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First time HTPC ~ $300

B

Borty

n00b
Joined
Sep 25, 2005
Messages
21
Up until last week I was using my old gaming PC as a poor man's HTPC. It crapped out on me so now I have an excuse to waste more money.

This box will sit under the TV and stream movies/music. It will also double as a storage device for data back ups from our various computers. I'm not worried about gaming on it. We don't have cable TV so I will be skipping a TV tuner card for now.I will also be reusing some parts. Our current TV is 720p but I would like the ability to stream 1080p. I will most likely be installing XBMC on it.

One major factor for me is noise. I would like the system to be near silent while watching movies.

PSU CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
CPU AMD A6-3670K Unlocked Llano 2.7GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106002
RAM G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
Case nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 5000B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811204035
Mobo Gigabyte AMD Socket FM1 Dual Graphic Micro ATX Motherboard GA-A75M-S2V http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058GXUKI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Total: $308.87 after deals/rebates

Parts I will be reusing include a dvd-burner and various hard drives I have sitting around. For now, I will be using the PS3 for blu-ray support.

One issue I do have is that this system will currently be on WIFI. It will be directly linked to the TV, but all other streaming will have to be done via WIFI. This means I would like to get a decent wifi card for it.

I have never built an HTPC computer before, so I really don't know if these parts will be ideal. I would also like to keep the price around $300 or lower if it doesn't mean sacrificing anything. I would like to purchase this within the next two weeks.

Any advice is appreciated.
 
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Last edited:
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Melon said:
I'd go with this over the Corsair PSU:

http://www.amazon.com/Antec-VP-450-Energy-Certified-Supply/dp/B004IZN3K2

With this case:

http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-A...=1344186079&sr=1-1&keywords=media+center+case

RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231313

Sure, you lose dual channel memory, but that's not required for a HTPC.
Click to expand...


Is there a particular reason why you chose that PSU? After rebate it is about $3 more than the one I originally picked, although the instant savings might be worth $3. I'm just curious.
 
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Borty said:
Is there a particular reason why you chose that PSU? After rebate it is about $3 more than the one I originally picked, although the instant savings might be worth $3. I'm just curious.
Click to expand...

I've built a few systems for friends with both PSUs and the Corsair units always had coil whine. I also hate dealing with rebates, so that's another determining factor. But note, that Antec doesn't have a PFC circuit.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-VP450-Power-Supply-Review/1487/11
 
While I recommend the same case as Melon, I do not recommend any of the other parts he recommended because they have a poor value for the money.

Also, OP, please answer the following questions:
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? UEFI? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
 
Danny Bui said:
While I recommend the same case as Melon, I do not recommend any of the other parts he recommended because they have a poor value for the money.

Also, OP, please answer the following questions:
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? UEFI? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Click to expand...

I live in Michigan, there isn't much for b&m around me other than best buy. I'll be using Windows 7 x64, which I already own. As for the motherboard, I'm not that certain. Like I said before, this won't really be used for gaming at all. I also won't ever be overclocking it. I would like USB 3.0 and SATA 6 as I may go for a SSD for the OS later on. I may throw a set of surround sound speakers I have onto the system, so half way decent sound is important, although I am no audiophile.
 
Last edited:
Borty said:
I would like USB 3.0 and as many SATA connections as I can get as I will be putting a lot of hard drives into it..
Click to expand...
How many hard drives are you planning on cramming into the HTPC case? Why not a separate NAS for those drives?
 
Danny Bui said:
While I recommend the same case as Melon, I do not recommend any of the other parts he recommended because they have a poor value for the money.

Also, OP, please answer the following questions:
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? UEFI? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Click to expand...

I'm curious as to how those are poor values for the money, especially in a HTPC setup? :confused:
 
Melon said:
I'm curious as to how those are poor values for the money, especially in a HTPC setup? :confused:
Click to expand...
The RAM is overpriced because $15 more gets you twice as much RAM. So in other words, its price per GB is too high. You can easily find 4GB of RAM for around $20 like so:
$20 - G.Skill F3-10666CL9S-2GBNT 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

PSU wise, I'd rather spend the extra cash for a higher quality PSU to lessen the chance of the HTPC dying. Besides, a higher quality PSU isn't that much more anyway ($3 more):
$42 - Antec Earthwatts Green EA380D 380W PSU
 
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Danny Bui said:
How many hard drives are you planning on cramming into the HTPC case? Why not a separate NAS for those drives?
Click to expand...

I don't have enough data right now to justify a NAS. I'm also saving money for both a house and a wedding so while it isn't tight, I'm just going to go with the HTPC for now. That doesn't rule out a NAS in the future.

For now I will put as many hdd as will fit into the case. I have a handful of 640 GB drives.
 
Borty said:
For now I will put as many hdd as will fit into the case. I have a handful of 640 GB drives.
Click to expand...
Hmm, well here's the deal: Pretty much every good HTPC case below $120 can only fit 2-3 SATA drives. The sub $120 HTPC cases that can fit 4 drives are all pretty crappy when it comes to cooling, noise level, and quality i.e the NMedia case you chose. So assuming that you want a quiet and well cooled HTPC, the question is this: will you be fine with 2 to 3 drives (which means that the $50 Silverstone ML03B case or the significantly higher quality and better cooling $90 Silverstone GD05B HTPC cases should fit your needs) or do you need 4 drive capability which means that you're should spend the extra cash for the $122 Silverstone GD06B case?
 
Danny Bui said:
The RAM is overpriced because $15 more gets you twice as much RAM. So in other words, its price per GB is too high. You can easily find 4GB of RAM for around $20 like so:
$20 - G.Skill F3-10666CL9S-2GBNT 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

PSU wise, I'd rather spend the extra cash for a higher quality PSU to lessen the chance of the HTPC dying. Besides, a higher quality PSU isn't that much more anyway ($3 more):
$42 - Antec Earthwatts Green EA380D 380W PSU
Click to expand...

Ah, I admittedly didn't search thoroughly for cheaper RAM, just noticed that he had chosen a 2x2GB kit. The EarthWatts was slightly higher when I looked for PSUs, as well.


:D
 
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Danny Bui said:
Hmm, well here's the deal: Pretty much every good HTPC case below $120 can only fit 2-3 SATA drives. The sub $120 HTPC cases that can fit 4 drives are all pretty crappy when it comes to cooling, noise level, and quality i.e the NMedia case you chose. So assuming that you want a quiet and well cooled HTPC, the question is this: will you be fine with 2 to 3 drives (which means that the $50 Silverstone ML03B case or the significantly higher quality and better cooling $90 Silverstone GD05B HTPC cases should fit your needs) or do you need 4 drive capability which means that you're should spend the extra cash for the $122 Silverstone GD06B case?
Click to expand...

At my current rate, I don't think it will be a problem going with the smaller case. I can replace the current drives with higher capacity ones if I really need to.

I would rather build a NAS for more capacity in the future than spend money for more space now. Although I am willing to spend more money on a higher quality case if it means less noise.
 
Then I recommend something like this:
$64 - Intel Pentium G630 CPU
$75 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Intel B75 mATX Motherboard
$20 - G.Skill F3-10666CL9S-2GBNT 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$42 - Antec Earthwatts Green EA380D 380W PSU
$90 - Silverstone GD05B mATX HTPC Case
----
Total: $291 shipped.

The above setup comes with a cooler running and lower power using setup with a better quality PSU and a high-quality and quiet HTPC case.

However note that you wouldn't be over-budget by that much if you go with the Silverstone GD06B case
 
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Alright thanks guys, I went with your suggestions and made the purchase.
 
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