Cheap HTPC build

Supernova

Supernova

Supernova

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10 Sep 2009
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Have a friend who is after a HTPC capable of 1080p. It will only be used for films and TV, maybe other basic computer tasks and browsing.

He likes the mini ITX Antec ISK 110 seen here: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=26940376&postcount=905

It comes with a PSU so it's good value. Now I'm looking for bits to go in it and I believe that the following CPU and 1x4GB memory is sufficient for watching TV and films in 1080p? I know I've gone right to the cheap end of the RAM, but I think it's okay given the use case?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-531-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=567

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-119-GL&groupid=701&catid=8

Just want to check that I haven't overlooked a better value CPU that will do the job, possibly one of the cheaper AMD APUs?
 
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Thanks. I didn't know these existed, but they are too much money once memory, storage and OS are added. Do they only support SSDs? I can build up one in the Antec case for about £240 without an OS.
 
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Celeron NUC will playback any media you throw at it (all media decoding duties are offloaded to the GPU and decoded in hardware, so CPU usage is not an issue) and will be more than enough for general browsing, however "basic computer tasks" is quite broad so I can't elaborate on that.

If you insist an i3 or i5 is necessary then yea, the price shoots up drastically. Just from an ease of use perspective, having a super stable machine that just works, that is why I suggested a NUC. It does the tasks you want and all with out any mess or fuss.
 
I haven't insisted on an i3 or i5 at all? I didn't realise that cheaper NUCs are available as OCUK only stocks ones that are more than £200.

Are we talking about the NUC with the Cerlon N2820 or Celeron 847 CPU? They look great actually.
 
 
MSTRBKR said:
I haven't insisted on an i3 or i5 at all? I didn't realise that cheaper NUCs are available as OCUK only stocks ones that are more than £200.

Are we talking about the NUC with the Cerlon N2820 or Celeron 847 CPU? They look great actually.
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Sorry, I didn't mean YOU had insisted on anything. I meant that some folk think a celeron isn't up to the task and "insist" that an i3 or i5 is the minimum that will do for them. Thats all :)

Celeron N2820, it is a 4th gen NUC and the chassis has space for a 2.5" drive which I don't think anything other than 4th gen have.
 
Is this system quiet?

melvis said:
this is what i used for my htpc, does 1080p video no problem
YOUR BASKET
1 x Antec ISK110 MiniITX Vesa Mountable Case - Black/Silver with 90W Power Supply £49.99
1 x Kingston 120GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive - (SV300S37A/120G) £49.99
1 x AMD Athlon 5150 1.60GHz Quad Core Processor - Retail (Socket AM1) £35.99
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Single Module (GD34GB1333C9SC) £31.99
1 x MSI AM1I AMD AM1 (Socket FS1b) Mini ITX Motherboard £24.95
Total : £192.91 (includes shipping : )
Click to expand...
 
 
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