Cheapest Possible Media PC

[failblox]

Hey guys. I'm thinking of building a media PC, but want to spend the least that I possibly can on it. I don't need anything crazy, just a simple PC that can handle my media.

 

1. Budget and Location

I live in Canada, so I'll be paying in, you guessed it, Canadian money. I don't have a specific amount I'm willing to spend, as I want it to be the cheapest possible PC. However, if I had to make a really rough budget I'd say I'm willing to spend a couple hundred to a few hundred dollars on it.

2. Aim
I will be streaming movies from my NAS, so I won't need large amounts of storage. I've considered using a USB as a storage device, but I'm not entirely sure if this is a good idea. Operating systems don't matter - I'm fine with Linux, Windows, and even OS X (probably won't be doing that though). I should note also that the movies I'm streaming have a high bitrate. I won't be able to route an ethernet cable to the computer, so wireless capabilities are a must, preferably wireless ac capable networking, but it's fine if it's not as long as it can stream my movies without stuttering. Other than streaming movies and browsing the web, this computer won't be used for much else.

 

3. Monitors
I have a TV. No need for a monitor.

4. Peripherals
No need for peripherals, as I happen to have a spare wireless mouse and keyboard lying around.

 

One of my concerns about building a budget media PC however is the audio. Will the audio be really bad on a cheap motherboard, or will it be decent enough?

Any questions, comments, or possible builds would be greatly appreciated

[SAV1OUR]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Celeron G1840 2.8GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($46.74 @ DirectCanada) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX/WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($74.50 @ Vuugo) 

Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($89.79 @ DirectCanada) 

Storage: Sandisk Solid State Drive 64GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($49.79 @ DirectCanada) 

Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($74.98 @ Newegg Canada) 

Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($70.98 @ Newegg Canada) 

Total: $406.78

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-06 20:26 EDT-0400

[failblox]

Raspberry Pi.

I've considered this, but I'm not sure if it can handle high bitrate streaming. It's also kinda hard for me to get my hands on one.

[Aniallation]

I've considered this, but I'm not sure if it can handle high bitrate streaming. It's also kinda hard for me to get my hands on one.

Get some second-hand desktop. Anything that's a Core 2 Quad/Athlon X4 or better is still perfectly fine for media, if not even gaming

[Xaring]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD A6-6400K 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.95 @ Vuugo) 

Motherboard: MSI A88XI AC Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard  ($103.18 @ DirectCanada) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($82.79 @ DirectCanada) 

Storage: Sandisk Solid State Drive 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($58.86 @ DirectCanada) 

Case: Zalman ZM-T1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($21.99 @ NCIX) 

Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($55.98 @ Newegg Canada) 

Total: $387.75

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-06 20:32 EDT-0400

 

focused on the wifi AC

[Sernyhough]

Cheapest Intel NUC with 32gb SSD and 2/4 GB of DDR3

[failblox]

How high of a bitrate are you talking about? You can buy it from multiple place such Amazon, Ebay, Newegg, etc.

~10000kb/s

[Clyne]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($69.95 @ DirectCanada) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($94.00 @ Vuugo) 

Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($79.99 @ Memory Express) 

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP900 64GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($56.93 @ DirectCanada) 

Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($49.00 @ Vuugo) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Memory Express) 

Total: $389.86

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-06 20:39 EDT-0400

[failblox]

The Raspberry Pi have hardware accelerated decoding for H.264. There are other inexpensive ARM computers similar to the Pi but with more RAM and dual/quad cores such as the Banana Pi, HummingBoard, Odroid U3, etc.

So it would be able to stream ~10000kb/s movies with no problem?

[miagisan]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD A6-6400K 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.95 @ Vuugo) 

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A55M-VG3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($43.95 @ Vuugo) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($78.48 @ Newegg Canada) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($57.99 @ Canada Computers) 

Case: Apex DM-387 HTPC Case w/275W Power Supply  ($47.78 @ DirectCanada) 

Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer  ($44.99 @ Canada Computers) 

Wireless Network Adapter: TRENDnet TEW-804UB 802.11a/b/g/n/ac USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($21.56 @ DirectCanada) 

Total: $359.70

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-06 23:19 EDT-0400

 

can drop the HD if you have/dont need it....would bring it down to $299.93. you dont need the blu-ray either since you are streaming, but it has a burner and its bluray so I figured always good for an HTPC (without its $314.71). And just movies or music, you dont need alot of ram (4 gbs are fine) but you do want some faster. 1866 is a pretty sweet spot for apus.

 

edit: screwed up with non blu ray player

[miagisan]

Get some second-hand desktop. Anything that's a Core 2 Quad/Athlon X4 or better is still perfectly fine for media, if not even gaming

Thats what i am doing, taking an old core 2 duo e6600 and turning it into an htpc with a few extra parts to suite my needs.

[Aniallation]

Thats what i am doing, taking an old core 2 duo e6600 and turning it into an htpc with a few extra parts to suite my needs.

Just pop a 750 in it

[miagisan]

Just pop a 750 in it

nah. going even cheaper. R7 240 can easily handle 1080p with decoding and at $55, cant be beat.

[Aniallation]

nah. going even cheaper. R7 240 can easily handle 1080p with decoding and at $55, cant be beat.

Except a second hand GPU like an 8800GT (if not lower) will be faster for cheaper

[miagisan]

Except a second hand GPU like an 8800GT (if not lower) will be faster for cheaper

but use alot more power. the r7 240 is only 30w and requires no extra power.

[DigitalHermit]

Except a second hand GPU like an 8800GT (if not lower) will be faster for cheaper

 

False. I tried an 8800GT and it can't keep up with the 7650D on my A8-5600k.

[Aniallation]

False. I tried an 8800GT and it can't keep up with the 7650D on my A8-5600k.

I have a 512MB 8800GTS, which is basically the same as an 8800GT, and it was a performance increase compared to the fried RHD 6570 it replaced

[Aniallation]

but use alot more power. the r7 240 is only 30w and requires no extra power.

But still, it must be said

 

[miagisan]

But still, it must be said

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sph6cjJeRdI

but I am using it for a media pc NOT gaming what so ever (which is the standpoint that linus was reviewing from). why would i spend an extra 30-70 bucks (depending on sales) for a card i wont use to its potential and trying to keep the TDP of the system as low as possible? HTPCs you want the lowest wattage on so you dont need to push alot of air flow, thus keeping it silent. 

 

I would almost feel bad using the 750 cause i would never game with it....intel HD graphics on my E6600 would be more than sufficient if i didnt want hdmi or dvi. See this thread http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/210399-recycling-old-pc-into-htpc/

[Aniallation]

but I am using it for a media pc NOT gaming what so ever (which is the standpoint that linus was reviewing from). why would i spend an extra 30-70 bucks (depending on sales) for a card i wont use to its potential and trying to keep the TDP of the system as low as possible? HTPCs you want the lowest wattage on so you dont need to push alot of air flow, thus keeping it silent. 

 

I have never seen an R7 240 for anywhere near 30 dollars. The cheapest is 50 bucks if you include the ten dollar rebate.

 

What is 30 dollars? This.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127515

 

I'm not saying don't buy a low end video card. I'm saying don't buy an R7 240.

[SkilledRebuilds]

My Singlecore P4 @ 2.999Ghz + 2600XT (GPU Decoding) plays all my 1080p high bitrate files with ease @ 60% CPU & 40% GPU usage.

It did struggle with one movie, but that was a codec issue, since been fixed.

 

So.. a potato that handles HW decoding should suffice.