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Cheap builds for HTPC

Fgtfv567

I'm probably not going to build it, but I would love to see a build to help me or others that can play 1080p content seamlessly, play BD's, DVD's, and XMBC to stream content like Netflix and games from another PC

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One day I will have my GTX 970. One day. PC specs are at my profile.

Not sure how to check what part works with what? Check out my compatibility guide!

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Raspberry Pi.

Is it strong enough to do the things I mentioned?

Follow the topics you create using the "Follow" button in the top right corner!

One day I will have my GTX 970. One day. PC specs are at my profile.

Not sure how to check what part works with what? Check out my compatibility guide!

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Rasberry pi can play 1080p vids easily and has 4 usb ports so you could just plug in a dvd player and you're done base cost is like 30 bucks before sd cards and expansions 

Yes Yes Legalize Gay Marriage sure, but have you ever considered Weaponizing Gay?

 

CPU: I5 4690 3.5ghz || MOBO: MSI B85-G43 Gaming Board || RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengance Pro - Red || GPU: Gainward GTX770 Phantom 4gb || PSU: EVGA SuperNova 750W Gold || Case: Thermaltake Urban T31 || SSD: Corsair Force 120GB || HDD: 1TB WD Black
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Yeah, rPi is awesome for cheap HTPC's!


CPU: Intel i5 4570 | Cooler: Cooler Master TPC 812 | Motherboard: ASUS H87M-PRO | RAM: G.Skill 16GB (4x4GB) @ 1600MHZ | Storage: OCZ ARC 100 480GB, WD Caviar Black 2TB, Caviar Blue 1TB | GPU: Gigabyte GTX 970 | ODD: ASUS BC-12D2HT BR Reader | PSU: Cooler Master V650 | Display: LG IPS234 | Keyboard: Logitech G710+ | Mouse: Logitech G602 | Audio: Logitech Z506 & Audio Technica M50X | My machine: https://nz.pcpartpicker.com/b/JoJ

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rPi is pretty awesome indeed. My gf was pretty surprised when I showed her that I can basically can use it like her Apple TV. Of course some apps are missing, but when you have an iPad, you can just have the apps there and stream to the rPi.

PC: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 @4.2HGhz 1.25V || Noctua NH-U12S SE2 || 16GB (2×8GB) Aegis 3000Mhz CL16 @3200Mhz || 
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Elite 110 build log (update:05/15/2018)

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Um how well does Linux play Blu Rays? Last I checked the DRM made it a complete pain in the arse, but that was a while ago.

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If you want BD, you need Windows. Go to XBMC forums, there are lots of build guides there. For your reference, look at my sig. I usually play 720p-1080p rips, I use openelec.

Pardon my English. Not my native language.

 

Intel Celeron G1820 Haswell | ASRock B85M-ITX | Transcend 1GB DDR3-1333 | HEC Cougar SL 500W 80+ | Lian Li PC-Q03B ITX | SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0 16GB | OpenElec-XBMC

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If you want BD, you need Windows. Go to XBMC forums, there are lots of build guides there. For your reference, look at my sig. I usually play 720p-1080p rips, I use openelec.

how much did you spend on dat?

Follow the topics you create using the "Follow" button in the top right corner!

One day I will have my GTX 970. One day. PC specs are at my profile.

Not sure how to check what part works with what? Check out my compatibility guide!

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If you are wanting to put together a more capable windows based HTPC, I recommend a build a bit like this: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/RKPzpg

 

My rationale:

CPU - powerful enough for the purposes of media playback and streaming, it runs cool enough to only need the stock cooler, even if overclocked. It's just insanely good value.

MB - basic and includes an HDMI port and is a nice mini-itx size.

RAM - A 1 x 8GB stick is a comfortable amount and will allow you to easily max out the memory in the future if you wish, is decent spec for the price + is low profile as a bonus.

Storage - I figured you've become chemically dependant on the speed of SSDs like many tech-enthusiasts, so I picked a nice fast one with room for OS + software + a tiny bit of games, media or whatever. You said you wanted to play and stream, but not how much media you want to actually store within the machine so I left out other drives.

Case - It's one of the cheapest mini-itx cases out there, is small enough for many TV stand shelves, has enough drive space to use up all the SATA connectors on the MB, lots of GPU leg-room, and quite importantly, since it's one of your requirements, an optical bay.

PSU - It's a quality model and should power all but the most power-hungry graphics cards should you choose to upgrade it to a couch-gaming machine.

Optical - Well, you wanted a bluray, and Pioneer is a great brand. You could even swap it for one with blu-ray writing capabilities for an extra 35% to the component cost. 

IR remote controller - I threw this in since it's very cheap and I can personally vouch for its quality, having used it for years. It's plug in and play in Windows, works with basically all media apps automatically (including XMBC), and unlike similar remotes, it lets you control your mouse pointer for when you're not using a media interface. If you don't already have something similar, I highly recommend it over fumbling around with wireless mice and KBs on the couch.

 

Total Cost = £326 or 510 US dollars.

 

(I just noticed there is a ridiculously massive price difference between US and UK for the case. I made the build with UK prices originally.)

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Raspberry Pi is fine to play 1080p over a network, but it's kinda too weak to my taste, loading times are bit too long ( Opening media / youtube videos ). Haven't overclocked it tho.

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Divader that seems to be very expensive for the parts, I guess cause yours is based on UK, cause getting them just from NCIX here In Vancouver would save you a bunch of money :|

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how much did you spend on dat?

 

I bought things separately, not bulk. Some was in Japanese Yen and Philippine Peso. Overall, the cost in USD (converted at that time) was a little over 100.

 

Explanation on why I picked those parts:

CPU - Before HTPC, I was using my laptop and never had any problems playing my media. I then compared my laptop's CPU to the cheapest Ivy Bridge CPU I can get (haswell was expensive) and I was blown away that my laptop's cpu is weaker than the low end IB cpu.

 

Motherboard - I need native USB 3.0 support (will be explained later). Haswell chipset was expensive. I want it small so itx. At that time I want the CIR to turn on/off via infrared remote and only Asrock motherboard have those so picked them. Unfortunately I cannot get CIR to work.

 

RAM - 1GB is more than enough. (Though at the moment I was given a 4gb stick so now my htpc has 5gb ram, yeah overkill)

 

PSU - 80+ for efficiency. 80+ bronze is expensive. 500w was the lowest and cheapest psu I can get. More than enough.

 

Case - I want cube itx not long(vcr/dvd) like itx cases which most htpc cases look like.

 

USB flash drive as OS drive - I want SSD like performance. I want it fast and snappy. I want it to load images right away. HDD is slow and noisy but SSD is expensive and lowest capacity on the market that time was 120GB which is too much. I had the benchmark tool for usb flash drive and at their website there is a ranking on which USB flash drive is the best. Sandisk was one of them. I still want SSD though.

 

Build log: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/88781-build-log-htpc-itx/

 

This will help you: http://wiki.xbmc.org/?title=Supported_hardware

Pardon my English. Not my native language.

 

Intel Celeron G1820 Haswell | ASRock B85M-ITX | Transcend 1GB DDR3-1333 | HEC Cougar SL 500W 80+ | Lian Li PC-Q03B ITX | SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0 16GB | OpenElec-XBMC

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Divader that seems to be very expensive for the parts, I guess cause yours is based on UK, cause getting them just from NCIX here In Vancouver would save you a bunch of money :|

 

Obviously you should adjust things to make it all more suitable for your region. The website makes it easy.

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