£400 HTPC Spec

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Deleted member 68110

Deleted member 68110

Want to build a HTPC and had been looking at very different specs but now I'm seriously toying with this:

Intel® Core™ i7-860 (2.80GHz, 8MB)
English Genuine Windows® 7 Professional (64 BIT)
4096MB (2x2048) 1333MHz DDR3 Single Channel
Drive 500GB Serial ATA non Raid (7200 Rpm)
Graphics: 512MB ATI RadeonTM HD 4350 (DVI, VGA,HDMI)
16X DVD+/- RW Optical Drive for Win 7
Keyboard and Mouse:
Generic case

All for £380

This seems like a damn good deal. The HDD is rather small and there's no TV card, but it seems like a lot of computer for the money.

Am I making a big mistake?
 
I don't see a motherboard on that list, also is an i7 really needed for a HTPC? Surely a pentium e5000 series or something like that would be more than enough.
 
Thanks for the reply.

The Motherboard is an Intel B series. Doesn't mean much to me.

I agree about the processor, but it's part of the deal.
 
Hi
The spec is incomplete and really doesn't look that great for an htpc or great value for money to me. Do you have other donor parts?

My thoughts are:
The i7 is overkill if this is just to be an htpc and the standard cooler may be too noisy, you may want to see what the generic case looks like (unless you are hiding it away), the 4350 (does it have the right connections for your TV/Monitor?) may be sufficient but if you are running Windows 7 you should consider running a 5000 series ATI card with DX11 support, you need to ensure you have a quiet PSU and lastly do you really want a keyboard and mouse? when a wireless keyboard with touchpad will probably be more appropriate.
 
Thanks for the reply. It's not really what I had in mind, but for the price I'm sorely tempted. It's a better PC than I've owned for years, and I'd not thought for that price I'd be able to buy something I could game on. It's going to be hooked up to the TV though, so gaming's not really an option.

The processor is definitely overkill, but it seemed like too good an offer to miss.

The keyboard and mouse are thrown in. The case, mobo, and (380w) PSU all sound fairly tame. But if I price this all up it comes to about £600 so a bargain for £380, no?
 
Well I've never heard of Intel B series motherboards tbh but yeah in terms of pure components value for money it seems pretty decent (wouldn't mind seeing where is offering this deal :p). I guess if you wanted to convert it to a gaming PC at a later date it wouldn't be too hard to swap the graphics card for something more powerful.
 
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Thanks Redmint. Don't think I can send you the details. PMing is disabled AFAIK. If you like email me at walker sr at g mail dot com
 
garnett said:
The keyboard and mouse are thrown in. The case, mobo, and (380w) PSU all sound fairly tame. But if I price this all up it comes to about £600 so a bargain for £380, no?
Click to expand...
On the basis of the components you've shown at the beginning of the thread
I have to say no, but that is just my opinon.
I accept that the i7 860 is a great headline part but the rest of the spec (do you have a manufacturer and part number for the RAM) does not add to to £370 surely?
 
Thanks Luffy. I still think it's a good deal, but your posts have helped dissuade me. I'm going to stick with my plan to self-build. I don't need i7 performance, and I'd prefer something low power.

Any ideas on rough specs? I'd like decent HDMI output - is this a CPU consideration or a Graphics Card matter?
 
Hi
I am in the process of replacing the PSU and GPU of my htpc so have been doing a little research lately and may be able to help with recommending a reasonable spec. I will put together a basket for you and post a screen shot here a little later if thats ok.
Do you have a maximum budget? it may help with considering a case and this is a part I feel is really important, especially for an htpc that will be on display.
 
Luffy said:
Hi
I am in the process of replacing the PSU and GPU of my htpc so have been doing a little research lately and may be able to help with recommending a reasonable spec. I will put together a basket for you and post a screen shot here a little later if thats ok.
Do you have a maximum budget? it may help with considering a case and this is a part I feel is really important, especially for an htpc that will be on display.
Click to expand...
Thanks Luffy. Budget is really tight. I'm really hoping to keep the total price under £400 (inc VAT). Case doesn't matter too much as I'm hoping to hide it away under the TV. Really I'd like a double TV card, but I think that might have to come later. Not interested in Bluray. Plan to use linux (ubuntu and MythTV) as the OS.
 
Most modern motherboards with onboard graphics can handle DVD/blu-ray fine for HTPC purposes. The i3 integrated graphics can handle HD output easily but if you're looking for an HTPC build under £400 you probably wont fit an i3 in budget (particularly if you need a copy of Windows 7).
 
Thanks Redmint. I'm thinking of going down the linux route to keep things cheap!
 
Spec is incomplete and a bit weird. The ram shouldn't have single channel written after it, suggesting that the motherboard is seriously bargain bucket. The 380W psu won't be worth spit, the build will die at some point in the future when the psu fails. Generic case means loud and hot, encouraging the death of the psu. As stated above, the only components with any value are windows (debatable) and the processor (which is excellent, but a strange choice for a htpc). What's the warranty duration?

What do you want the htpc to do? Do you care about noise, power consumption?

I'm looking to a H55 mini-itx motherboard and the new i3 for a 400 quid htpc this summer, the onboard graphics are more than capable of HD playback and the power consumption is very low. Haven't found a motherboard I like yet however, so may end up using amd instead. Also haven't found a case I like yet, fingers crossed one will turn up in the next couple of months.
 
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
GA-770T-USB3 AMD 770 (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £75.99
(£64.67) £75.99
(£64.67)
AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core 250 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £51.99
(£44.25) £51.99
(£44.25)
Corsair Value Select 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Memory Module (VS2GB1333D3 G) £49.98
(£42.54) £49.98
(£42.54)
Corsair CX 400W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-400CXUK) £39.99
(£34.03) £39.99
(£34.03)
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5450 512MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card £39.99
(£34.03) £39.99
(£34.03)
Samsung EcoGreen F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD503HI) £38.99
(£33.18) £38.99
(£33.18)
Akasa MIDAS AK-EC021 Case - Black £30.98
(£26.37) £30.98
(£26.37)
Pioneer DVR-S18L 22x DVD±RW SATA Labelflash ReWriter - Black (Retail) £20.99
(£17.86) £20.99
(£17.86)
Coolermaster Hyper TX3 CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM3/775/1156) £13.99
(£11.91) £13.99
(£11.91)
Sub Total : £308.84
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £55.88
Total : £375.22

Would easily suffice, could get a cheaper motherboard and a Tri Core Athlon. Maybe change the power supply to an 80 Plus one, like the Antec Earthwatts although i'm not sure if the 80mm fan is loud on those. Maybe check that the 5450 is passive because there are both versions on XFX'x site.
 
I think with your budget this is what I would be considering (I know I know I am over budget :p and you could get it lower if you went with an E5300 and Socket 775 motherboard)

htpcbasket.jpg


I see you are not interested in the case so maybe this is not the best route for you but as you can see from the Superewza list there is better value around.

If you went this route, you would want to double check Linux compatibility with the TV card (I would spend more on a dual myself), also it is listed as low profile (which would fit the case) but I would ask Overclockers to confirm it has a low profile bracket.
 
Thanks a lot for the spec sheets. Between the two of them I think I can put together something on budget which will do what I'm after.
 
To be honest OcUK aren't that great for spec'ing an HTPC, they have all the components but are quite limited for choice. The only HTPC case they stock is the Fusion for instance.

Luffy's spec is pretty good, but with more choice it could be improved IMO:
- Antec Fusion is OK, but there are many alternatives. Some cheaper.
- You should be able to save £15-20 on a cheaper mobo. Just make sure it has a 785 or better chipset.
- 2GB should be enough for an HTPC, even on Windows 7
- The Compro TV cards don't have a great reputation and that one is only single tuner. You can get a dual tuner card for £10 more.
- Consider one of the 'Green' HDDs
 
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