Budget AM1 Media Centre Build

[wamsood]

Hi guys, I'm new to this so if you could bare with me it would be appreciated! 

 

I'm planning to do a HTPC build on a tight budget. I'm not intending to play any games on it, have all my films ripped to external HDD and wanted to build a media centre build which I can leave attached to my tv rather than having to swap HDMI inputs from my Macbook, my main rig and Xbox and blu-ray player. 

 

I'm also keen to use the new AM1 platform largely due to its low price and 25w TDP meaning I can leave it on without the guilt. 

 

My proposed parts list consists of:

 

• Processor : Athlon 5350 2.05ghz
  • I figured due to the low price difference of these chips I might as well aim for the top.
• Motherboard : ASROCK AM1H-ITX
  • I want this motherboard for a number of reasons.
  1. First, I wanted the m-itx form-factor in order to make sure there was room for a 120mm fan inside the case.
  2. I was also drawn to this board due to its superior connectivity, with mini-pcie which would allow me to keep my wireless on the board, and also the extra controllers allocated to USB3 (not really vital for me) but more importantly the Sata options, which allows me to reuse this board for a server purpose in the future.
  3. The power supply option was probably the biggest selling point for this board as I wanted to keep the system as quiet as possible, and the lack of an ATX power supply will certainly help! It also still gives the option for an ATX power supply so that's still a possibility in the future.
  4. Also important was the audio capabilities, with the optical audio-out being important in my media cabinet. The same goes for the video out options with HDMI being an obvious necessity.

 

• PSU : 19v DC Power Supply [Not Yet Found]
• Case : Novatech Media Case
  • I chose this case because it was relatively cheap, enabled a full size optical drive and would look good under my tv, quite important right?
• Optical Drive : LiteOn BluRay/DVD Reader
  • I wanted Bluray on this machine so that I could sell my Bluray player which is slow and clunky and free up space.
• OS Drive : 60gb SDD
  • Just need a cheap SSD for the OS which is still up in the air.
• Media Drive : 2tb WD Green
  • Wanted a low-power, relatively quite large drive from a brand I trust.
• Connectivity : Intel Mini-PCIE Wireless Card
  • Might as well use the mini-pcie slot as it wont accept m-sata for wireless and bluetooth. Just need to decide on antenna's.
• Peripheral : Logitech K400 Media Keyboard
  • Looks relatively nice and good value from a brand I like. The touchpad is a nice addition. 

 

• Price list:
  • APU: £40
  • Motherboard: £57
  • PSU:
  • Case: £50
  • Optical Drive: £26
  • OS Drive: £41
  • Media Drive: £63
  • Connectivity: £20
  • Peripheral: £30
• Total: £327 Okay, so not so much of a budget build but it should prove worth it?

If you've stayed this far, thanks!

 

Only things left to decide are the OS, which I'm leaning towards windows 7/8 as I can get it cheap through being a student, coupled with a media frontend such as XBMC or Plex. Any suggestions on this would be gratefully received!  

Also, if anyone has got any advice on TV tuners here in the UK then help would be great!

 

Thanks for reading! 

 

[ShadowCaptain]

I would personally get something like a pentium G3220 - also a £40 processor, you get way more motherboard options and the PCI-e doesnt cap out at 4x so you could even run discrete graphics if you wanted or upgrade to a hbetter haswell in the future, IF you need to

 

Plex is great though, I run it on my windows home server, OS is installed on an old OCZ ssd 64gb

 

As far as wifi goes I hate it so I run all my pcs on gigabit ethernet so I wasnt concerned about that

 

There are loads of tv tuners hauppage make some good ones

[DarrenP]

Hi guys, I'm new to this so if you could bare with me it would be appreciated! 

 

I'm planning to do a HTPC build on a tight budget. I'm not intending to play any games on it, have all my films ripped to external HDD and wanted to build a media centre build which I can leave attached to my tv rather than having to swap HDMI inputs from my Macbook, my main rig and Xbox and blu-ray player. 

 

I'm also keen to use the new AM1 platform largely due to its low price and 25w TDP meaning I can leave it on without the guilt. 

 

My proposed parts list consists of:

 

• Processor : Athlon 5350 2.05ghz
  • I figured due to the low price difference of these chips I might as well aim for the top.
• Motherboard : ASROCK AM1H-ITX
  • I want this motherboard for a number of reasons.
  1. First, I wanted the m-itx form-factor in order to make sure there was room for a 120mm fan inside the case.
  2. I was also drawn to this board due to its superior connectivity, with mini-pcie which would allow me to keep my wireless on the board, and also the extra controllers allocated to USB3 (not really vital for me) but more importantly the Sata options, which allows me to reuse this board for a server purpose in the future.
  3. The power supply option was probably the biggest selling point for this board as I wanted to keep the system as quiet as possible, and the lack of an ATX power supply will certainly help! It also still gives the option for an ATX power supply so that's still a possibility in the future.
  4. Also important was the audio capabilities, with the optical audio-out being important in my media cabinet. The same goes for the video out options with HDMI being an obvious necessity.

