Approximate Purchase Date: First few weeks in March
Budget Range: ~$400
System Usage from Most to Least Important: My PS3 died and I have all these blu-rays! Also, I used the streaming/Netflix a lot. I’d like the PC to host a small home file share (not a ton of use/files). I never played the games. That’s what the xbox in the basement is for!
Parts Not Required: Hard Drive (re-using a 1 TB Seagate Barracuda, 7200 rpm, 3.5"...I’m a little afraid of noise, but it's free). For cost reasons, not going for a remote, just iPhone apps.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon (Prime Member), Newegg
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: Cheap, but not total junk. Interested in Zacate, but open to opinions.
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: I have an older TV in my living room that only does 1080i, no hdmi, 1920x1080
Additional Comments:
My goal is to replace my dead PS3 with an actual PC for not much more than a new PS3. I'm thinking Zacate is a good fit for the price range.
I'm very interested in case advice. A lot of the tiny cases, which I would like to go for, only have slim optical drives and I didn't have much luck finding a cheap slim blu ray drive.
This (and the 3.5 " HD) has forced my hand into a case which is a little bigger than I'd like, but I do have a fair amount of room under the TV (once I trash the PS3!).
Also, since I’m on a tight budget, I was going to try just using my iPhone for the remote for now. Anyone have any luck with the iPhone controller apps out there?
Thanks a lot for any advice! I don't have a ton of experience building systems (but I enjoy it), so I appreciate any help.
Tentative Parts List:
Mobo/CPU ($117 w/Shipping)
ASRock E350M1 AMD Dual-Core Zacate E350 APU Dual-Core AMD A50M Hudson M1 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo
Memory ($41.99)
Kingston 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
Blu-ray ($49.99)
LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Internal 4X Blu-ray Reader Model iHOS104
Case/PSU ($64.99)
Thermaltkae Element Q Mini-ITX Chassis with Built-in 200W SFX Power Supply VL52021N2U
OS ($99.99)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit System Builder
Total (with a new ethernet cable/random stuff): $390
Budget Range: ~$400
System Usage from Most to Least Important: My PS3 died and I have all these blu-rays! Also, I used the streaming/Netflix a lot. I’d like the PC to host a small home file share (not a ton of use/files). I never played the games. That’s what the xbox in the basement is for!
Parts Not Required: Hard Drive (re-using a 1 TB Seagate Barracuda, 7200 rpm, 3.5"...I’m a little afraid of noise, but it's free). For cost reasons, not going for a remote, just iPhone apps.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon (Prime Member), Newegg
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: Cheap, but not total junk. Interested in Zacate, but open to opinions.
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: I have an older TV in my living room that only does 1080i, no hdmi, 1920x1080
Additional Comments:
My goal is to replace my dead PS3 with an actual PC for not much more than a new PS3. I'm thinking Zacate is a good fit for the price range.
I'm very interested in case advice. A lot of the tiny cases, which I would like to go for, only have slim optical drives and I didn't have much luck finding a cheap slim blu ray drive.
This (and the 3.5 " HD) has forced my hand into a case which is a little bigger than I'd like, but I do have a fair amount of room under the TV (once I trash the PS3!).
Also, since I’m on a tight budget, I was going to try just using my iPhone for the remote for now. Anyone have any luck with the iPhone controller apps out there?
Thanks a lot for any advice! I don't have a ton of experience building systems (but I enjoy it), so I appreciate any help.
Tentative Parts List:
Mobo/CPU ($117 w/Shipping)
ASRock E350M1 AMD Dual-Core Zacate E350 APU Dual-Core AMD A50M Hudson M1 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo
Memory ($41.99)
Kingston 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
Blu-ray ($49.99)
LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Internal 4X Blu-ray Reader Model iHOS104
Case/PSU ($64.99)
Thermaltkae Element Q Mini-ITX Chassis with Built-in 200W SFX Power Supply VL52021N2U
OS ($99.99)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit System Builder
Total (with a new ethernet cable/random stuff): $390