Build advice for media computer

[Ineedanewusername4561]

I am here seeking some advice on a rebuilding my media computer.  It's sole purpose will be to store and play various media (movies and the like), downloading and for browsing the internet.  About 7 years ago I put together the following as a gaming machine: 

Antec 300 mid case 
i7 920 at 2.6 GHz 
GeForce GTX 260 x 2 in SLI 
3 GB DDR3 1600 x 2 
640 gig HDD 
CORSAIR TX 750W PSU 
Sunbeam Contact Freezer
Unsure of the exact gigabyte motherboard I have but can get that if anyone wants to know.

The computer will be hooked up to a standard 15in monitor and Epson 1080p PowerLite Home Cinema (primary) and a 5.1 surround sound system.  

About a year and a half ago that build simply could not keep up with current gaming and I put together a new machine.  As the old one worked but the socket was dated I did not upgrade but instead moved it over to the television and used it primarily to store and play media.  In the last year I have decided that I really like that setup and want to continue to have a machine dedicated as a media server but my computer now refuses to acknowledge any screen hooked up to it and it is not making it all the way to windows (never get any windows sound from it) though the machine does post.  As 7 years is pretty ancient for computers I think it may be time to simply scrap it and build another media machine.  

I did not originally build this for such a purpose and I have little idea what I actually need to replace it (and hopefully have an improved outcome in the end).  Normally I build gaming machines as that is my primary use for most computers.  

I am looking for some advice in what to purchase.  I don't really have a hard top budget for this but I also have no need for any extra computing power either so I am looking for a budget build.  Noise has never really been an issue with the old machine and it was not built for being quiet but I do think that it might not be a bad idea to structure this around something that is quiet if there are any suggestions out there to do this at a reasonable price.  Otherwise that can be ignored.  

I know that the PSU is good and I should be able to reuse it as long as the power output is sufficient (and at 750 I can't fathom why it would not be).  The case is done for.  I am displeased with the graphics cards in general as they have always had a serious issue with detecting monitors hooked up to it and I never could nail down exactly why.  Might not be the fault of the cards but I am blaming them anyway   I will almost certainly reuse the HDD. 

I have sought and received amazing advice from this board in the past on some of my builds and was hoping that I could pick your brains again.  As always, thanks in advance for any advice the community may have.

 

[azaran]

Couple of questions

What's your budget? I know you're looking for budget build but for some people thats $400, others much more.

Do you intend on using this machine to rip dvd/bluray movies?

What program(s) do you use for playback?

Do you care about form factor, if so how big/small do you want this thing to be?

In general you should be able to do a build without the need for a video card at this point so it should be fairly easy to do a cheapish build and still have quality.

 

[Ineedanewusername4561]

Couple of questions

What's your budget? I know you're looking for budget build but for some people thats $400, others much more.

Like I said that is somewhat open ended. I really am looking at making this as inexpensive as I can without sacrificing functionality. This machine will do nothing more than I stated so that functionality is rather limited. I am hoping that makes the build fairly inexpensive.

Do you intend on using this machine to rip dvd/bluray movies?

Possibly but almost all my media is consumed digitally these days. Those that I rip are rather large though so there is that hurdle (I know my laptop does not have the power to play a 10 gig MKV for example) Time is not a factor there though. I have my main computer that I will be doing most of my work/play on. For ripping, that process will be started at night and can take all day for all I care. I already have all the optical drives necessary. I should have mentioned that in my OP.

What program(s) do you use for playback?

Mostly VLC. That seems to be the easiest for me to use.

Do you care about form factor, if so how big/small do you want this thing to be?

could not care one bit. As long as the computer is smaller than a couch or bigger than a wallet then it will be fine

In general you should be able to do a build without the need for a video card at this point so it should be fairly easy to do a cheapish build and still have quality.

If that is the case then that would be preferable. Are there on board graphics that will perform just fine for this? I know that in gaming that is a big no-no. If this is the case that should help greatly with the cost.

 

[azaran]

So I realized I forgot to ask what kind of storage you would need and if you needed an OS. I included a 3TB drive (1080P files build up in size fast) and Windows 10 in the build. These are things that could be eliminated if you already have them or reduced in price if you went with lower storage. Since we're going budget build on this, I went with an i3 model, so dual core with hyper threading, but also the latest Skylake model since it's IGP is stronger than the Haswell lineup. I'll also post a i5 build which will give you more muscle for ripping/encoding/etc. The i3 will give you 1080p without the need for a separate video card, and should be able to handle anything up to heavy 4k output.

I put place holders in the build for the optical drive and PSU so the case selection would be accurate. With the case I went with a good but inexpensive case that would allow upgrading to a stronger separate video card should you need to if you decide to upgrade to a 4k setup in the future. It also doesn't look like hell and have loud or otherwise crap cooling like some models that only shave off $10-20.

Both the i3 and i5 setup will allow for multi monitor setups, so you can run HDMI to the projector and DVI to a normal monitor.

i3 setup
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $477.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-17 23:40 EST-0500

This one will include and i5 instead of an i3 if you feel you might need a bit more heavy lifting from the CPU. It shares the same Intel HD 530 as the i3 but more CPU cores but is single threaded instead of multi threaded. This may make a difference in ripping/encoding, it may not, it all depends on the software you're using. Handbrake for instance is a single core, no multi threading app. Obviously use the right hardware/software for your environment.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $543.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-17 23:47 EST-0500

Final note, and this is a suggestion on software for your HTPC. Take a look at Plex. I use it in my setup and love it. Its a very pretty interface, places every file format I've thrown at it and handles things like subtitles very well. It's free for PC/Mac and has a great streaming feature to local computers running Plex as well as portable devices like tablets and phones.