HTPC for under $500

Luth

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I know $500 isn't much of a budget, but hey, these really aren't the times to be flamboyant with money, right? :) Anyway, I've been trolling NewEgg for parts and have assembled the following system for $437. However, some of these parts are a bit out of date, I think, due to my penny-pinching, and I may be missing out on something big without knowing it. To further exacerbate things, I've not built an HTPC before, and may simply have the wrong parts for what I need! I'm not married to ANY of these parts, so please, swap them out for your favourites at will. The system will be used to play movies from the HD and the blu-ray drive on a 720p projector (100" screen) with 5.1 audio via HDMI.


-- New Part List Posted Below --


Please Note: I do NOT have a fan for the processor! I have a terrible time picking out fans, and when I have made selections, I've often regretted them. So please, PLEASE recommend a fan and I'll simply take your word for it.
 
Hmm just might eek out an AM3/DDR3 HTPC with that budget :D
AM3HTPC.jpg
 
The 785G boards are out now... I suggest you go for one of them instead of a 780G.

If you can wait a little longer, AMD is supposed to be releasing their next line of 45W TDP processors for AM3... even quads.

For the heatsink, with that case you could run a Scythe mini ninja without its fan (it will sit right next to one of the 120mm fans in the case), or you might want to consider the Scythe Shuriken (low profile, very quiet).
 
500$ is way enough for an HDPC with AMD cpu. You don't need a graphic card since there is already an HD3300 ATI IGP on most of these motherboards.

You also got optical audio out... a nice feat.

If I were you, I would add a good sound card like an HT Omega Striker.

If you can, add a better power supply than the generic stuff. 50$ is nothing for protecting 500$ of hardware.

Also, I would trust more Sony about their Blu-Ray player since they are really behind the technology.
 

Luth

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gkay, batuchka, rwpritchett, redgarl, thanks for the nearly-instant feedback! It's no surprise, you found much better parts than I did. For a meager $13 increase, I upgraded the motherboard to a 785G, processor to the Regor 2.9GHz, and the RAM to Corsair:

Antec New Solution NSK2480 Black/Silver 0.8mm cold-rolled steel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail
Model #:NSK2480
Item #:N82E16811129034

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #:GA-MA785GMT-UD2H
Item #:N82E16813128397

AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX245OCGQBOX - Retail
Model #:ADX245OCGQBOX
Item #:N82E16819103687

OCZ Intel Extreme Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3X16004GK - Retail
Model #:OCZ3X16004GK
Item #:N82E16820227341

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Model #:WD10EADS
Item #:N82E16822136317

LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray Reader SATA Model iHOS104-06 - OEM
Model #:iHOS104-06
Item #:N82E16827106325


rwpritchett, you gave me advise on the Scythe, but before I jump on it, I wanted to pose another broad question: As I stated before, I'm not married to any of these parts, INCLUDING the case. I looked through a few, and found some that just wouldn't do (small, noisy fans, for instance). This case seems to be very quiet, and fits everything nicely, but it does have it's downsides: it's silver, no IR-interface (how necessary is that?), and has two 5.25" bays when I'll only need one. If you guys have a favourite case, do share!

redgarl, there are only two Sony drives:
Sony Optiarc Black 2X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 24X CD-ROM SATA Internal 2X BD-ROM Model BR-5100S - OEM - $64.99
SONY Black/Gray 2X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 24X CD-ROM SATA Internal 2X Blu-ray DVD ROM Model BDUX10S - Retail - $99.99

My major concerns are, first, reliability, that the drive will not crap out next month, and a close second, the amount of noise it makes. Since I have no first-hand experience with either of these Sonys, or the LiteOn, I'd be very happy to hear from anyone who has. I read through the NewEgg reviews, and both the Sonys had "noisy" complains (just a few), whereas the LiteOn had nothing but "quiet" comments.
 
My BD drive is made by LG... I think its a GBC-H20L. Very quiet IMO.

Keep in mind that you may need to purchase Blu-Ray software in order to watch your movies, especially if you get an OEM drive. That can run you $80-100.

Watch out on the 785G boards, some are AM3 (DDR3 only) and some are AM3/AM2+ (DDR2 only). The board you've picked uses DDR3 but you've selected DDR2 memory = not gonna work.
 
The DDR2 RAM you picked won't work with an AM3 motherboard. AM3 motherboards require DDR3 RAM. I also don't really trust MSI motherboards. You can get a Gigabyte board for the same price.

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $89.99

This RAM is very fast DDR3 1600 RAM with 7-6-6-24 CAS timings.

OCZ Flex EX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Ehanced Bandwidth Desktop Memory Model OCZ3FXE1600EB4GK - Retail $89.99

This case would work good, but the price is probably a little high for your budget.

Antec NSK1380 Black/ Silver Steel MicroATX Cube Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail $109.99
 

Luth

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Oops! That's what I get for listening without thinking. :) RAM has been replaced in-line in the previous post. Thanks for watching my back! I owe you three a beer. Current total: $480.40
 

Luth

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Shortstuff: Thanks for the case suggestion. I love that it has room for three HDDs instead of just two (I'm planning on ripping my entire DVD library to hard disk so I don't have to stare at the DVD case for an hour picking out a movie). However, there's only the one slot-fan. I've never used one of those; are they silent? Are they efficient? If I can manage, I'm going to fit this HTPC inside a cabinet (along with the 360, wii, ps2 (yes, 2), etc) which means air flow is already going to be a bit inhibited. That's why I liked those two slow, big 120mms. Those should be silent and push plenty of air, I think. But hey, what do I know? :)

How important are IR receivers? Would it be better to simply get a small wireless mouse?
 

Luth

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I've never actually bought anything besides Asus mobos (okay, one Intel way back when), so I don't know Gigabyte/MSI reputations. The Gigabyte looked like a better board. However, it doesn't have any customer reviews. I guess I can list it for now, and you guys can let me know if Gigabyte > MSI, or vice versa. :)
 
For me the rational thing to do is not have a fixed idea that Brand A > Brand B because every mobo maker makes lemons hehe Best have a close look at the close up of those mobos and study layout, etc with perhaps the kind of stuff u may want to slot in now or in the future in mind perhaps?
 
The dual 120mm fans are a plus for the case you picked. I guess you'll have to ask yourself if you think you'll need more than two 3.5" slots for hard drives. Either case would work well, but the airflow will be better with the case you picked. Cases really come down to personal choice. You can't really go wrong with either case.
 

Luth

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Batuchka: That's very true, but I'm in the mindset that generalizing is a good thing, provided it doesn't blind one to contrary facts. There are, after all, exceptions to every rule. Asus has always been very good to me, and to everyone I know. :) Hence why they have a good reputation, I suppose. Unfortunately, I do not know what generalizations to make about Gigabyte nor MCI, and even worse, I do not know enough to judge these two boards on their own merits. I guess that's why I'm relying on your guys' experience. :)


Shortstuff: The three HDD bays is tempting, but with as cheap as HDDs are getting, I think I can manage with a 1TB now, and drop in a 2+TB drive next year when I run out of room. For those of you with HTPCs, what cases have you selected (and, if you feel like typing, why did you select them)?
 
I'm not the best one to ask since I decided to hook my main computer up to my new HDTV one day and it's been there ever since. It's a mid-tower case with room for 6 hard drives. It seems like I'm constantly adding drives to it. I think it currently has 5 hard drives in it. :)

I've been wanting to get an XBox 360 to use as a media extender, but am having a hard time getting it past the wife. :)
 

Luth

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Wow, 5 hard drives?? How much bloody media do you have? :)

I've got an XBox 360, but I'm not pleased with it. I was hoping to rip my DVDs and play them in native format, but unfortunately, the XBox will not do so. Instead, I have to re-encode them to WMV format (up to 7 hrs per dvd, depending), or I've heard (but not tested) you can reprocess the VOBs as MP4s then use TVersity to encode on-the-fly to the XBox. Either way, an HTPC just seems easier: rip the dvd, run DVD2ONE to merge into a single VOB, and voila, you're done. :)
 

Luth

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Oh! I still need a heatsink and fan! I looked at the Scythe Ninja Mini, but it doesn't say it's AM3 compatible, so I'll need a new recommendation.


Also:
How do you control your HTPCs?
How important are IR receivers?
Would a small wireless mouse be necessary as well, or instead of IR?
How important is Firewire on an HTPC?