Budget HTPC Build - First Build

[shadowclown]

This is the parts list for a budget level HTPC that will do some moonlighting as a video encoder and possibly some print work (photoshop cs3). I'm hoping I won't have a problem running XP but I intend to move on up to Windows 7 in April. I'm also hoping I can fit my 2 old IDE drives in here (I checked the manual and it says it has 1 IDE cable so I'm good)

My current rig had a horrible mobo failure after 6 years and sadly, it happens a couple of months after the birth of my first born son so money is tiiiiiiiiight.


MoBo -GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394

CPU -AMD Athlon II X3 435 Rana 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103724

PSU-OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016

Optical Drive-Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

Altogether it's $258.00 including shipping and I intend to breadbox it make sure it's in working order then ordering an HTPC case or one of the nicer Coolermaster Micro ATX cases.

I've never built a completely new rig before but I've Frankenstein'd many old ones so I'm not expecting too much hassle, I'm just concerned about compatibility and whether or not this is a good build for ~$250.

I just wanted to add, that I am not going to buy a video card at this time, and I while I expect to add a nice mid/top tier card later I don't expect to be running dual cards at all.

 

[EXT64]

Looks pretty good, however I'd highly suggest going to 2 or more GB of ram (it is fairly cheap these days). Win7 does not run well at all on 1GB.

 

[batuchka]

Hmm if u starting afresh why not go with an AM3/DDR3 build cos the sun is going down on DDR2 platforms and for your uses i'd hit at least 2GB RAM 1st

 

[shadowclown]

Thanks for the advice guys and I've gone ahead and added a 2gb dual channel kit to that because it really does seem like the best way to go for now.

The only real excuse I have for starting so far down is budget. All the parts above cost me $258 US including shipping. I couldn't find a better combination of parts for that price.

It will probably go down like this, if I need more power, I can try unlocking that last core which isn't a given, but the board can still support a quad core cpu, so that would probably be the first upgrade, then the mobo and ram I can upgrade for about $150.

But since I won't stabilize financially til after the summer, this is probably as nice as it's gonna get til then. Having a new kid is totally not good for your bank account lol.

 

[EXT64]

Yep, I figured you had reasons not to spend a ton. That now looks like a pretty balanced build.

 

[fundragon]

Remember to look for combos, e.g. $35 total savings for these two:

Motherboard and CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.334872

RAM and P/S:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.343611

 

[shadowclown]

Best answer selected by shadowclown.