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HTPC build

T

TheSpoon

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 6, 2004
Messages
431
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing, watching movies.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
About $600
3) Where do you live?
Toronto, Canada
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, RAM, case, PSU, (possibly) HDD, (possibly) video card
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Thinking about re-using a 750GB WD drive I have lying around.
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
1080P TV
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
As soon as I can decide what to buy.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
Should probably be mATX.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Will use 64-bit Linux.


Basically I need an HTPC, but I'd rather not get anything Atom-based.

I've come up with this part list:
$110 - Core i3 540
$45 - 4GB G.Skill DDR3
$42 - Seasonic SS-400ET (in combo with CPU)
$100 - Silverstone GD05
$98 - ASUS P7H55-M Pro

And since I don't know how good Intel's Linux graphics drivers are, maybe this as well:
$36 - MSI GeForce GT 210

And if I don't end up re-using my 750GB HD:
$48 - WD Caviar Blue 500GB

Comes out to $479 if I get it all.

Is there anything terribly wrong here? I'd like the thing to be relatively quiet.
Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Yeah that motherbaord won't work with that CPU: You need a socket LGA 1156 motherboard for that LGA 1156 CPU. That socket LGA 1155 mobo won't work with the Core i3 540.

GPU wise, try the onboard video first and then get a Nvidia GT 430 if necessary.
 
Danny Bui said:
Yeah that motherbaord won't work with that CPU: You need a socket LGA 1156 motherboard for that LGA 1156 CPU. That socket LGA 1155 mobo won't work with the Core i3 540.

GPU wise, try the onboard video first and then get a Nvidia GT 430 if necessary.
Click to expand...

Oh but it's an H55 LGA 1156 motherboard. Yeah Asus putting 55 in the name is kind of unfortunate.

About the GT 430: it's about twice as expensive as a GT 210 -- is it really necessary?

Thanks for your help.
 
TheSpoon said:
Oh but it's an H55 LGA 1156 motherboard. Yeah Asus putting 55 in the name is kind of unfortunate.
Click to expand...
Had a brain far there. My bad.
TheSpoon said:
About the GT 430: it's about twice as expensive as a GT 210 -- is it really necessary?
Click to expand...

The GT 210 doesn't offer the best HD video quality. If you really need to save cash, go for the GT 220 instead. However the GT 430 would really be your best bet for excellent HD video playback
 
Danny Bui said:
Had a brain far there. My bad.


The GT 210 doesn't offer the best HD video quality. If you really need to save cash, go for the GT 220 instead. However the GT 430 would really be your best bet for excellent HD video playback
Click to expand...

Ok, sold! Thanks!
 
how is ATI HD 45xx and 54xx series playback 1080 movies people?
sorry for hijack your thread dude
 
umc said:
how is ATI HD 45xx and 54xx series playback 1080 movies people?
sorry for hijack your thread dude
Click to expand...

No problem. In Anandtech's image quality tests the AMD cards actually tend to score higher than the Nvidia ones. Personally I'm not considering AMD because they have worse Linux drivers. In any case, I'm building this PC to replace a WDTV Live Plus streamer, and I'm quite happy with the quality of its video output... so I must not be too picky.
 
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