Building a multimedia PC

[casabas]

Hi all,

I'm keen to build a low power, compact, quiet PC for connecting to my Panasonic Viera HDTV.

I already have a PC tower connected up but it's noisy and big.


I've seen an article about building a home theatre PC here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-7-htpc,2159-11.html


This looked a bit too high spec for my needs. Really I just want to be able to go on the net, play music, play you tube videos etc.. Also would be nice if could play DVDs.


does anybody have any ideas for a suitable build?


I've looked at the MSI windbox (fanless) and that looks pretty good - any thoughts?


many thanks,


Andy

 

[Kapanci]

at markets , there are HTPC chasises , get it , and build a rig as ;

785g chipset board
amd x4 620 cpu
and 2 or 4 gb ddr3 ram
320 gb hdd

 

[casabas]

thanks for reply.

 

[casabas]

would love to hear more suggestions.. thanks.

 

[MU_Engineer]

Hi all,

I'm keen to build a low power, compact, quiet PC for connecting to my Panasonic Viera HDTV.

I already have a PC tower connected up but it's noisy and big.


I've seen an article about building a home theatre PC here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-7-htpc,2159-11.html


This looked a bit too high spec for my needs. Really I just want to be able to go on the net, play music, play you tube videos etc.. Also would be nice if could play DVDs.


does anybody have any ideas for a suitable build?


I've looked at the MSI windbox (fanless) and that looks pretty good - any thoughts?


many thanks,


Andy

If all you want to be able to do is go on the Net, play back DVDs, and maybe over-the-air (MPEG-2) HDTV, then you don't need much for a CPU. There are a couple of setups that would work well for you:

1. Fanless micro-ITX unit- sort of expensive but tiny
- NVIDIA Ion w/Atom 330
- 2 GB RAM
- Large, low-power hard drive, such as one of the 5400-5900 rpm 1.0/1.5/2.0 TB units.

2. Low-power micro-ATX unit- not fanless but inexpensive
- AMD Sempron 140
- Micro-ATX motherboard with the 785G chipset
- 2 GB RAM (DDR2 or DDR3, whatever the board takes)
- Large, low-power hard drive

 

[casabas]

If all you want to be able to do is go on the Net, play back DVDs, and maybe over-the-air (MPEG-2) HDTV, then you don't need much for a CPU. There are a couple of setups that would work well for you:

1. Fanless micro-ITX unit- sort of expensive but tiny
- NVIDIA Ion w/Atom 330
- 2 GB RAM
- Large, low-power hard drive, such as one of the 5400-5900 rpm 1.0/1.5/2.0 TB units.

2. Low-power micro-ATX unit- not fanless but inexpensive
- AMD Sempron 140
- Micro-ATX motherboard with the 785G chipset
- 2 GB RAM (DDR2 or DDR3, whatever the board takes)
- Large, low-power hard drive

Thanks for this info. Much appreciated.

 

[DrgnRebrn]

I would suggest going with a 780G chipset board w/integrated graphics, go with the AMD Sempron 140 Sargas 2.7GHz Socket AM3 45W Single-Core Processor for your cheapest solution ($36.99 on Newegg.com w/free shipping), or if you want at least dual core, spend $24 more & get an AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3. You can find a cheap dual channel kit of DDR2-800 RAM, I'd go no less than 2GB (2x1GB). If you need a PSU, Newegg has the Antec EarthWatts 380 Green for $44.99 w/free shipping. Invest in a cheap case, buy a cheap DVD player, & I bet you could complete your new budget build for less than $500 total.

 

[DrgnRebrn]

PSU: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W - $44.99
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor - $60.99
MB: ECS A780GM-M3 AM2+/AM3 AMD 780G Micro ATX - $59.99
RAM: A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 DC Kit - $48.99
DVD: LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04 - $19.99
Total Cost: $234.95, all S&H is free on these items @ Newegg.com. This leaves plenty of wiggle room for upgrading a few components if you wanted, or to invest in a nice HTPC case &/or TV Tuner card. You could even go all out & buy a Blu-Ray Disc drive instead of the DVD, that'll sure look nice with your Viera HDTV!

 

[casabas]

Thanks for your reply... I'll look into this set up. you're a big fan of newegg ... you should see if you can get on their payroll and get some commission ;o)

 

[DrgnRebrn]

hehe, i can't help it that they're typically the cheapest non-bulk solution & offer free shipping on a lot of their items. If there were cheaper alternatives for those components, I would have listed that store. Amazon is a good place to find cheap hardware too, but even still, Newegg will usually beat them by pennies.