2012-06-01, 04:42
I'm building a basic budget HTPC for my bro-in-law who needs it to run XBMC and occasional web browsing. He'll mostly stream videos online in XBMC and Netflix, very little full 1080p video playback. He won't use it extensively, maybe a few hrs a day. Here's the build so far:
CPU: Intel Celeron G530 2.4 GHz ($44.99)
http://www.directron.com/bx80623g530.html
Motherboard: ECS H61H2-M2(1.0) H61 HDMI Micro ATX ($14.99 AR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813135288
Ram: G.SKILL NS 2GB DDR3 1333 ($12.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820231395
Case & PSU: Apex DM-318 includes 275W PSU ($36.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811154062
SSD: Waiting for a deal on any 64GB SSD like this one (around $44.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820227794
All in all, looking at a basic build for about $154.95. Looks like enough power to stream video in XBMC and use the browser occasionally. Any feedback or see any problems? I am considering upgrading to 4 GB RAM and maybe a Pentium instead of Celeron.
CPU: Intel Celeron G530 2.4 GHz ($44.99)
http://www.directron.com/bx80623g530.html
Motherboard: ECS H61H2-M2(1.0) H61 HDMI Micro ATX ($14.99 AR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813135288
Ram: G.SKILL NS 2GB DDR3 1333 ($12.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820231395
Case & PSU: Apex DM-318 includes 275W PSU ($36.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811154062
SSD: Waiting for a deal on any 64GB SSD like this one (around $44.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820227794
All in all, looking at a basic build for about $154.95. Looks like enough power to stream video in XBMC and use the browser occasionally. Any feedback or see any problems? I am considering upgrading to 4 GB RAM and maybe a Pentium instead of Celeron.