HTPC on the cheap

exceluk1

exceluk1

exceluk1

Associate
Joined
31 Jan 2016
Posts
13
Looking to build my 1st htpc, in fact this will be my 1st pc build.
Have done a little bit of reading and really confused myself with the option so thought i would put it out to you guys.

Budget = £400 possibly upto £500 if I catch the Mrs in a good mood.

Will be used mainly to watch live content via an Enigma 2 sat box (using Kodi as a front end). No gaming. While 4k is not currently required, it would be nice to know that a simple GPU upgrade would work. Mass storage is provided via a NAS, all connected via a Gb wired network.

I already have a XFX Radeon R7770 and a Coolmaster GX 550W psu, that I hope I can use.

Preferred case / Style
Cooltek G3 (The look of an AV amp with volume control).

Would like to have a fast SSD so she runs fast.

Not sure what else to add, any help / advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
 
 
yup if you want 4k streams (later down the line) youre gunna need kaby so best getting it in a few months than buying now upgrading later, save some pennies
 
Do you really need anything that powerful for HTPC duties nowadays? I have a old Intel I3 that i use for Plex transcoding duties, but as a client, my samsung TV does just as good a job, as does my NAS,RPI3 and Amazon Fire TV box.

Noise is the biggest issue with HTPC's. so budget for a quiet PSU and fans.
 
£400? I always used to build my HTPC's from old components I had lying around.
If I was you I'd get a pi3 kit for about £50 and keep the rest of your money in your pocket.

If you're desperate to spend it then maybe get a NUC.

I've got 2 pi's running openelec and a NUC running linux and kodi. Not had any issues with any of them.

I ran an HTPC made from old components for a couple of years and the noise gets on your nerves. With the pi's and the NUC you can tuck them away behind the TV and you'll never know they're there.
 
My HTPC runs an AMD 5350, with 4GB RAM and it does the job perfectly fine. Even that is probably overkill tbh, but my machine runs Windows MC, has an HD Freeview card and a ton of HDDs hanging off it.

For your use -- where it's purely a front-end -- one of the all-in-one machines would be fine, but any AM1 or J1800 mono in a case would do the job too and allow you to put in a gfx card when you wanted to go 4K (like an RX 460).
 
mistersprinkles said:
It's worth noting that you can just get a Steam Link for like 30 pound. It puts your windows desktop and whatever you are running on a second screen anywhere in your home.
Click to expand...

This well worth a look, if only for the kodi front end from my main pc. Need to work on the Mrs and get saving. Thanks all.
 
Steam Link was on sale in US/Canada for $20!!! for boxing week. Normal price is $50 which is still pretty cheap.

The quality of the stream (please use a wired connection) is perfect on "high quality" mode. You can't tell you're not directly using the PC. You can play games, watch youtube, movies on netflix, kodi, anything you would do on the PC normally, but it beams it all to your livingroom (or any other room). You can connect keyboards, Xbox controllers, mice, whatever you want.

Setup is fast. connect an ethernet cable, make sure your main PC is on and logged into Steam, turn on the steam link and let it find your PC and away you go. No other setup required.

I'm going to get a second one for the bedroom next month. I convinced 5 people to buy one on a forum I go on from the USA.

Honestly with the quality and convenience and low cost (Skip a night out with the MRS 1x and there's the money) of the Steam Link, I don't know why anybody would build a dedicated HTPC at this point.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom