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My first HTPC build ~£300 - r4ms4y - 2012-10-08

Hey, wondered if I could get some opinions on the following build. Not sure if I'm going for Windows 7, XBMCbuntu or anything else so open to opinions on that as well. Have around £300 to spend. Hope it to match a Group#7 HTPC on eSkRo's list.

CPU: Intel Core i3 2120 3.30GHz Dual Core CPU
Motherboard: Asus P8H61-MX Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
RAM: 4GB DDR3 1333MHz Single Channel
Cooler: Intel Stock Cooler
£174.98 inc VAT

OcUK GeForce GT 430 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card - £49.99 inc VAT
OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (AGT3-25SAT3-60G) [AGT3-25SAT3-60G] - £43.99 inc VAT
OcUK Opera Media Case - Black (with 500W PSU) [CA-020-OP] - £39.98 inc VAT

Total - £308.95

Also have an old machine that I'm planning on using as a backend for PVR, most likely tvheadend, again opinions welcome.

Intel Celeron E1200 1.6Ghz Dual-Core Processor
Gigabyte GA-73PVM-S2H GeForce 7100 Micro-ATX PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
GeIL 2GB <2x1GB> PC2-6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit
Gigabyte GeForce 9600 GT 512MB GDDR3 TV-OutDual DVI

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - bluray - 2012-10-08

For HTPC, you don't need GT430......Intel HD2000 should be able to playback blu-ray 1080p video and bitstreaming HD audio with ease......

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - r4ms4y - 2012-10-08

Thanks for the reply. Will happily drop the GT430 if a dedicated GPU isn't necessary.

I'm guessing that the rest of the build is adequate and that given the price range you wouldn't have gone another route?

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - DavidT99 - 2012-10-08

Personally I would look to buy Ivy bridge rather than sandy bridge and it will be slightly cheaper, how about this;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008F65MO0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLEx

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007OCJWTM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001IWZDME/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A1F8YGP86NG3IP

All for £180 delivered.

Every one of the above is an upgrade to your original option.

David

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - charlie0440 - 2012-10-08

(2012-10-08, 23:21)DavidT99 Wrote: Personally I would look to buy Ivy bridge rather than sandy bridge and it will be slightly cheaper, how about this;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B008F65MO0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLEx

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007OCJWTM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001IWZDME/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A1F8YGP86NG3IP

All for £180 delivered.

Every one of the above is an upgrade to your original option.

David
Seeing as there is still money left over, how about upgrading againWink.. for an extra £15 you can a i3 3225 with HD 4000 http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/processors/intel3rdgencorei3,i5andi71155socket/bx80637i33225.html


RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - r4ms4y - 2012-10-09

Thank you all, I have taken all your suggestions and have done some additional shopping around and come up with the following:

Intel Core i3-3225 3.30GHz S1155 3MB - £91.36
Asrock H77M motherboard - £56.86
G-Skill 4GB 1600MHz PC12800 DDR3 NQ Series CAS 9 Kit (2x 2GB) - £18.92
OCZ Technology 60GB Agility 3 SSD Series SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive - £36.19
OcUK Opera Media Case - Black (with 500W PSU) [CA-020-OP] - £39.98
Total: £243.31

@charlie0440 - Still money left over Smile

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - charlie0440 - 2012-10-09

Get more RAM if you want (its not really needed, but no harm in it).

I would use that money on a remote or a decent keyboard, or if you choose to go the Windows route, spend it on the Operating System.

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - r4ms4y - 2012-10-09

Think spending it on a decent remote is what will happen.

Anyone else have any opinions on my build?

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - RaggSokk3n - 2012-10-09

Looks very much like my htpc, the 3225 is excellent :-)
Use the leftover cash for a nice remote, harmony 600/650/700/900/one or a Motorola xbmc remote.

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - r4ms4y - 2012-10-09

@RaggSokk3n - How much did yours cost you? Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - DavidT99 - 2012-10-09

(2012-10-09, 10:16)r4ms4y Wrote: Thank you all, I have taken all your suggestions and have done some additional shopping around and come up with the following:

Intel Core i3-3225 3.30GHz S1155 3MB - £91.36
Asrock H77M motherboard - £56.86
G-Skill 4GB 1600MHz PC12800 DDR3 NQ Series CAS 9 Kit (2x 2GB) - £18.92
OCZ Technology 60GB Agility 3 SSD Series SATA 6Gb/s 2.5" Solid State Drive - £36.19
OcUK Opera Media Case - Black (with 500W PSU) [CA-020-OP] - £39.98
Total: £243.31

@charlie0440 - Still money left over Smile

None of the prices for your top 3 items includes delivery, by the time you add the delivery the cost is about £200. The items I linked to from Amazon were £20 cheaper with delivery.

David

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - r4ms4y - 2012-10-09

@DavidT99 - The prices were with delivery according to Google shopping but if not will get them from Amazon.

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - DavidT99 - 2012-10-09

(2012-10-09, 15:17)r4ms4y Wrote: @DavidT99 - The prices were with delivery according to Google shopping but if not will get them from Amazon.

Always go to the site selling the goods as I often find the prices on price comparison websites don't always pick up delivery charges.

David

RE: My first HTPC build ~£300 - RaggSokk3n - 2012-10-10

(2012-10-09, 13:30)r4ms4y Wrote: @RaggSokk3n - How much did yours cost you? Is there anything you wish you had done differently?

I live in Norway so prices are about 20-25% higher than the UK and US prices.
8000Nok for two with remote and keyboard - so about 800£ or 1400$
Only thing I would do differently is change the harmony 200 in the living room for a Motorola nyxboard hybrid.