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Build a decent HTPC for about $500.00 - $600.00?

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post #1 of 16

9/28/12 at 9:54am

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clubber_lang
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OK......I am behind the times on a lot of stuff. And as of the end of today I'm actually going to have an internet connection hard wired over to my entertainment center. Just going to plug it into the Direct TV DVR for right now.....but I need to start thinking about building myself a decent HTPC.

If you guys already had a case of your choice sitting there......and about $500.00 - $600.00 to spend on a HTPC......what would you build?

Actually.....what are some of the "upper end" HTPC's being built for.....about $1000 - $1500? I can't see what would make them so expensive unless they had a crap load of HD space.

BTW......one more question.....are people building most of these HTPC's with "Micro" or "Mini" motherboards?

post #2 of 16

9/28/12 at 11:18am

cyberlocc

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Location: White Moutians, Arizona
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I would say a micro board would be best maybe a asus maxuimus gene the micro one and a i5 and a gtx 640 with 16gbs of ram if you have hard drives and case psu you can do that for about 600 dollars

Now for cheaper if you wont game on it then check out my black magic although its not in a htpc case it could fit and thats my media pc built it with some spare parts all i bought was mobo psu ram and gcard and all that was 200 dollars it plays blurays perfectly in 1080 p you dont need massive hardware to play blurays and such.
Edited by cyberlocc - 9/28/12 at 11:26am

post #3 of 16

9/28/12 at 12:58pm

trog
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Actually reading Anand's Trinity APU review i think since October isn't far way that APU makes any current $100 discrete GPU redundant so i'd seriously look into Trinity

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6332/amd-trinity-a10-5800k-a8-5600k-review-part-1/9

Quote:

On average, Trinity's high-end 384-core GPU manages to be around 16% faster than the fastest Llano GPU, while consuming around 7% more power when active. Given that Trinity is built on the same process node at Llano, I'd call that a relatively good step forward for AMD's equivalent of a "tick". From AMD's perspective, the fact that it can continue to deliver a tangible GPU performance advantage over Intel's latest and greatest even with its die harvested APU (256-core Trinity) is good news. For anyone looking to build a good entry level gaming PC, the Trinity platform easily delivers the best processor graphics performance on the market today. If you're able to spend an extra $100 on a discrete GPU you'll get better performance, but below that Trinity rules.

edit: Socket FM2 *guaranteed* 3 years life

Edited by trog - 9/28/12 at 1:01pm

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Heka 710 @ 3ghz UVOC	Biostar A880G+ HD4250 Surroundview with discret...	Sapphire HD 4670 HDMI, Videomate Compro X50 (An...	2 X 2 GB KVR 1333
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS	Monitor
WD 640GB, Hauppauge HVR-3000 (Digital FTA + STB)	LG DVDRW SATA	W7 Ult / Ubuntu 11.04 64 bits	Acer X233H + 32" Panny LCD TV
Keyboard	Power	Case	Audio
iPazzport RF HTPC kb/trackpad combo	CM Silent Pro M500	Chenming Clone shoebox	Pioneer VSX-416 + Kenwood LSK-727 Floor Standers
View all

hide details

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Heka 710 @ 3ghz UVOC	Biostar A880G+ HD4250 Surroundview with discret...	Sapphire HD 4670 HDMI, Videomate Compro X50 (An...	2 X 2 GB KVR 1333
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS	Monitor
WD 640GB, Hauppauge HVR-3000 (Digital FTA + STB)	LG DVDRW SATA	W7 Ult / Ubuntu 11.04 64 bits	Acer X233H + 32" Panny LCD TV
Keyboard	Power	Case	Audio
iPazzport RF HTPC kb/trackpad combo	CM Silent Pro M500	Chenming Clone shoebox	Pioneer VSX-416 + Kenwood LSK-727 Floor Standers
View all

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post #4 of 16

9/28/12 at 1:15pm

will25u
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I don't see a reason to just spend money for the sake of it. What is the purpose of the build? Just to try to cut the cord, and have all your media played on a TV? Light gaming? Full blown gaming? If it is just to play media, then here is a build I am currently in the process of building which should run UNDER $500.

]Case: nMEDIAPC 5000B
Power Supply: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2
Motherboard: FM2 Motherboard w/DVI, HDMI, Digital Audio
Processor: AMD Trinity A4 5300(I don't think it can use my Mem at 1866. Specs say up to 1600? Any thoughts?)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866
SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-64G 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC
Storage HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache
DVD: SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner

Those parts and the new Trinity CPU/Motherboard would run you around $450. If you wanted to upgrade the CPU to the A10 APU, add around $80-90 to the $450.

post #5 of 16

9/28/12 at 1:23pm

Ironman517
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What will the HTPC being used for?

