Low End HTPC Spec

[Antar Bolaeisk]

Hello all,

Was wondering if people could help me out a wee bit with a spec for a fairly low end PC with the ability to be plugged into a HDTV via HDMI

The person I'm helping is looking for it mainly for basic desktop usage and for some gaming, though again nothing fancy, just games that have been out for a few years at this stage.

Was thinking maybe a cheap Athlon PC but I'll bow to your superior knowledge in this area.

Requirements

CPU
Motherboard
RAM
HDD
GPU
PSU
Case (cheap and cheerful)
Budget: £500

There's an old copy of XP knocking about here somewhere which should be okay for now however he is considering upgrading to Windows 7 at some point in the future so ideally the system should be specced with Win 7 in mind. He has a screen as well though he's not sure on the resolution but it's quite old so I'm guessing 1024x768 to maybe 1280x960

Also, he won't be clocking it.

Thanks in advance,
Antar.

 

[SeraphX]

bada bing lol

 

[Ryan-3]

+ I havn't included a optical drive, as I wasn't sure whether you'd go for blu-ray or not
+ I missed out the PSU, something like this would power it fine

 

[Gary*]

Who needs a cheap and cheerful case when you can have something as lovely as this;

I opted for the OCZ over the Corsair as it was Modular, although there is the Corsair HX450W if you look around for roughly the same price.

 

[Ryan-3]

I'd go for that above, but i'd go for the retail i3 chip, no need for an aftermarket cooler if you won't OC your chip

+ The ModXStream II is £2 cheaper

 

[Gary*]

Chose the cooler as stock HS & fan are loud and nasty - not something you want when you want a nice HTPC ^^.

 

[Antar Bolaeisk]

Cheers for the tips guys