Low end htpc

[Clhnsn55]

I am not a gamer but I find myself searching "linus ..." Whenever I have a question about my computing needs. Anyway I am brand new here so any help would be appreciated.

BACKGROUD:

Upgrading htpc as windows 8 has exposed the weaknesses of my old repurposed system. Tried ps3 (used) but for my purposes it doesn't seem ideal. Even cheap good games cost, not media center friendly interface, slow load times, no free hulu without playon. I considered an android which would pretty much have to be fire tv in order to stream netflix. It still is a viable option but if would have to add a standalone bluray player. Gaming for my purposes would be acceptable. Family likes dumb games like minion rush and beach buggy etc. Also this setup would still probably require playon for free hulu. Yes I considered hulu plus but after a year I would have payed for the extra I would have spent on a pc.

BUILD:

I am looking to get a build done for hopefully less than $300 us

Option 1: mini itx w/ single optical bay that will fit in a 4" tall shelf. Rear ventilation built into tv console.

Option 2: whatever size and continue to use the large bay of the console for the pc.

What I have: bluray drive, nas, windows, hd5450 (in great need of upgrade to 6770 or gt 720 etc)

What I need: bt (preferably 4.0) for controllers, flawless 1080p playback and ui, lightweight gaming

What I want: 4k playback capable, upgradable mobo (fm+), ssd 60 gb, as quiet as possible aka low power

Seems like prices for a 60gb ssd are about the same as a tb hdd. I have seen some refurb towers w/ 3000 level a8 and a10 for under 200 w/o gpu. I have tried to some parts lists but just don't have the knowledge of what's out there to make solid build.

$300 us is limit but would like to go less. I could easily get there if I went refurb which is always an option.

First post so all help is greatly appreciated.

[TheGeeker]

I am not a gamer but I find myself searching "linus ..." Whenever I have a question about my computing needs. Anyway I am brand new here so any help would be appreciated.

BACKGROUD:

Upgrading htpc as windows 8 has exposed the weaknesses of my old repurposed system. Tried ps3 (used) but for my purposes it doesn't seem ideal. Even cheap good games cost, not media center friendly interface, slow load times, no free hulu without playon. I considered an android which would pretty much have to be fire tv in order to stream netflix. It still is a viable option but if would have to add a standalone bluray player. Gaming for my purposes would be acceptable. Family likes dumb games like minion rush and beach buggy etc. Also this setup would still probably require playon for free hulu. Yes I considered hulu plus but after a year I would have payed for the extra I would have spent on a pc.

BUILD:

I am looking to get a build done for hopefully less than $300 us

Option 1: mini itx w/ single optical bay that will fit in a 4" tall shelf. Rear ventilation built into tv console.

Option 2: whatever size and continue to use the large bay of the console for the pc.

What I have: bluray drive, nas, windows, hd5450 (in great need of upgrade to 6770 or gt 720 etc)

What I need: bt (preferably 4.0) for controllers, flawless 1080p playback and ui, lightweight gaming

What I want: 4k playback capable, upgradable mobo (fm+), ssd 60 gb, as quiet as possible aka low power

Seems like prices for a 60gb ssd are about the same as a tb hdd. I have seen some refurb towers w/ 3000 level a8 and a10 for under 200 w/o gpu. I have tried to some parts lists but just don't have the knowledge of what's out there to make solid build.

$300 us is limit but would like to go less. I could easily get there if I went refurb which is always an option.

First post so all help is greatly appreciated.

300 will not get you any thing close to 4k. a min 4k gpu is more then 300.

[Clhnsn55]

300 will not get you any thing close to 4k. a min 4k gpu is more then 300.

It just needs to support 4k video playback.

[Clhnsn55]

I will take a shot at it and see if I can stir up any objections...

 

prices are in US and not exact

 

Intel G3258 ($65)

ECS H81H3-I/HDMI (V1.0) Mini ITX LGA1150 ($44 but seen as low as $22 in December)

Sapphire Radeon HD 5450 1GB  650Mhz ($0 already owned)

Cooler Master Elite 130 ($35)

BT dongle ($8)

Windows 8 ($0 through school)

 

 

wait for a deal on a 200-350 watt psu ($20-30)

wait for a deal on a 60-64gb ssd ($40)

wait for a deal on 4-8gb ram ($20-60)

[Clhnsn55]

I don't think any decent combo AMD Intel will have a problem with the 1080/4k playback

 

The real question is how will the pentium + graphics compare to A-series + graphics in lightweight gaming

Then how will each combo compare in running the UI smoothly

 

From what I have read the A-series can run a dual-graphics set up with its own integrated graphics and gpus lower than hd 6670 but the A-series also sacrifices somewhat in the dedicated CPU. It would be cheaper to go with an A-series APU but will it pale in comparison to a pentium or i3 (possibly).

 

Another option would be an AMD black edition (~$100) but that is just about the same price as an i3 plus there are no miniITX mobos w/ am3+.