Home Theatre System

[Mitchell7643]

I am looking to make a very small and cheap computer and the whole purpose is to watch movies, listen to music, and maybe back up storage. This is what I got. What do people think?

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Mitchell7643/saved/2Smd

I am open to any suggestions.

Thank You.

 

[hp79]

Nice! I'd go with a bigger HDD. 3TBs are not that much more expensive. Maybe reduce the RAM to 4GB (movies/music/backup storage won't require lot of memory) and get a 3TB HDD instead?

Have you looked at Lian-Li mini-itx cases? I know those sometimes go for sale for really good price. PC-Q07B was $30 after rebate at one time.
http://slickdeals.net/f/6494016-lian-li-pc-q07b-usb-3-0-black-aluminum-mini-itx-tower-computer-case-29-99-ar-fs-newegg

Probably want a good quality case since that's probably going to last the longest of the parts.

 

[VincentP]

Fantastic choice of power supply and CPU.

Do you actually want a cube case like this?
Consider a home theatre case that looks more like an amplifier and will fit in your entertainment unit.
Silverstone makes some nice home theatre cases like the GD04 or GD05.
This also allows you to install a second hard drive if you want.
You can have a micro-ATX motherboard in these cases too, which is cheaper than mini-ITX.

Be careful of CPU cooler choice with some cases.
The stock intel cooler is more than adequate and I don't think the after market cooler will substantially lower noise.

4GB of RAM would be plenty.

You can go to a 2TB hard drive easily, but be careful above this as you will need to get UEFI boot working on both the Windows DVD and later for the hard drive to have a boot drive over 2TB.

 

[hp79]

Fantastic choice of power supply and CPU.

Do you actually want a cube case like this?
Consider a home theatre case that looks more like an amplifier and will fit in your entertainment unit.
Silverstone makes some nice home theatre cases like the GD04 or GD05.
This also allows you to install a second hard drive if you want.
You can have a micro-ATX motherboard in these cases too, which is cheaper than mini-ITX.

Be careful of CPU cooler choice with some cases.
The stock intel cooler is more than adequate and I don't think the after market cooler will substantially lower noise.

4GB of RAM would be plenty.

You can go to a 2TB hard drive easily, but be careful above this as you will need to get UEFI boot working on both the Windows DVD and later for the hard drive to have a boot drive over 2TB.

Nice advice on the CPU cooler. No need to spend more for after market cooler. The stock ones are pretty silent and does a great job. Besides, the CPU is very energy efficient so the stock cooler will be more than good enough.

 

[Mitchell7643]

Ok I updated it and this is what I got. I stayed with the mini-ITX and the case I have because I am trying to keep it as small as possible. So what do you think?

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Mitchell7643/saved/2Smd

 

[hp79]

Ok I updated it and this is what I got. I stayed with the mini-ITX and the case I have because I am trying to keep it as small as possible. So what do you think?

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Mitchell7643/saved/2Smd

I would get low voltage RAM to maximize power efficiency and reduce heat. One stick just in case you upgrade in the future. Using single channel won't have any negative effect for playing movies or file servers.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148660
$49, 1.35V, low profile (for better air flow and wiring space in the tiny mini-itx case)

 

[Mitchell7643]

Do you have any other ideas on what else i could do?

 

[hp79]

Do you have any other ideas on what else i could do?

If you want to spend the money, I'd get a better case. You'll be looking at the case all the time, unless it's going to be hidden somewhere.

Make sure all your computers are hooked up to a gigabit router/hub if you don't have the networking gear yet. Gigabit hubs costs about $20. Your system will be excellent for a file server. Low power usage, probably close to or lower than 20W idle.

Otherwise, next thing would be getting a SSD. lol.

Wait for a good deal on 120GB/128GB SSD for about $70-$80 after rebate. I recommend you set a deal alert at slickdeals.net. One of the deals from the past:
http://slickdeals.net/f/6640536-kingston-v300-240gb-ssd-7mm-119-99-ar-fs-tigerdirect-or-240gb-130-120gb-70-amazon
Having a SSD will really help on boot up speed and general snappiness, but if you don't mind the few times waiting it may not worth it. Besides, all the music and movies are going to be stored in the HDD, so probably not needed.

 

[VincentP]

Ok I updated it and this is what I got. I stayed with the mini-ITX and the case I have because I am trying to keep it as small as possible. So what do you think?

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Mitchell7643/saved/2Smd

Everything you have chosen looks ok.

On the size of the case, the mini-ITX case is much taller than a micro-ATX home theatre case.
It has a smaller base though, so it depends on where you plan to put it.

The case you have chosen has dimensions (L x W x D) 8.00" x 9.60" x 8.40"
Silverstone GD05 has dimensions 440 mm (W) x 151 mm (H) x 325 mm (D)
In inches this is 17.32" x 5.94" x 12.80.

The mini-ITX case is too tall to fit in an entertainment unit, but it would sit better next to your TV.
If you choose the micro-ATX case, you save money on the motherboard and RAM.
This helps pay for the better quality case.

 

[hp79]

Or you can just get something like this:
http://slickdeals.net/f/6642724-intel-nuc-i3-haswell-d34010wyk-255?src=tdw
It's a Intel NUC with Haswell i3 in it. Very low power, and no headaches about the fitting and stuff.

Or this for $306 total. You can add a 2.5" SATA HDD inside.
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-D34010WYKH-DisplayPort-i3-4010U-Support/dp/B00HOJAVDG
If I were you, I would actually buy something like this, put a 1 TB 2.5" HDD inside, and later add 3TB external HDDs (USB 3.0) if needed.