Ultra cheap MediaPC/Gamer

[rpusimak]

Im looking to build a very cheap HTPC/Gamer

GIGABYTE LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $90
If i never Crossfire do i need p45 or is p35 good enough

MSI Radeon HD 4670 512MB $65

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz $82

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $25

Monitor is a 1080p Television.

Sound? Is the onboard sound going to be good enough to send to a
receiver or do i need a sound card.

The rest comes from garage sales and systems given to me
that are older

HD I already have a couple

CASE I already have a huge old case $0

PS I already have a 400w $0
Question If i have another 350w ps can i use them both together?
Use one to power a graphics card and on for hard drives and such?

DVD I have one


What my idea is that i will put this behind the wall of my living room and just have
a small USB hub for an external HD and wireless keyboard and mouse in the living room.
I would like it quiet because there is a bedroom where the pc will be. But noise isnt a super
huge issue.

I want to be able to save my movies to the external HD and just watch those and play a bit older
games on the TV.

My budget is very limited.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[slomo4sho]

Consider a AMD build:

Foxconn A7GM-S bundled with AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Brisbane 2.7GHz

The on-board graphics should be good enough for your stated needs. You can always add the 4670 later on for improved performance if you feel it necessary. And the 8 channel on-board should should be sufficient.

 

[jedi940]

Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Wolfdale 2.66GHz LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7300 - Retail
Model #:BX80571E7300
Item #:N82E16819115132
119.99

A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model
Model #:ADQVE1B16K
Item #:N82E16820211188
43.99

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #:N82E16811129042
44.95

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W ATX12V / EPS12V Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Model #:OCZ500SXS
Item #:N82E16817341012
54.99

POWERCOLOR AX4650 512MD2 Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
Model #:AX4650 512MD2
Item #:N82E16814131133
66.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #:ST3250410AS
Item #:N82E16822148262
Return Policy:Limited 30-Day Return Policy
In Stock
Note (Add) $54.99 $54.99

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model GH22LS30 - OEM
Model #:GH22LS30
Item #:N82E16827136153
23.99

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #:GA-EP43-DS3L
Item #:N82E16813128347
84.99
Subtotal: $494.88

The above is a build I was just playing around with today. I was in a class earlier today and a fellow classmate, while explaining a project he completed, said that you could not build a decent computer for $500. His words were "junk computer." Knowing he was wrong, I set out for fun to see what could be had for $500. Since his project only included intel products i restrained myself to that as well. This was more oriented to be a gaming rather than media comptuer although the graphics card is rather weak for gaming anyways. For a media computer, you could remove the products you already have like powersupply (make sure it has the correct cpu connector), Hard drive and case etc. and replace them with a TV tuner and perhaps a 1 TB drive.

Given what I just said, I would still recommend Slomo4shO's suggestion of an AMD build. A good motherboard and processor will be less than $150 easily. That alone will save plenty of money.

Off the top of my head, I would get X2 5000, decent 780G motherboard, 1TB drive, 2GB Ram, Vista Home premium and that should run you easily less than $400. Throw in a cheap Blu-Ray drive and your still under $500.

If you can explicitly state your budget it will be easier to recommend excellehnt price/performance parts.

When you say gaming, what games are you planning on playing? Gaming and Media pc's tend to be at opposite ends of the spectrum in my mind.

 

[rpusimak]

Thanks for the replies. I will probably switch to the AMD combo because that will save alot of money.

My max budget is $300 but if it was cheaper i would be happy. I want enough processor power to decode blue ray and such and any other decoding that an htpc does.

I have a dvd drive but want to get a blue-ray when they get a bit cheaper. Around 50 bucks and when our local video store gets more blue-rays in.

Is onboard sound good enough for an htpc?

I play Warhammer, Counter Strike Source, Oblivion, and other games along those lines. I usually pick up older games from gamestop or ebay.

Thanks again for the help