 

• PSU : 19v DC Power Supply [Not Yet Found]
• Case : Novatech Media Case
  • I chose this case because it was relatively cheap, enabled a full size optical drive and would look good under my tv, quite important right?
• Optical Drive : LiteOn BluRay/DVD Reader
  • I wanted Bluray on this machine so that I could sell my Bluray player which is slow and clunky and free up space.
• OS Drive : 60gb SDD
  • Just need a cheap SSD for the OS which is still up in the air.
• Media Drive : 2tb WD Green
  • Wanted a low-power, relatively quite large drive from a brand I trust.
• Connectivity : Intel Mini-PCIE Wireless Card
  • Might as well use the mini-pcie slot as it wont accept m-sata for wireless and bluetooth. Just need to decide on antenna's.
• Peripheral : Logitech K400 Media Keyboard
  • Looks relatively nice and good value from a brand I like. The touchpad is a nice addition. 

 

• Price list:
  • APU: £40
  • Motherboard: £57
  • PSU:
  • Case: £50
  • Optical Drive: £26
  • OS Drive: £41
  • Media Drive: £63
  • Connectivity: £20
  • Peripheral: £30
• Total: £327 Okay, so not so much of a budget build but it should prove worth it?

If you've stayed this far, thanks!

 

Only things left to decide are the OS, which I'm leaning towards windows 7/8 as I can get it cheap through being a student, coupled with a media frontend such as XBMC or Plex. Any suggestions on this would be gratefully received!  

Also, if anyone has got any advice on TV tuners here in the UK then help would be great!

 

Thanks for reading! 

For 327 Pounds i think you could do a little better. I also recommend because this is a media centre PC that you run something like Linux Mint. I'll put something together for you with that budget. 

[ShadowCaptain]

64watt 19 PSU if you do decide to get that board 

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-030-IM&groupid=2362&catid=2282

[DarrenP]

OP What you could also do is get and HDMI Splitter. Which would save you a butt ton of money. Here's a decent 4 port HDMI splitter: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet%C2%AE-SPLITTER-Distribution-Amplifier-Display/dp/B002EACW82

 

Than you can plug in your Xbox, Macbook, Main Rig, and Blu-Ray into the TV. 

[wamsood]

I would personally get something like a pentium G3220 - also a £40 processor, you get way more motherboard options and the PCI-e doesnt cap out at 4x so you could even run discrete graphics if you wanted or upgrade to a hbetter haswell in the future, IF you need to

 

Plex is great though, I run it on my windows home server, OS is installed on an old OCZ ssd 64gb

 

As far as wifi goes I hate it so I run all my pcs on gigabit ethernet so I wasnt concerned about that

 

There are loads of tv tuners hauppage make some good ones

I wasn't really planning on using discrete graphics as the only future use I can see for this board is as a home server type thing, so the Pcie 4x cap doesn't really bother me, only future use for the pcie might be some low end sata raid card. Also, I'm quite intrigued to find out what the AM1 platform can do at such a low power. Yeah, I use Plex a bit at the moment, does seem to be a great service. I hate wifi too and I'll probably be running on gig ethernet too but I always like to have wifi and bluetooth available as I have to use home-plugs which have the tendency of refusing to work. Ah great, I'll have a look at Hauppage to see what they've got, thanks!

 

For 327 Pounds i think you could do a little better. I also recommend because this is a media centre PC that you run something like Linux Mint. I'll put something together for you with that budget. 

I know it's not the best for the money, just have that need to tinker. Plus, some of the options I have chosen I might downgrade a bit as its so easy to get carried away when looking for parts. 

 

64watt 19 PSU if you do decide to get that board 

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-030-IM&groupid=2362&catid=2282

Ah great, been looking for somewhere that sold these things, seem to be quite rare...

 

OP What you could also do is get and HDMI Splitter. Which would save you a butt ton of money. Here's a decent 4 port HDMI splitter: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet%C2%AE-SPLITTER-Distribution-Amplifier-Display/dp/B002EACW82

 

Than you can plug in your Xbox, Macbook, Main Rig, and Blu-Ray into the TV. 

I know that would be loads easier, and its not that I don't have the HDMI ports available as much as it is the fact that I need a new project after I finish Uni this summer. Plus, it would be nice after my sata cable on my mbp failed this month meaning all my films are now on external drives which is a pain. I know it's not really necessary but I can't resist a tinker...