HTPC Planning

[PrimeSonic]

This is mostly "pie in the sky" territory right now, since this plan won't materialize until after we move into a new apartment where my usual PC won't be within reach of the living room TV anymore. But I enjoy planning PC builds as much as I enjoy actually building them, so why not.

 

The TV is just a dumb display. The only things that will be connected to it will be the game consoles and something that will let us watch YouTube and videos stored on our NAS. Currently, my PC is doing that second task.

 

Now, we could just go with something like an Intel Compute Stick https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Compute-Computer-processor-BOXSTK1AW32SCR/dp/B01ASB0DJ8/

But where's the fun in that?

 

So here's the requirements:

- Cheap as possible

- A small as possible

- No need for on-board mass storage since the NAS handles all that, enough for the OS and that's it

- Ethernet LAN preferred over WiFi

- Low power consumption at idle, this still will rarely shut down

- Steam In-Home Streaming a plus, but not mandatory

- Good YouTube playback (1080p60)

- Media player support for something like VLC or Media Player Classic Home Cinema

- Discrete GPU not required now but being able to upgrade into one later would be cool

 

So what parts might you all recommend?

[Guest]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG C7 40.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($27.45 @ Newegg Marketplace) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory  ($50.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.95 @ Amazon) 
Case: Silverstone RVZ02B HTPC Case  ($72.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Certified SFX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $416.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-27 11:24 EST-0500

[PrimeSonic]

2 minutes ago, deXxterlab97 said:

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory  ($50.99 @ Newegg)

While I didn't mention it in the OP, going with DDR4 is a plus here because I have some unused Corsair LPX DDR4 sticks that I could use here and save some money on.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, PrimeSonic said:

While I didn't mention it in the OP, going with DDR4 is a plus here because I have some unused Corsair LPX DDR4 sticks that I could use here and save some money on.

Also see if you can get i3 6100T (not avialable in PCPP), it's basically a low powered i3 6100. Maybe a pentium/celeron could do its job to save cost

[xc3ll]

Cheap and low power: raspberry pi or some of the android based boxes. But, where is the fun in that...

 

Cheap, pretty powerful and upgradeable: used Dell/Lenovo sff office pc. You can get them with a sandy bridge i3 or i5 for less than 100 bucks

 

Small and powerful: The intel nuc's are cool as well, but still not fun.

 

If you want to build something yourself, like I did recently, the partlist from deXxterlab97 seems reasonable. I bought almost the same, execpt I went for a used i3-2120 with matching itx board. Got that from ebay for 50bucks.

[PCGuy_5960]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($75.00 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory  ($50.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.95 @ Amazon) 
Case: Silverstone Sugo SG13B Mini ITX Tower Case  ($45.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $325.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-01-27 11:30 EST-0500

And add an RX 460 if you want.

[PCGuy_5960]

3 minutes ago, deXxterlab97 said:

Also see if you can get i3 6100T (not avialable in PCPP), it's basically a low powered i3 6100. Maybe a pentium/celeron could do its job to save cost

The G4560 is a better choice IMO...

[Guest]

5 hours ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

The G4560 is a better choice IMO...

Skylake board might not have updated BIOS and the cost to get G4560 (because it's cheaper) will be increased by expensive mini ITX board

[PCGuy_5960]

2 minutes ago, deXxterlab97 said:

Skylake board might not have updated BIOS and the cost to get G4560 (because it's cheaper) will be increased by expensive mini ITX board

Many retailers will update the BIOS for you though...

[PrimeSonic]

2 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Many retailers will update the BIOS for you though...

I'm no stranger to updating motherboard BIOS myself. No big deal.

[PCGuy_5960]

1 minute ago, PrimeSonic said:

I'm no stranger to updating motherboard BIOS myself. No big deal.

You need a Skylake CPU to do that. That's the only issue...