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Building a Low Cost HTPC for my Bedroom

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Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 FTW 4gb
Storage OCZ Revo 3 120gb / 1tb WD Caviar Black
Display(s) Westinghouse LVM37 W-3 37"1080p
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) M-Audio Firewire Solo
Power Supply Corsair HX 1050
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
So as the title says, I am trying to build a low cost HTPC for my bedroom.
I just want a small PC that can playback bluray without any lag @ 1080p.

I have a laptop with a 1.8 C2D, a 8600m and a bluray drive that can handle that task
with no problems, but,, it is broken. I am looking at building something slightly more powerful than the laptop because I am looking at staying under about 450 dollars with shipping included. I already have the memory listed.

How does this look?


HEC 6K28BB8F Black 0.8mm SECC Steel MicroATX Mini ...

COOLMAX CX-550B 550W ATX12V Power Supply

MSI G31TM-P21 LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Mo...

Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 3MB L2 Cach...

OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2...

XFX PVT98GYAF3 GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit DDR3 ...

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAJS 250GB 7200 ...

LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA...


Let me know if it is too much for what I want. Any more savings can
help a lot. Everything minus the ram that I already have comes out
to 470 with shipping included.
 

[Ion]

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First of all, Coolmax is miserable. Get a Corsair or an Antec. The Earthwatts EA-380D would be a good choice

I'd also suggest staying away from the dyeing LGA775 platform. A BIOSTAR 785G and AMD Athlon II X2 250 would be cheaper, faster, and have the option of upgrading to a hex-core (or any other AM2+/AM3 CPU) later on :rockout:
 
Joined
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Messages
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System Name The Monolith
Processor Core i7 3770k
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V Pro
Cooling Stock
Memory 4gb 1333 Upgrading to G-Skill Sniper 2x 8gb 2133
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 FTW 4gb
Storage OCZ Revo 3 120gb / 1tb WD Caviar Black
Display(s) Westinghouse LVM37 W-3 37"1080p
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) M-Audio Firewire Solo
Power Supply Corsair HX 1050
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
First of all, Coolmax is miserable. Get a Corsair or an Antec. The Earthwatts EA-380D would be a good choice

I'd also suggest staying away from the dyeing LGA775 platform. A BIOSTAR 785G and AMD Athlon II X2 250 would be cheaper, faster, and have the option of upgrading to a hex-core (or any other AM2+/AM3 CPU) later on :rockout:

Thanks Ion, I will look into that.
 

genta3d

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aCid888*

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In a state of flux...
Im with Ion...
But Im sugesting to have another brand for 9800. Since XFX has stop selling Nvdia card. Dont know what will happen with its aftersales if you got a problem or two. Anyone can confirm it ?

Source :
http://fudzilla.com/graphics/item/20453-xfx-officially-stops-doing-nvidia

Pretty much right it does appear.



Aside from that, Ion has it covered. Not much else I'd change aside from the HDD as an HTPC would be much better with a 1TB drive. :toast:




Edit:

Could you salvage the BR drive from your laptop and maybe mod it to fit the case you chose?

Also, what about the HDD?? If you dont need too much speed your laptop 2.5" drive would be pretty nice. :)
 
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System Name The Monolith
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Memory 4gb 1333 Upgrading to G-Skill Sniper 2x 8gb 2133
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 FTW 4gb
Storage OCZ Revo 3 120gb / 1tb WD Caviar Black
Display(s) Westinghouse LVM37 W-3 37"1080p
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) M-Audio Firewire Solo
Power Supply Corsair HX 1050
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64

[Ion]

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Video Card(s) GTX260 / Intel HD 4000 / nVidia GT310
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Something like an EVGA, MSI or Asus GT240, GT430, or 9800GT would make a good choice for a GPU :rockout:
 

theonedub

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GPU wise you can get away with something super low power (and cheap) by going with an AMD 5450 or 4550, HTPCs is what they were made for.

On the other hand, our fav Senior Mod, eRocker, has a nice GT240 for $60 FS in the BST.
 
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System Name The Monolith
Processor Core i7 3770k
Motherboard Asus P8Z77-V Pro
Cooling Stock
Memory 4gb 1333 Upgrading to G-Skill Sniper 2x 8gb 2133
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 FTW 4gb
Storage OCZ Revo 3 120gb / 1tb WD Caviar Black
Display(s) Westinghouse LVM37 W-3 37"1080p
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) M-Audio Firewire Solo
Power Supply Corsair HX 1050
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Pretty much right it does appear.



