HTPC Potential build
#1
Hi all,

Im looking at building a HTPC i have built gaming Pc in the past, but want to do this one on a very low budget. Basically I want is use it for Streaming videos etc.. No gaming at all, so this would be XBMC, Netflix, Hulu. I may be playing Blu ray Iso's so probably will need 3D.
I have come up with the following CPU and MB so far not sure if its good enough for the above etc..., memory i will get 4GB as i will run windows, HDD im going to get SSD, for the Case not sure what the best option is for this i have found many cheap ones with PSU but not sure if ok or not, any recommendations would be great.


CPU - AMD A-Series A6 3670K Black Edition Quad-Core Processor - ~60 http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-A-Series-Qua...uctDetails

Motherboard - ASRock A75M-HVS A75 Hudson - ~£43 http://www.tekheads.co.uk/product/ASRock...40745.html

Memory - Can source for ~£25

HDD - Can Source for ~ £50

CASE - Have found lots in the £30 to £40 price range with PSU any recommendations would be great

Cheers,

Steven
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#2
If you're not going to be gaming, I would go with the A6-3500 and save yourself some heat, power consumption and some money: http://www.amazon.co.uk/AMD-Tri-Core-Pro...B005I2YL4G

I think in your price range, one of the CIT slim desktops is about the best you'll do. If you can budget more for a Silverstone ML03 and a decent 80_ PSU you might end up happier in the long run,
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#3
I've just built myself a budget HTPC, I used the AMD A4 3400 APU at £31 and ASRock A55M-HVS mobo at £32 and picked up 4gb of ddr3 1600 Ram for £17.50.

I'm not sure if the A4 plays 3d but it definately plays full uncompressed bd isos, it also works fine on Hulu, not sure about Netflix as I don't use that.

I'd be wary of those £30-£40 HTPC cases with a PSU, I've tried two and the PSU's in them are just too noisy for HTPC use, I'm going to keep one of the cases and buy a better PSU which will kinda blow the cheap HTPC budget but its gotta be done, the only bad side of my new setup is the psu noise.
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#4
Hey cheers for the input, this is what i have come up with

CPU - AMD A6-3500 2.1GHz Triple Core Accelerated Processing Unit AD3500OJGXBOX - £47

Motherboard - ASRock A75M-HVS A75 Hudson - ~£43

Memory - Kingston 1600MHz DDR3 Non ECC CL9 4GB Kit (2x 2GB) HyperX BLU DIMM Memory Module - £22

HDD - Patriot TORQX 2 32GB SSD with RAID Support - £32

CASE - CIT S005B Black Slim Micro ATX PC Computer Tower / Desktop LCD Display £20

can anyone recommend a cheap silient PSU?


Thanks,
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#5
I saw on amazon.co.uk a couple of CIT micro-ATX slim desktop cases that come with the 300W power supply as about as cheap as it gets. I don't know if I'd put my HTPC inside of one though. I think the power supply is where you don't want to cheap out. There are some decent mini-ITX cases with built-in power supplies available but not really anything decent in microATX near your budget.

E.g.: this motherboard http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-A75M-ITX-...B005JI5B9I
This case: http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B0064KZ5O6/
Or this case: http://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-Mini-ITX-Cas...0064L71FQ/
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#6
I would recommend not going with the ASRock A75M-HVS A75 Hudson, I ordered one and had it arrive DOA. I ended up replacing it with the A75M. I think the A75M-ITX is a good choice as well for the smaller form factor.
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#7
Yes, ASRock you really need to pick and choose since there are big winners and big losers. 9 out of 10 A75M-ITX have been good for me. H77M-ITX has been good too. H67M-ITX not good at all and FM2A75M-ITX a total nightmare.
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