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	Graphics
i5-2500k @ 4.8GHz stable	ASRock P67 Extreme4 Gen 3	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)
RAM	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Cooling
32GB (4 x 8GB) 1866Mhz Ripjaws X	256GB Crucial M4	1.5 TB HDD	XSPC Raystorm RS360
OS	Monitor	Power	Case
Windows 7 Professional	3 x Dell S2309W(Portrait) 3240x1920	Corsair AX750	Corsair 800D
Mouse	Audio	Audio	Other
SWTOR Razer Naga	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium	Samson RH600	Razer Nostromo
Other	Other	Other	Other
XSPC RS120	8 x GT AP-15s	White Sleeved Cables for Corsair AX750	2 x EK-FC680 GTX 680 Waterblocks
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3Ghz	Asus P5G41T-M LX Plus	Asus Radeon HD 7750	2x4 GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
500GB WD Black	64 GB Crucial M4	Sony CD/DVD burner	H40 w/ GT AP-15s
OS	Power	Case
Windows 7 Home 64 bit	Corsair CX430	APEVIA X-Plorer2 Pink
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Pentium G620	Foxconn H67S ITX	Intel HD 2000	2 x 4GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS	Power
256GB Crucial M4	Old Laptop CD/DVD drive	Windows 7	picoPSU-150-XT
Other	Other	Other
4 x Purple LEDs	Power button	Tranquility Xbox 360 Skin
View all

hide details

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	Graphics
i5-2500k @ 4.8GHz stable	ASRock P67 Extreme4 Gen 3	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)
RAM	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Cooling
32GB (4 x 8GB) 1866Mhz Ripjaws X	256GB Crucial M4	1.5 TB HDD	XSPC Raystorm RS360
OS	Monitor	Power	Case
Windows 7 Professional	3 x Dell S2309W(Portrait) 3240x1920	Corsair AX750	Corsair 800D
Mouse	Audio	Audio	Other
SWTOR Razer Naga	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium	Samson RH600	Razer Nostromo
Other	Other	Other	Other
XSPC RS120	8 x GT AP-15s	White Sleeved Cables for Corsair AX750	2 x EK-FC680 GTX 680 Waterblocks
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3Ghz	Asus P5G41T-M LX Plus	Asus Radeon HD 7750	2x4 GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
500GB WD Black	64 GB Crucial M4	Sony CD/DVD burner	H40 w/ GT AP-15s
OS	Power	Case
Windows 7 Home 64 bit	Corsair CX430	APEVIA X-Plorer2 Pink
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Pentium G620	Foxconn H67S ITX	Intel HD 2000	2 x 4GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS	Power
256GB Crucial M4	Old Laptop CD/DVD drive	Windows 7	picoPSU-150-XT
Other	Other	Other
4 x Purple LEDs	Power button	Tranquility Xbox 360 Skin
View all

hide details

post #6 of 16

9/28/12 at 3:25pm

herkalurk
PC Gamer

Joined: May 2010
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1,616
Trader Rating: 2
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I had specced a build for a HTPC with a Ceton Infinitv4 in it for less than $600, and you won't need 4 stream recording with satellite, so you should be able to.

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Phenom II x3 720	ASUS M4N98TD EVO	SLI Galaxy GTX 460 768MB GC	G Skill Cheapo DDR3 10666
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
OCZ Solid 3	Seagate	Sony IDE DVD-RW	Corsair A-50
OS	Monitor	Keyboard	Power
Windows 7 Pro	Samsung T240HD	Logitech G15	Corsair TX750
Case	Mouse	Mouse Pad	Audio
Cooler Master HAF 932	Logitech G5	Steel Series Orange Giant Cloth Pad	Logitech G35
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
AMD Phenom X4 9500	Asus M3N78 Pro	On board	Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive
Western Digital Velociraptor	Samsung Sata	Hitatchi	Samsung
Optical Drive	Cooling	OS	Power
Polaroid USB DVD ROM	Thermaltake TR2-R1	CentOS6 x86_64	Ultra 600W
Case
Ultra X-Blaster
View all