Aside from that, Ion has it covered. Not much else I'd change aside from the HDD as an HTPC would be much better with a 1TB drive. :toast:




Edit:

Could you salvage the BR drive from your laptop and maybe mod it to fit the case you chose?

Also, what about the HDD?? If you dont need too much speed your laptop 2.5" drive would be pretty nice. :)

LOL, true, I could reuse that 500gb 2.5 I have. The BD drive manufacture isn't supporting
their drive with any new FW updates so I can't see any of the new BD's (sucks).

Good idea on using the 2.5 drive I have. I also had thought of getting a 1tb drive but I am
waiting for the technology to improve a bit.
 
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Memory 4gb 1333 Upgrading to G-Skill Sniper 2x 8gb 2133
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 FTW 4gb
Storage OCZ Revo 3 120gb / 1tb WD Caviar Black
Display(s) Westinghouse LVM37 W-3 37"1080p
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) M-Audio Firewire Solo
Power Supply Corsair HX 1050
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
GPU wise you can get away with something super low power (and cheap) by going with an AMD 5450 or 4550, HTPCs is what they were made for.

On the other hand, our fav Senior Mod, eRocker, has a nice GT240 for $60 FS in the BST.

Great tip. Going to look for the thread. :toast:
 
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Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 FTW 4gb
Storage OCZ Revo 3 120gb / 1tb WD Caviar Black
Display(s) Westinghouse LVM37 W-3 37"1080p
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) M-Audio Firewire Solo
Power Supply Corsair HX 1050
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Something like an EVGA, MSI or Asus GT240, GT430, or 9800GT would make a good choice for a GPU :rockout:

Going to be looking into those you have suggested. Thanks!
 

theonedub

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System Name The Monolith
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Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 FTW 4gb
Storage OCZ Revo 3 120gb / 1tb WD Caviar Black
Display(s) Westinghouse LVM37 W-3 37"1080p
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
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boogah

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The BD drive manufacture isn't supporting
their drive with any new FW updates so I can't see any of the new BD's (sucks).

Bluray playability doesn't lie in the firmware it's the software like powerdvd and windvd and such that allows you to play newer protected titles.
 

boogah

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get one of these bundle instead.

http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/1005_AMDbundlePROMO.html

100 bucks for both a Phenom II X2 650 black edition and the MSI mother board that supports the core unlocking. The onboad graphics (HD 4200) will take care of BD or anything high definition contents without any problems. If you want to game and such you can always pickup a separate GPU.

Also why get old used GTS 250 when you can get GTS 450 new for around $100 bucks?
Galaxy GTS450 1GB Super OC $89.99AR
 
Last edited:
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Storage OCZ Revo 3 120gb / 1tb WD Caviar Black
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Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) M-Audio Firewire Solo
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Bluray playability doesn't lie in the firmware it's the software like powerdvd and windvd and such that allows you to play newer protected titles.

oh, well cyberlink lied then. They told me that I needed a firmware update to view newer
BD's because avatar wouldnt play and tropic thunder would. I hate that BD's have
all that security crap, that makes it worse for the consumer at times.
 
Last edited:
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System Name The Monolith
Processor Core i7 3770k
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Memory 4gb 1333 Upgrading to G-Skill Sniper 2x 8gb 2133
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 FTW 4gb
Storage OCZ Revo 3 120gb / 1tb WD Caviar Black
Display(s) Westinghouse LVM37 W-3 37"1080p
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) M-Audio Firewire Solo
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Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
get one of these bundle instead.

http://www.microcenter.com/specials/promotions/1005_AMDbundlePROMO.html

100 bucks for both a Phenom II X2 650 black edition and the MSI mother board that supports the core unlocking. The onboad graphics (HD 4200) will take care of BD or anything high definition contents without any problems. If you want to game and such you can always pickup a separate GPU.

Also why get old used GTS 250 when you can get GTS 450 new for around $100 bucks?
Galaxy GTS450 1GB Super OC $89.99AR

Nice Deal!! Thanks!
 
Last edited:
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Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 FTW 4gb
Storage OCZ Revo 3 120gb / 1tb WD Caviar Black
Display(s) Westinghouse LVM37 W-3 37"1080p
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
Audio Device(s) M-Audio Firewire Solo
Power Supply Corsair HX 1050
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
HEC 6K28BB8F Black 0.8mm SECC Steel MicroATX Mini ...

Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W Continuous @4...

Foxconn A74ML-K AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AM... <--- Different Mobo DDR 2 so I can reuse my old ram

AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz 2 x 512KB L2 ...

G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1...

LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA...

COOLER MASTER DK9-7E52A-0L-GP CPU Cooler


Price Now 292 Shipping included

Now Debating on buying a GTX 470 for my Desktop and putting my GTX 260 in the HTPC,

Or, going the cheaper route and buying one of these or go even cheaper and get one of these . I am thinking if I will be gaming on this thing or not.

Also does anyone know of a good low cost PCI HD TV Tuner? Thanks you people ROCK!!!!!


Edit-----------------------------------------------------------------

On second thought I think I will be staying with the ddr3 Mobo and ram because eventually I would need
to upgrade to 4gb. I will just spend the extra money now and stop being
so cheap.
 
Last edited:
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Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 680 FTW 4gb
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Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
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Power Supply Corsair HX 1050
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The i3 530 is a cheaper and better alternative...do more with less heat.

Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale 2.93GHz 4MB L3 Cache L...

GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2V LGA 1156 Intel H55 Micro ATX ...

Do you really even need a graphics card? Why not use the on-chip graphics of the i3?

Interesting, I3 has on-chip graphics powerful enough for 1080p? Also how would that run a
n64 emulator or something like mk3 on mame. Sorry, just that I am planning on using this
machine for emulation too, forgot to mention that in the OP. Thanks :)

Edit ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just priced the I3 nice but too expensive, 421 shipping included, cheaper than my original
selection but the amd setup seems to the most cost effective at the moment.
Never thought I'd be buying AMD, but there is a first time for everything.
 
Last edited:
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Storage OCZ Revo 3 120gb / 1tb WD Caviar Black
Display(s) Westinghouse LVM37 W-3 37"1080p
Case Corsair Obsidian 650D
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Power Supply Corsair HX 1050
Software Windows 7 Ultimate x64
So I've decided to get the cheapest video card that can playback 1080p
and when kepler comes out I will upgrade my desktop and throw the
the gtx 260 in the htpc. How does the final build look? Thanks for the help
so far, you people rock!! I am saving 100 dollars already.

387.00 shipped

HEC 6K28BB8F Black 0.8mm SECC Steel MicroATX Mini ...

Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W Continuous @4...

ASUS M4N68T-M AM3 NVIDIA Geforce 7025/nForce 630a ...

AMD Phenom II X2 545 Callisto 3.0GHz 2 x 512KB L2 ...

GIGABYTE GV-N84STC-512I GeForce 8400 GS Supporting...

G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1...

LITE-ON Black 4X BD-ROM 8X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA...

COOLER MASTER DK9-7E52A-0L-GP CPU Cooler
 
Last edited:

[Ion]

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Mostly good. That motherboard really isn't so swell, I'd see if you can find a 760G. It's a far nicer chipset and IIRC supports core unlocking ;)
 
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I would swap motherboard + cpu + cooler for this combo. Better motherboard and processor when saving $25. Little higher power draw but nothing significant. Granted it doesn't have a good selection for audio out.

Same price but better options for audio out on this mother board.
 
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Mostly good. That motherboard really isn't so swell, I'd see if you can find a 760G. It's a far nicer chipset and IIRC supports core unlocking ;)

Is open box a bad idea?

Open Box: ASUS M4A78LT-M LE AM3 AMD 780L Micro ATX...

Open Box: MSI 760GM-E51 AM3 AMD 760G HDMI Micro AT...

If I go with the MSI one I probably don't need a video card.

Update------------------------------------------------------------

Ok just read neweggs policy on open box items and I am going to pass..

Will be getting this one instead.

MSI 760GM-E51 AM3 AMD 760G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Moth...
 
Last edited:
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I would swap motherboard + cpu + cooler for this combo. Better motherboard and processor when saving $25. Little higher power draw but nothing significant. Granted it doesn't have a good selection for audio out.

Same price but better options for audio out on this mother board.

Nice deal!

Update-------------

Just gave me an idea to just buy the Phenom ii x2 BE because it brings the fan.
Saves me money and with the other mobo I was looking at it saved me 20 more
dollars.
 
Last edited:
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