Help me build a new multimedia PC

[vindictive]

Hey everyone,
I used to post on here allot helping other people with builds and things of that sort. I built a gaming pc about a year ago now with help on here.

I haven't had as much free time and got lost with all the new equipment that has come out and also have never looked into building a PC strictly for things like movies so I'm leaning on you guys for help.

Obviously I want to use a smaller/discreet, quieter box since this will be used strictly for movies and things of that sort, I am going to be installing Ubuntu on this box.

My budget is from $300-$500 (my gaming PC was around 1200 so I'm not sure if this is a good budget or not?)

Goals: Watching HD movies, streaming HD videos, Blueray not needed as I have a PS3, HDMI output to 50" 1080p TV, playing music, 2TB of storage because I have ripped most of my movies onto a Hard drive using around 900GB now.

Thanks in advance for the help guys, I need suggestions on complete builds if possible, I know a few of you have your favorite little builds to suggest to people I did a year ago as well haha.

Edit: Most likey going to run MythTV on it.

 

[skaz]

Here's my recommendation.

CPU - Intel core i3 2120T : 134.99
MOBO - ASRock H61M-VS : 49.99
RAM - GSkill 4GB : 22.99
HD - Seagate 2TB Green: 119.99
PSU - Corsair CX430 430W : 44.99
Case - Fractal Core 1000 : 39.99
TOTAL -----> 412.94



Shipping came out to an extra $15.98 and all these items were priced off of Newegg. So total with shipping was $428.92.

This leaves you some room to upgrade any components you may want to upgrade. Good luck mate.

 

[ssddx]

cpu- i3 or i5 sufficient
mb- perhaps mATX size. you have the option of buying a higher end board with a good onboard video and sound card or buying a cheap board and putting on additional cards. i suggest looking to see what is out there
ram-4gb name brand budget memory
hd-dont buy a 2tb drive, buy two 1tb drives. the larger drives seem to die more often. i've had 3 die in a half year! perhaps 1tb wd cav. black
vid-see mb. if you go with one it doesnt need to be anything fancy. it just needs to support the content you wish to display. you might be able to get one without a fan (passive cooled). yeah, for just video you dont need much.
sound-see mb. if you go with one it doesnt need to be anything fancy. if you use pc speakers a sub $40 is fine. the main thing to worry about is how you will connect speakers up. optical out to a ht system? if so then either your integrated or slot soundcard needs to have spdif out.
psu-do a psu calc but 400-500 is probably sufficient. i like corsair and ocz.
case-they make some nice htpc cases. try to get one with 120mm fans.
pereph-wireless mouse and kb. keep in mind some arent all that good on range (some bt mice). i know of special htpc keyboards with a trackpad meant for couch control of your system.

 

[vindictive]

Here's my recommendation.

CPU - Intel core i3 2120T : 134.99
MOBO - ASRock H61M-VS : 49.99
RAM - GSkill 4GB : 22.99
HD - Seagate 2TB Green: 119.99
PSU - Corsair CX430 430W : 44.99
Case - Fractal Core 1000 : 39.99
TOTAL -----> 412.94

[url]http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/1999/forsv.png[/URL]

Shipping came out to an extra $15.98 and all these items were priced off of Newegg. So total with shipping was $428.92.

This leaves you some room to upgrade any components you may want to upgrade. Good luck mate.

Would on-board video be sufficient for 1080p on a 50" screen?

 

[skaz]

Would on-board video be sufficient for 1080p on a 50" screen?

For 1080p playback most definitely. Intel HD 2000.

If you didn't care about the power usage and wanted a little more horsepower in the CPU area you could always go to the i3 2105 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115090&Tpk=intel%202105 which uses the Intel HD 3000 instead. Same price too. =)

 

[ssddx]

size of the screen means nothing. all that matters is the resolution (1920x1080).

yes, integrated video is more than capable of this.