[Stieffers]

I'm looking to build a linux based small form factor computer to run XBMC on, but I haven't kept up with computer hardware in years. I'm not too concerned with HD, but I supposed it would be nice to be able to run it. I'm also looking at a TV tuner option, but I'm not too concerned if that doesn't work out. My price range is pretty low as well, let's say around $400. I'm looking for any guidance really, as I have no idea where to start. I'll post some basic specifications below.

> 500GB HD
HDMI output
HD Capable (Optional)
TV Tuner (Optional)

[ltrambo85]

HDMI Cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812123144 4.99

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147131 40.99

MOBO/CPU/GPU/WiFI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813500027 184.99

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820161182 49.99

Remote Control: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16880121003 23.97

TV Tuner:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6815260023 29.99

HDD:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6822136280 69.99

That puts you at 404.91 With a TV tuner and a near silent setup pulling around 20-40 watts. Will run 1080P of any video format flawlessly.

Oops the HDD was only a 320GB but that should put you on the right track.

[strateego]

Get a Dell Zino HD. for $394.

It is super small, prebuilt and and has HDMI.

AMD Dual Core Athlon™ Neo X2 6850e (1MB L2, 1.8GHz)
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2 DIMM
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated ATI Radeon HD3200 Graphics

or get a slower CPU, run windows and get a BluRay drive.

AMD Athlon™ 2650e (512K L2, 1.6GHz)
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2 DIMM
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Blu-ray Disc (BD) Combo (Reads BD and Writes to DVD/CD)
ATI Radeon HD 4330 512 MB

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/c...on-zino-hd

[luna_s]

any ion based machine would more than suffice and be well under budget....

[prae5]

Acer Revo

[Stieffers]

ltrambo85: That looks like a solid build. Kind of shaky on the USB TV tuner, so I'd probably just opt out of that.

strateego: I had looked at those Dell's before, but I wasn't sure if I could build something comparable for cheaper. Also, I have about zero interest in Blu-Ray drives.

prae5: I only found Acer Revos with 120GB HDs.

Edit: I believe I've settled on a pretty solid and cost effective build.

Case - $50
Motherboard / CPU / GPU - Zotac Intel Atom N330 1.6GHz Dual-Core 441 NVIDIA ION - $185
Hard drive - WD Caviar Blue 640GB - $70
Ram - 1GB DDR2 800 - $27

[wojo]

mb - 245$ - zotac ionitx a-u
RAM - 37$ - 2GB ram (dual)
HDD - 40$ - 100 GB SATA drive 2,5" (i try to boot from CF but to slow)
fan - 7$ - 6mm FAN ArcticCool with rpm regulator (very quiet)
remote - 10$- XBOX remote control
spdif - 5$ - connected to my audio system via SPDiF
hdmi - 5$ - connected to my TV via HDMI
case - 56$ (handmade - a guy from Poland/Krakov made it for me, and he produce all kinds of cases, he only need to know dimensions and logos )

------
405$

all photos