home pc theater build parts needed!

[zombiewainam]

Hello I am a 14-15 year old. looking for a birthday gift for my mom.

So you probably know that i dont know to much about home theatre pc's build.

I know alot about more powerfull pc though......

I am building one for my mother. so it doesnt have to be that powerfull.

 

I want to know what is enough to make a home/theater/video watcher/movie watcher.

 

i want to know the current things. all parts need to be budget parts:

1 cpu what (intel) cpu do we need for just good performance at 1080p video?

2 how many gb ram?

3 what recommended motherboard(with wifi)

4 what recommended case as small as possible(a square one)

 

disclaimer: I dont want a rasberry pi.

 

ty

[zombiewainam]

btw what power supply.

[Swndlr]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card  ($139.99 @ B&H)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($45.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $477.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-19 22:56 EDT-0400

[Stagea]

Hello I am a 14-15 year old. looking for a birthday gift for my mom.

So you probably know that i dont know to much about home theatre pc's build.

I know alot about more powerfull pc though......

I am building one for my mother. so it doesnt have to be that powerfull.

 

I want to know what is enough to make a home/theater/video watcher/movie watcher.

 

i want to know the current things. all parts need to be budget parts:

1 cpu what (intel) cpu do we need for just good performance at 1080p video?

2 how many gb ram?

3 what recommended motherboard(with wifi)

4 what recommended case as small as possible(a square one)

 

disclaimer: I dont want a rasberry pi.

 

ty

 

First of all, that is very nice of you to think of getting her an HTPC. Please see my answers below:

1. Anything from a Celeron G1820 (~$45) or higher will do, as long as you're not playing back 3D Video.

2. 4GB of Value RAM should be sufficient (~$24). More can help, if she will heavily multitask with it.

3. An H81 based motherboard with an HDMI out should be sufficient. ITX ones like the H81M-ITX may be a good option (~$50)

4. This would depend on if you're looking at putting an ODD or not. There are inexpensive compact ITX cases from In Win or Apex (granted you'd be running the stock HSF).

[ShadowMethod77]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.89 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($45.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.49 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card  ($139.99 @ B&H)

Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($45.00 @ Newegg)

Total: $477.34

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-19 22:56 EDT-0400

He could save a few dollars if he went with a G3220 and some cheaper (but still good) ram like Kingston or Crucial. You also probably wouldn't need any heat spreaders on your ram since the system wont really be under too much of a load running movies and stuff. 

[ShadowMethod77]

btw what power supply.

 

Hello I am a 14-15 year old. looking for a birthday gift for my mom.

So you probably know that i dont know to much about home theatre pc's build.

I know alot about more powerfull pc though......

I am building one for my mother. so it doesnt have to be that powerfull.

 

I want to know what is enough to make a home/theater/video watcher/movie watcher.

 

i want to know the current things. all parts need to be budget parts:

1 cpu what (intel) cpu do we need for just good performance at 1080p video?

2 how many gb ram?

3 what recommended motherboard(with wifi)

4 what recommended case as small as possible(a square one)

 

disclaimer: I dont want a rasberry pi.

 

ty

Here is what I've thought up for a good HTPC. You can DEFINITELY get a different case like a fractal design mini or Cooler Master ITX cases are damn good. But I wanted a disc drive in mine so that ruled out a few cases.

 

Also I really like silverstone's design for an HTPC case

[ShadowMethod77]

 

4 what recommended case as small as possible(a square one)

 

 

 

Silverstone SG02-BF

[ShadowMethod77]

This will be my last post I swear!!

 

Check this out. 

 

And if you don't care about USB3.0, Here is an option

[BenR31415]

disclaimer: I dont want a rasberry pi.

It's not a Raspberry Pi: http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G141578608433

 

No I'm joking (i have one though and it's good)

 

The suggstion by @Swndlr looks good.

 

Another thing I suggest is getting a 5th gen Intel NUC and having an external DVD drive (if you need one), it doesn't matter which one, you said your mum doesn't need much power in it.

 

Oh and PPPPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEE run linux on it

[zombiewainam]

It's not a Raspberry Pi: http://www.hardkernel.com/main/products/prdt_info.php?g_code=G141578608433

 

No I'm joking (i have one though and it's good)

 

The suggstion by @Swndlr looks good.

 

Another thing I suggest is getting a 5th gen Intel NUC and having an external DVD drive (if you need one), it doesn't matter which one, you said your mum doesn't need much power in it.

 

Oh and PPPPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEE run linux on it

Why should i use linux? 

What advantages are there to use a operating system that i have no experience with?

And thats me....

my mother is totaly not good with learning a new operating system on a pc or even a phone.

[Murdoch]

Why should i use linux? 

What advantages are there to use a operating system that i have no experience with?

And thats me....

my mother is totaly not good with learning a new operating system on a pc or even a phone.

 

Yeah, for those reasons stick with what you are comfortable with.

 

I'm not sure why these guys are recommending a GTX 750 ti either, you don't need a graphics card just for video playback on a HTPC. Personally, if I were to make a HTPC for a family member, I would use windows 8.1, use a small SSD for OS drive, and then use 3-4TB HDD for storage. Throw in a BluRay drive if required. WIth an i3, or pentium and mITX mobo. I would use something like a Silverstone Sugo Mini ITX.

 

 

[BenR31415]

Why should i use linux? 

What advantages are there to use a operating system that i have no experience with?

And thats me....

my mother is totaly not good with learning a new operating system on a pc or even a phone.

Question 1: Linux is better as a HTPC OS. Windows is good for other things, such as productivity or gaming.

Question 2: Same as above but also, you get the benefit of $100 in your pocket.

Line 3: You'd be surprised at how easy it is.

Line 4: I'm in the same situation, and my mum uses Linux. It's pretty simple, especially just as an HTPC.

 

Also, you could try Linux (save $100), and if you don't like it, just buy and install Windows.

[WastedEmu]

check to see if you live close to a Microcenter (if in the USA). you can usually get a G3258/Motherboard for about $100 combo, or just the G3258 for $50.

 

No need to get a graphics card, for 1080p video the integrated graphics will be fine.

 

and to get Windows on the PC, try getting the Windows 10 Insider preview, it's still the full version of Windows 10 for free, or stick with a Trial Version.

 

here's just a quick one thrown together that would be good for streaming/watching 1080p videos

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/N9zX7P

[WastedEmu]

Hello I am a 14-15 year old. looking for a birthday gift for my mom.

So you probably know that i dont know to much about home theatre pc's build.

I know alot about more powerfull pc though......

I am building one for my mother. so it doesnt have to be that powerfull.

 

I want to know what is enough to make a home/theater/video watcher/movie watcher.

 

i want to know the current things. all parts need to be budget parts:

1 cpu what (intel) cpu do we need for just good performance at 1080p video?

2 how many gb ram?

3 what recommended motherboard(with wifi)

4 what recommended case as small as possible(a square one)

 

disclaimer: I dont want a rasberry pi.

 

ty

should also follow your topics when you post one so you get a notification when someone replies. Hope my last post helps!