$900ish HTPC for father in-law

[schitzoflink]

I've looked through the bestconfigs HTPC thread and this is my current idea for a HTPC for my father in-law, he has about 900 for it and he doesn't need a case, BluRay drive/DVD, He has a tv tuner but I don't know what one, and he doesn't need a keyboard/mouse*. And he has a 50" Sony HDTV

*He needs a new one...something wireless with WMC controls and a touchpad/scroll ball

Uses:Streaming Hulu/Netflix, watching BluRay/DVD ripping them to HDD, surfing the web etc... no gaming really

He wants to be able to do 3dtv....I have no idea on this, I don't think there is anything that does that right now.....

Also upgrades will be done eventually, and needs to be cool and quiet, thanks!

Mobo: ASUS M4A77TD $80

CPU: Athlon II x4 620 Propus $90

RAM: OCZ Reaper 2x2GB $100 (not sure if it will fit in the case)

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F4 2TB $120 (would it be better to get 2 1TB/1.5TB?)

GPU: Radeon HD 5750 1GB Fanless $150

Total $440ish so another 460 to go...(if this is good i'm sure he won't be sad saving it lol)

PSU: Don't know need something cool and quiet

I'll take a look at his case and grab some new quiet fans for it.

 

[gkay09]

^ How is his speaker setup? how about the i3 530 + H55 mobo??
IMO those are well suited for HTPCs because of the low power consumption and the onboard video on the i3 would suffice for even HD content playback...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.510474

Video card - If he still wants a video card, then IMO this would suffice -
HD 5670
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131348

RAM - OCZ nowadays are flaky, so better to get a different one...this low voltage would be good -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231320

Maybe a SSD for boot - Will reduce the load times and boot-up time...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227610


And a wireless KB with scroll -
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Multimedia-Remote-with-Keyboard/dp/B0036VO67I

 

[schitzoflink]

Alright, he would like 16gb of ram so any recommendations?

PSU ideas? something quiet that can hold up a couple upgrades in the future, 750w?

How big of a SSD

 

[gkay09]

^ 16GB of RAM ??? Are you sure ?
I dont think even most of the graphic designers use that much RAM...
For a HTPC, 4GB would suffice...
PSU - If you will not be adding more than 1 graphics cards, then a quality 500-550W PSU would suffice...
This would be the max I would suggest for a HTPC -
CM Silent PRO - As the name suggests this has prettly low noise levels...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171036

 

[schitzoflink]

@gkay09- I totally agree....but he's kinda an overkill guy, has a 2 door roadster that he has tuned to 500HP at the wheels, a .357, etc...lol plus he's not going to really listen to me as I have told him he doesn't need that much....I'll try a compromise at 8gb...

Will the 550w be adequate for future upgrades? He wants to use this MoBo and CPU and in the future get a GPU that can do 3D?

Anyone know about how big of a SSD I should look into for a boot drive? He basically has some burning software and some other random files, he'll be using Win7, He usually uses it to check his email, stream either Hulu or Netflix and burn and store movies and as a DVR (he doesn't have cable)

 

[gkay09]

^ For any single graphic card, 550W would suffice...So that Cooler Master 600W would be good enough...but if you still want more power, then this would be a good option
Seasonic X650 - It is an 80+ Gold certified also very silent...So even for 2 cards, this has enough power
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

SSD - 60GB is fine as a boot drive as he will be using that 2TB secondary storage for data...
Or this 90GB?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227601
Or the 120GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227590