hide details

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Phenom II x3 720	ASUS M4N98TD EVO	SLI Galaxy GTX 460 768MB GC	G Skill Cheapo DDR3 10666
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
OCZ Solid 3	Seagate	Sony IDE DVD-RW	Corsair A-50
OS	Monitor	Keyboard	Power
Windows 7 Pro	Samsung T240HD	Logitech G15	Corsair TX750
Case	Mouse	Mouse Pad	Audio
Cooler Master HAF 932	Logitech G5	Steel Series Orange Giant Cloth Pad	Logitech G35
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
AMD Phenom X4 9500	Asus M3N78 Pro	On board	Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Hard Drive
Western Digital Velociraptor	Samsung Sata	Hitatchi	Samsung
Optical Drive	Cooling	OS	Power
Polaroid USB DVD ROM	Thermaltake TR2-R1	CentOS6 x86_64	Ultra 600W
Case
Ultra X-Blaster
View all

hide details

post #7 of 16

9/28/12 at 10:23pm

Thread Starter

clubber_lang
Overclocker in Training

Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 183
Rep: 3 (Unique: 3)
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First of all ....thanks for the replies guys.

As far as what I'd like to build this thing for , mainly it'll just be for watching videos , downloaded torrent files and maybe some light gaming.......but nothing hard core as I have my PC for that. What got me thinking on this is all the stuff on Youtube and so forth that I watch all the time online off my 27" monitor.....when I could be watching it on my big screen.

If you check out my avatar on the left here , you'll see I'm involved in the sport of motocross and have been for the past 30+ years. This weekend is the "Motocross of Nations " ( our motocross Olympics ) ....the most important race of the year where every country is involved....it's a huge event. This year it's in Belgium and I have bought the live feed for the event to watch it in HD online. IF I had my HTPC built.....I could be watching it on my big TV. It's things like this that I wish I had it for. That....and I download a lot of torrent video that I would love to see on the big screen.

As far as gaming goes.......not much as of right now. Just video and surfing. BUT......just like everything else in my life , I'd like to "over build" stuff........just in case. You know how it goes.

post #8 of 16

9/29/12 at 6:18am

Ironman517
I don't understand the point of brand favoritism.

Joined: Sep 2011
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 5,137
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Trader Rating: 4
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I would say, grab a trinity chip

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	Graphics
i5-2500k @ 4.8GHz stable	ASRock P67 Extreme4 Gen 3	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)
RAM	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Cooling
32GB (4 x 8GB) 1866Mhz Ripjaws X	256GB Crucial M4	1.5 TB HDD	XSPC Raystorm RS360
OS	Monitor	Power	Case
Windows 7 Professional	3 x Dell S2309W(Portrait) 3240x1920	Corsair AX750	Corsair 800D
Mouse	Audio	Audio	Other
SWTOR Razer Naga	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium	Samson RH600	Razer Nostromo
Other	Other	Other	Other
XSPC RS120	8 x GT AP-15s	White Sleeved Cables for Corsair AX750	2 x EK-FC680 GTX 680 Waterblocks
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3Ghz	Asus P5G41T-M LX Plus	Asus Radeon HD 7750	2x4 GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
500GB WD Black	64 GB Crucial M4	Sony CD/DVD burner	H40 w/ GT AP-15s
OS	Power	Case
Windows 7 Home 64 bit	Corsair CX430	APEVIA X-Plorer2 Pink
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Pentium G620	Foxconn H67S ITX	Intel HD 2000	2 x 4GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS	Power
256GB Crucial M4	Old Laptop CD/DVD drive	Windows 7	picoPSU-150-XT
Other	Other	Other
4 x Purple LEDs	Power button	Tranquility Xbox 360 Skin
View all

hide details

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	Graphics
i5-2500k @ 4.8GHz stable	ASRock P67 Extreme4 Gen 3	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)
RAM	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Cooling
32GB (4 x 8GB) 1866Mhz Ripjaws X	256GB Crucial M4	1.5 TB HDD	XSPC Raystorm RS360
OS	Monitor	Power	Case
Windows 7 Professional	3 x Dell S2309W(Portrait) 3240x1920	Corsair AX750	Corsair 800D
Mouse	Audio	Audio	Other
SWTOR Razer Naga	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium	Samson RH600	Razer Nostromo
Other	Other	Other	Other
XSPC RS120	8 x GT AP-15s	White Sleeved Cables for Corsair AX750	2 x EK-FC680 GTX 680 Waterblocks
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3Ghz	Asus P5G41T-M LX Plus	Asus Radeon HD 7750	2x4 GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
500GB WD Black	64 GB Crucial M4	Sony CD/DVD burner	H40 w/ GT AP-15s
OS	Power	Case
Windows 7 Home 64 bit	Corsair CX430	APEVIA X-Plorer2 Pink
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Pentium G620	Foxconn H67S ITX	Intel HD 2000	2 x 4GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS	Power
256GB Crucial M4	Old Laptop CD/DVD drive	Windows 7	picoPSU-150-XT
Other	Other	Other
4 x Purple LEDs	Power button	Tranquility Xbox 360 Skin
View all

hide details

post #9 of 16

9/30/12 at 5:29pm

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clubber_lang
Overclocker in Training

Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 183
Rep: 3 (Unique: 3)
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Evening guys.....I made a rough guess on some of my components here and was wondering if I could get a little advice on them? I came up with this HTPC build as of right now. I'm up to about $650.00 but it seems to be a pretty stout build. I'm not sure if some of the stuff is overkill or possibly not enough. Advice?

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=28387908

post #10 of 16

9/30/12 at 6:44pm

Ironman517
I don't understand the point of brand favoritism.

Joined: Sep 2011
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 5,137
Rep: 429 (Unique: 306)
Reviews: 20
Trader Rating: 4
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Quote:

Originally Posted by clubber_lang

Evening guys.....I made a rough guess on some of my components here and was wondering if I could get a little advice on them? I came up with this HTPC build as of right now. I'm up to about $650.00 but it seems to be a pretty stout build. I'm not sure if some of the stuff is overkill or possibly not enough. Advice?
https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=28387908

you need to make it the "public wishlist" link. Like this..
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=28387908

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	Graphics
i5-2500k @ 4.8GHz stable	ASRock P67 Extreme4 Gen 3	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)
RAM	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Cooling
32GB (4 x 8GB) 1866Mhz Ripjaws X	256GB Crucial M4	1.5 TB HDD	XSPC Raystorm RS360
OS	Monitor	Power	Case
Windows 7 Professional	3 x Dell S2309W(Portrait) 3240x1920	Corsair AX750	Corsair 800D
Mouse	Audio	Audio	Other
SWTOR Razer Naga	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium	Samson RH600	Razer Nostromo
Other	Other	Other	Other
XSPC RS120	8 x GT AP-15s	White Sleeved Cables for Corsair AX750	2 x EK-FC680 GTX 680 Waterblocks
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3Ghz	Asus P5G41T-M LX Plus	Asus Radeon HD 7750	2x4 GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
500GB WD Black	64 GB Crucial M4	Sony CD/DVD burner	H40 w/ GT AP-15s
OS	Power	Case
Windows 7 Home 64 bit	Corsair CX430	APEVIA X-Plorer2 Pink
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Pentium G620	Foxconn H67S ITX	Intel HD 2000	2 x 4GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS	Power
256GB Crucial M4	Old Laptop CD/DVD drive	Windows 7	picoPSU-150-XT
Other	Other	Other
4 x Purple LEDs	Power button	Tranquility Xbox 360 Skin
View all

hide details

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	Graphics
i5-2500k @ 4.8GHz stable	ASRock P67 Extreme4 Gen 3	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)	EVGA GTX 680 (SLI)
RAM	Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Cooling
32GB (4 x 8GB) 1866Mhz Ripjaws X	256GB Crucial M4	1.5 TB HDD	XSPC Raystorm RS360
OS	Monitor	Power	Case
Windows 7 Professional	3 x Dell S2309W(Portrait) 3240x1920	Corsair AX750	Corsair 800D
Mouse	Audio	Audio	Other
SWTOR Razer Naga	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium	Samson RH600	Razer Nostromo
Other	Other	Other	Other
XSPC RS120	8 x GT AP-15s	White Sleeved Cables for Corsair AX750	2 x EK-FC680 GTX 680 Waterblocks
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3Ghz	Asus P5G41T-M LX Plus	Asus Radeon HD 7750	2x4 GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Hard Drive	Optical Drive	Cooling
500GB WD Black	64 GB Crucial M4	Sony CD/DVD burner	H40 w/ GT AP-15s
OS	Power	Case
Windows 7 Home 64 bit	Corsair CX430	APEVIA X-Plorer2 Pink
View all

CPU	Motherboard	Graphics	RAM
Pentium G620	Foxconn H67S ITX	Intel HD 2000	2 x 4GB 1333Mhz
Hard Drive	Optical Drive	OS	Power
256GB Crucial M4	Old Laptop CD/DVD drive	Windows 7	picoPSU-150-XT
Other	Other	Other
4 x Purple LEDs	Power button	Tranquility Xbox 360 Skin
View all

hide details

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