HTPC spec please??

Pedaars · 13 Sep 2012 at 22:09

I have been asked to help a friend build a htpc that is going to be used mainly as a media centre system with a bit of browsing and word processing no gaming at all (apparently).

He has up to £400 to spend but its something ive never delved into yet so im not sure about the best spec to go or wether one of the pre built systems would be better??

Any advice greatly appreciated

Thankyou

Mirmo · 14 Sep 2012 at 10:38

Pick up a socket 775 ddr3 new for around £30, a second hand e5300 for £10 clocked to 3.6ghz, a 5450, 4gig ram and a cheap branded PSU. You've got a very capable core for less than £100 which leaves the rest to get whatever case he prefers and any drives he feels he wants (blu ray, SSD and external storage or just massive internal drive etc).

leigh_boy · 14 Sep 2012 at 11:40

similer to above. mine is a core 2 quad with a ati 3660 ( hdmi) 4 gb ram and run windows 7 with XBMC

a friend of mine has a rasbery pi and a 2tb usb hdd doing his les then 80 for that setup

The Deuce · 16 Sep 2012 at 17:52

IMO best bang for buck htpc is Amd llano

Pedaars · 16 Sep 2012 at 19:33

Would you use the onboard graphics or get a cheap GPU like a 5450 for example?

The Deuce · 16 Sep 2012 at 19:53

The onboard is better then a 5450