Is it possible to build a 1080p capable HTPC for under £500??

apple_man77 · 2 Apr 2011 at 21:31

Hi,

I know computer specs etc get asked hourly on here but if a few people could reply or point me in the right direction I would be very greatful.

Without turning this in to a massive essay I want to be able to play my blu - ray movies from my computer and have media software (like plex) so it looks smart and works well.

I'd like a small case and black if possible. Its got to have an HDMI port and be able to play 1080p files without juddering etc.

My budget unfortunately is a measly £500 which needs to buy everything at least component wise as looking around windows is going to cost over £100 alone :mad:

I've tried spec'in one or two up on the overclockers shop page but struggling to get something that's going to be fairly decent for the money.

Thanks for your help.
Mark

I would like something based around an i3 cpu so it will keep me going for a while yet. I'm happy for now just to install say a 1tb hard drive and look at adding a few more in the future.

Energize · 2 Apr 2011 at 22:54

Even the cheapest pc will decode 1080p h.264 these days. Home premium is £70, basic £40, don't know where you got the £100 figure from.

stokecity_m · 2 Apr 2011 at 23:03

Pick up a few 2nd hand bits and it's easy to come in below £500

I've got a AMD system that knocks the poop out of 1080 movies for £300

Grimley · 3 Apr 2011 at 09:50

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Antec Micro Fusion 350 HTPC Case with Remote - Black/Silver (350W PSU Included) Antec Micro Fusion 350 HTPC Case with Remote - Black/Silver (350W PSU Included) £154.20
(£128.50) £154.20
(£128.50)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32-Bit - OEM (GFC-00564) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32-Bit - OEM (GFC-00564) £79.99
(£66.66) £79.99
(£66.66)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 840 "95W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 840 "95W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £77.99
(£64.99) £77.99
(£64.99)
Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard £59.98
(£49.98) £59.98
(£49.98)
LG CH10LS20 10x BluRay-ROM / 16x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) LG CH10LS20 10x BluRay-ROM / 16x DVD±RW Drive - Black (Retail) £57.98
(£48.32) £57.98
(£48.32)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS) £39.98
(£33.32) £39.98
(£33.32)
Corsair Value 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Single Channel Module (VS2GB1333D3) Corsair Value 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Low-Voltage Single Channel Module (VS2GB1333D3) £17.99
(£14.99) £17.99
(£14.99)
Sub Total : £406.76
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £83.70
Total : £502.21

That spec should eat blu ray & 1080p for breakfast.

C.R.A.Z.Y · 3 Apr 2011 at 16:04

Massive overkill, a <£200 Acer Revo works perfect for a HTPC and eats 1080p for breakfast :-)

benwoodcock · 3 Apr 2011 at 16:24

Needs to be a dual core revo I think.

apple_man77 · 10 Apr 2011 at 21:26

Thanks guys I've purchased the bits ended up spending £650 so far inc OS.

I'm going to look at cable braiding and swapping all the fans in pursuit of quietness.

Then I need to get some more 2tb hard drives!!

Little more than I wanted to spend but it should last a good few years, be easily upgradable and give me a nice insight to computer building :-)

Cycrow · 10 Apr 2011 at 23:35

personally i would have gone for an ION based system

plays 1080p without a problem.
it'll also use less power and be quieter which is good for a HTPC
all u need is ram/case/hdd for a complete system, can easly build one with about £300

u could have also gone for a linux based media center over windows and saved money on the OS as well.

with £500 u could get a perfectly capable HTPC that would be completly silent

Venares · 11 Apr 2011 at 00:04

Went for a Revo myself @ <£200.
Eats 1080p for breakfast

Buchanan0204 · 11 Apr 2011 at 01:22

Venares said:
Went for a Revo myself @ <£200.
Eats 1080p for breakfast

Snap. Absolutely love my Revo. Really exceeded my expectations... don't particularly love Acer products, they tend to be cheap and nasty. However my 3700 is amazing. I paid £200 for mine. Worth every penny.

apple_man77 · 11 Apr 2011 at 13:45

Well I went a bit overboard and went for...

Lian li v354b case
Asus p7h55m 1156 mobo
Clarkedale 540 i3 3.06 CPU
Corsair 500w psu
Cosair ddr3 1333mhz 4gb ram
Samsung bd rom/dvd-rw
2 tb western digital hard drive
Windows 7 premium

Once I get it all together and running I will look at replacing the fans/coolers to quieten things down to a reasonable level.

I went for this case/mobo as I can fit 5 hard drives in offering 10 - 15tb of storage.

I also want to output dts hd master which I believe this set up can do??

May also look at adding a graphics card if this will improve the quality of the picture?

Cheers
Mark

Martini1991 · 11 Apr 2011 at 14:02

Why didn't you go sandy bridge H67?

Buchanan0204 · 11 Apr 2011 at 14:02

apple_man77 said:
Well I went a bit overboard and went for...

Lian li v354b case
Asus p7h55m 1156 mobo
Clarkedale 540 i3 3.06 CPU
Corsair 500w psu
Cosair ddr3 1333mhz 4gb ram
Samsung bd rom/dvd-rw
2 tb western digital hard drive
Windows 7 premium

Once I get it all together and running I will look at replacing the fans/coolers to quieten things down to a reasonable level.

I went for this case/mobo as I can fit 5 hard drives in offering 10 - 15tb of storage.

I also want to output dts hd master which I believe this set up can do??

May also look at adding a graphics card if this will improve the quality of the picture?

Cheers
Mark

Apparently it can hold upto 7 according to OcUK's website. Extremely OTT for a media centre. However I'm sure it will get used for a lot more than that now.

apple_man77 · 11 Apr 2011 at 15:25

Martini1991 said:
Why didn't you go sandy bridge H67?

I read a few problems with them :confused:

being my first build I want a hassle free build hopefully :confused:

apple_man77 · 11 Apr 2011 at 15:28

Buchanan0204 said:
Apparently it can hold upto 7 according to OcUK's website. Extremely OTT for a media centre. However I'm sure it will get used for a lot more than that now.

It can but my mobo only has 6 sata ports so 1 for odd and 5 for the hdd's.

10tb's should keep me going for a while I hope.

It's only going to store songs and films on it.

I'm not in to playing games on a pc so won't be used for that. It should last me a while hopefully in terms of a htpc

Martini1991 · 11 Apr 2011 at 15:30

apple_man77 said:
I read a few problems with them being my first build I want a hassle free build hopefully

That was at launch, and a mild issue with boards, which was resolved a month ago.

apple_man77 · 11 Apr 2011 at 15:43

Oh well to late now it's on it's way!

What's the difference between the i3 clarkdale and i3 SB?

Martini1991 · 11 Apr 2011 at 15:58

apple_man77 said:
Oh well to late now it's on it's way!

What's the difference between the i3 clarkdale and i3 SB?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=143

apple_man77 · 11 Apr 2011 at 16:21

From looking at them graphs the SB cpu's are pretty untouchable.

As I say the specs I've chose should be plenty for a htpc for now! If in a year or two the SB CPUs are well and truly established I'll certainly look at swapping a few bits about!