HTPC Build on the Cheap

[centdefender]

Hi All,

Been lurking for sometime so go easy on me please

I'm trying to spec a build that will enable me to run XBMC and will be able to link to my NAS. There wont be any game playing, surfing, officey / business work done on it at all. Am in right in thinking i need the following:

Case
Motherboard
Memory
PSU
SSD

Have i missed anything?

I have osme other requirements as well, such as:

the ability to play ripped blu-rays without any slowdown etc
navigation around xbmc would also be swift and painless
would like it to be in a small and quiet in a "front room under the tele kind of way"
Energy efficiency would be good also to reduce those bills
Finally and most importantly.... Cheap. What is the bare minimum that you think i will be able to get away with?

Appreciate you views guys and any help or guidance you can offer.

Thanks

 

[Darg]

http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=Raspberry_Pi

£22 + bits. Would probably be under £40 total depending on what peripherals you need to get for it.

That's the bare minimum anyway

 

[doodah]

First couple of times I tried the Pi it did an OK job but that might have been down to our average WiFi setup. Think a new update is due soon, might give it another go. Otherwise I buying an HP Mircoserver.

 

[Sprite]

Yep the HP Microservers are pretty cheap at the moment. You would be hard pressed to get something decent for the same price.

Would a tower style mATX case be too big for you?

 

[ZXSpectrum]

You can actually do it VERY cheap.. Well not as cheap as a Pi but a lot better in my opinion.

Gigabyte GA-E350N AMD Hudson M1 DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard @ £48
Corsair Value 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Single Channel Module @ £15
Mach Xtreme Technology 16GB Starter Premium 2.5" SATA II SSD @ £30

Add that to whatever case/psu takes your fancy. Install Openelec and away you go!
I use a Arctic MC001-N and that uses an older GPU and Atom cpu rather than the AMD Zacate and I have no issues with running any media at 720/1080p.

It can be done for less than £140 with a cheap case or £200 with a fancy case.

I was VERY Lucky to buy my Arctic MC001 at the very low price and would love to buy another but they have gone from $129 to $299

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

Another suggestion for a Microserver here, drop in a bit more ram and a 6450 and theyre cracking little beasties

 

[quassimodem]

Can you buy them cheap pre-built?