video's is limited to 1024x768 max. Unless your TV is running some bastardized 720P resolution, which isn't uncommon for a CRT television, but it won't make your life any easier when you're trying to figure out the sweetspot custom resolution. What inputs does your TV have? Or even better, what exact make and model is your TV?

Believe it or not, the necessity for svideo will likely raise the cost of your project $30 to $40 since it's so rare to find current motherboards with svideo built in....meaning you'll probably need that seperate video card.

I'd be a little hesitant about that Leadtek TV card, i may be wrong but i haven't heard about Leadtek releasing anything decent in a long time. Personally i'd research it first before falling in love with it ;)

Here's a link to that ECS 9400gt, it appears to have S-video: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134053

An AMD setup will likely cost you less, and is fully capable of 720P.
 
Sorry, missed in your post where you were needing S-Video. But no s-video is maxed at 420i or 572?i (whatever the PAL is) and is not a digital signal.
 
Omegas said:
Sorry, missed in your post where you were needing S-Video. But no s-video is maxed at 420i or 572?i (whatever the PAL is) and is not a digital signal.
Click to expand...
S-video maxes out at 1024 x 768, not the sharpest of course.

Analog is fine since the OP is using a CRT.
 
I did not realize (until a moment ago) that SVideo was not capable of 720p. With that in mind, I will probably want to use component.

To clarify some information about the TV:
It is 720p/1080i. It only has SVideo, composite and component inputs.

If I should go with an AMD system, are there any motherboards with integrated video and tv-out that you would recommend? I want to avoid ATI here, as I have had a lot of trouble with ATI TV out over the years.
 
Eli4672 said:
If I should go with an AMD system, are there any motherboards with integrated video and tv-out that you would recommend? I want to avoid ATI here, as I have had a lot of trouble with ATI TV out over the years.
Click to expand...
Can't think of any decent motherboards that have those connectors that i'm familiar with, therefore i really can't recommend anything. Motherboards with integrated S-video and component are rare nowadays, you're probably better off with a video card that supports both, just make sure the video card includes the component dongle.

I find Newegg the easiest place to window shop, you get to see all of the included accessories and read the opinions. I then search google products to see what the competitors are offering it for.
 
Omegas said:
err try this on for size

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103646 BE-2300
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186151 740g
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590 2x1gb DDR2 800

that's board/proc/mem with onboard Vid for $113 shipped - $23 MIR = $90 total cost. Add $30 for a 780g board for full 1080p BR/HD support.
Click to expand...


Problem is, that chip doesn't have a heatsink/fan, so that's an added cost to your list.
 
I've got a list minus the case and operating system at about $262

It's got the AMD BE-2300 with the heatsink and fan $39.99
a 780G motherboard (No HDMI but the DVI can easily be converted with a DVI-HDMI cable $59.99 -$10MIR
2x 1GB Ram $25.99 -$10MIR
250GB HD = $47.99
Antec 380W Earthwatts = $34.99
DVDRW 20x = $20.99
KWORLD PlusTV Tuner = $19.99 (no clue of quality)
 
ShepsCrook said:
I've got a list minus the case and operating system at about $262

It's got the AMD BE-2300 with the heatsink and fan $39.99
a 780G motherboard (No HDMI but the DVI can easily be converted with a DVI-HDMI cable $59.99 -$10MIR
2x 1GB Ram $25.99 -$10MIR
250GB HD = $47.99
Antec 380W Earthwatts = $34.99
DVDRW 20x = $20.99
KWORLD PlusTV Tuner = $19.99 (no clue of quality)
Click to expand...
The OP has an analog CRT HDTV with component and S-svideo inputs. That Kworld tuner isn't the type of product the OP was looking for (not HD).

Between your and Omegas' other suggestions though it looks like the OP may have a workable setup:

The Foxconn 740G mobo for $39 shipped AR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186151
AMD X2 B-2300 Retail box $40 shipped: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103232
2gb Ram : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...escription=&Ntk=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=
DVD-RW Sata $21 shipped: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106263
Hard drive: the OP already has one.
Radeon 4350 w/s-video + component $48.99 + S/H: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102806 (as per Crim's suggestion)
Case + PSU: the op already has em.
Cheap but good HD tuner (?)
 
ota hd or clearQAM hd?

and what frontend....... w. VMC hdhomerun is the only real solution for clearqam, for OTA most HD cards work
 
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