Looking for a SUPER LOW BUDGET HTPC

Storm-cooled72 · Feb 6, 2015

Hey guys,

I am building a pc for a Friend, and there doesn't seem to be a ton of option as far as very small cases and builder-pcs. I am a huge builder fan, but I think I may have to buy pre-built here. So sad. I would LOVE under 300, but 320 is the ceiling. I need it to be vesa mountable (behind a flatscreen tv), but a very small desktop is ok.

Thanks in advance,

Storm

theunliked · Feb 6, 2015

Prebuilt is always more expensive.

theunliked · Feb 6, 2015

You can get this: http://www.homemediatech.net/budget-htpc-build-for-under-250-build-1/225
or this:
http://www.homemediatech.net/budget-htpc-build-for-under-250-build-2/431

for under $250 then add a 1TB hard drive to store your movies and stuff.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339&cm_re=wd_blue-_-22-236-339-_-Product

nikoli707 · Feb 6, 2015

what do you need the htpc to do?

you might be better off getting an asus chromebook and just loading whatever OS on it that you like.
http://www.dell.com/us/p/chromebox-3010/pd?oc=fdcws001h&model_id=chromebox-3010&dgc=BA&cid=285111&lid=5447194&acd=12309209382360122

otherwise people use the amazon firestick and load xbmc via ubuntu or lubuntu for access to their NAS or home server. netflix is somewhat of a pain to do. but i do think you people have made the stock "android" capable of accessing a NAS while retaining amazon/netflix.

but going for a $300 htpc can net you an i3 based rig but it wont be very small.

ykki · Feb 6, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor ($82.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $301.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-06 22:50 EST-0500

coltswalker · Feb 7, 2015

I just ordered one for MythTV. It will be the fourth MythTV I have built in a year. ASRock Q1900-ITX Intel Celeron J1900 Quad Core Fanless PC w/ 2GB, M350, S/PDIF. Extremely small ITX case. Fanless and quiet.$219.95.

Storm-cooled72 · Feb 7, 2015

Just to clarify, the pc is for web brousing, Windows media center recording (larger hard drive), and excel spreadsheets.

Also, windows 7 is a MUST. He doesn't like 8 at all.

coltswalker · Feb 7, 2015

Technically it is not an HTPC, although that could be argued and basically comes down to semantics. People tend to think of HTPC as being a specialized system serving as a DVR/PVR/Media Center connected to television and/or stereo.

You are trying to build a general-purpose workstation that also has multimedia functionality, which is easily possible on the Windows platform using Windows Media Center. You plan to have Microsoft Office on the system. That doesn’t require anything special in hardware. Windows 7 will provide all of the functionality you indicate you are looking for.

You will want a good GPU and decoder for the video and a quality soundboard.

You mention recording but not the specific recording source you plan to use. Hauppauge Company makes many capture cards, tuner cards, and external capture devices that are well respected by the PC video community. I’ve used many Hauppauge products over the years with much success on both Linux and Windows platforms.

nikoli707 · Feb 7, 2015

you can give win8 a classic shell, its very simple.... otherwise win8 is superior to win7 in every single way. with no reduced price upgrade to win10, win7 is obsolete.

coltswalker · Feb 7, 2015

He says he doesn't want Windows 8 so I can't see why a sales pitch on the product is going to help him resolve his original question.

nikoli707 :

ykki · Feb 8, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI AM1I Mini ITX AM1 Motherboard ($28.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 400W ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.00 @ B&H)
Total: $306.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-08 00:28 EST-0500

classic shell= http://www.classicshell.net/

nikoli707 · Feb 8, 2015

coltswalker :

an htpc on a budget shouldn't be including windows anyways, but especially not win7. but pointing out the advantages of win8 for htpc duty is not a "sales pitch", its called helping people. dont troll so hard one non op comments.

Storm-cooled72 · Feb 8, 2015

nikoli707 :

Thanks for the debate, guys, but it isn't much of a competition.

W8 may be able to look like W7, The client just wants 7, and if for any other reason, W8 doesn't have media center, and W7 does.

So, just use W7.

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