New Budget HTPC Build Advice

jmacneil · Nov 22, 2015

Hi all,
I’ve been using a 10 year-old Dell XPS G5 as our HTPC and it’s finally given up the ghost, so we’re taking the opportunity to replace with something smaller and quieter. I would like to preserve my audio connections to my stereo system if possible, so either discrete audio jacks or an optical port. I’ll need an OS, the only extra Win OS I have is Vista :-( and I want something I can upgrade to Win10.

Approximate Purchase Date:
Within 10 days (maybe Black Friday)

Budget Range:
300-400 CDN though can exceed a bit if there's a really good reason/deal

System Usage from Most to Least Important:
80% watching .mp4, .mpg, .avi, .mkv video files
10% surfing, youtube
10% playing older steam games
maybe someday streaming TV, but no current plans

Parts Not Required:
4 x 4gb DDR3 1600 RAM (probably can only fit 2)
Wireless Logitech Keyboard
Samsung 61” HDTV, so no monitor required

Preferred Website(s) for Parts:
newegg.ca
amazon.ca
ncix.ca
tigerdirect.ca
(any CDN etailer really)

Country:
Canada

Parts Preferences:
These aren’t really preferences as much as ideas - I haven’t built a PC since the late nineties, so this was a first pass to try to get a sense of capabilities and prices. I’m ready to replace every part here once I hear from the experts

APEX MI-008 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154091

ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+ FM2+ / FM2 AMD A88X (Bolton D4) 6 x SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Mini ITX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154091

WD Green WD10EZRX 1TB IntelliPower 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236070

AMD A4-6300 Richland Dual-Core 3.7GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 65W AD6300OKHLBOX Desktop Processor AMD Radeon HD 8370D
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7RD3H55179

Overclocking:
No

SLI or Crossfire:
No

Monitor Resolution:
1920x1080

Additional Comments:

Aleszandro143 · Nov 22, 2015

I'd suggest looking at this one:
https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/Zkj48d/300-powerful-office-workstation-os-included
otherwise:
https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/QF48TW/the-350-console-killer
But the OS isn't included in the second one. It is in USD but you can easily either look up on newegg (they Must have it all, its worldwide stuff) otherwise it should automatically change it.

jmacneil · Nov 25, 2015

Hi,
Thanks for the response. Those are both interesting systems, and they've led me to find a whole bunch of other options now

.
Here's the direction I'm heading now, any thoughts?

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/6vWWkL

I really like the ability to use a laptop brick as power supply for this motherboard.

Barty1884 · Nov 25, 2015

jmacneil :

That is a pretty unique/interesting capability, although I'm not sure I'd trust it. I'd much rather a true PSU (even relatively 'low' quality units will power what you want - some of the PSUs included with a case would likely do it).

I'd be more inclined to look at something like this: (although $20 over budget)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A6-5400K 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($54.98 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard ($118.00 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Thermaltake VL520B1N2U Mini ITX Tower Case w/220W Power Supply ($79.62 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) ($112.40 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $419.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-25 12:13 EST-0500

1. The APU is slightly better than the 5350
2. Motherboard is the pretty good. Included wifi/bluetooth & your Optical out that you don't see on too many smaller boards.
3. The HDD is 7200rpm vs the 5400rpm included in your build.
4. The case is personal preference. I think that one looks more like a HTPC than the Core V1.
It also includes a 220W PSU - it's rare I recommend included PSUs, but for your needs it would be sufficient. At least going for Thermaltake's included PSU it will be of better quality than some of the "no name" brands that include them. Not claiming the PSU will be great, not by a long shot, but it should be sufficient (and still better than a laptop brick).
5. OS can be upgraded to W10 (a bit more work for marginal savings though.....so you might want to consider saving some time & just buying W10).
6. You already have RAM, so not included.

Aleszandro143 · Nov 25, 2015

jmacneil :

I'd suggest going for a slightly better CPU such as an A6-5400K as Barty1884 suggested because it has a better integrated GPU inside it so you'll be able toget a clearer, more crisp resolution plus, there shouldn't be any stutering with that APU. Everything else looks great but you would have to change your motherboard to fit with the new APU.
Although this is cheaper:
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-a68hiac
I'd prefer this one because it is a lot more reliable, has more features and Gigabyte has better Quality Control.
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaf2a88xnwifi
Lastly, I wish you could use a power brick, I wanted too, but it temperamental, the connection sometimes gets lose and sometimes it doesn't give enough power, which was my case. So I'd suggest sticking with a PSU rather than a brick, because it is also more expensive to get the different parts you need.

jmacneil · Nov 30, 2015

Hi folks, thanks very much for the information. Sounds like the laptop brink idea isn't as awesome as I was hoping. I'm going to head toward the system(s) from the last 2 responses.
Cheers!
Jason

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