Budget DIY HTPC hardware for XBMC?

Hey all, I'm gonna cut a long story short and just ask if someone could let me know what I need to put together my own media center to solely run the excellent XBMC.

It'll be tucked away so it doesn't need to look pretty it would need to be reasonably compact mind.

My main request is that it plays 1080p content without any stuttering nonsense.

The media center will plug into my Onkyo 606 then top my 1080p tv

How does this set up look? (taken from avsforum)

£60.00 AMD PHENOM 64 8450 X3 PROCESSOR, SOCKET AM2+

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AMD-PHENOM-64-8450...|294%3A200

£15.00 SilverStone Nitrogen NT07-AM2 CPU Cooler

http://www.afterhours.co.uk/silverstone-...ce=froogle

£130.00 J&W MINIX 780G-SP128MB

http://www.overclock.co.uk/product/Zotac..._8628.html

£30.00 A-DATA ADQVE1A16K 2x 1GB

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CT2KIT12864AC800-2....m63.l1177

£80.00 WD 1000GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200RPM Internal 1TB

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WD-1000GB-SATA-Har...|294%3A200

£64.00 APEX MI-008 Black Mini ITX Computer Case 250W

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/APEX-MI-008-Black-...|294%3A200

Umm.. this should probably be in the hardware discussion forum..

As for what you have there... It seems mixed up a bit. You have an amd processor listed but a motherboard that takes intel cpus. Also, your motherboard has onboard video, so I'm not sure why you would need the extra ati video card.

So ditch the extra video card and either switch to an intel cpu, or an amd compatible mobo.

sssss

I think perhaps you're looking at a very expensive option there. you're currently on £379, where some of that gear isn't compatible as a previous commenter has stated.

why not go for something like this?
Acer-Aspire-Revo-Intel-Atom-Desktop-PC
it's £260, will easily manage everything you wanted it to do and is roughly the same size if not smaller.

so the only thing you're missing out on is Hard drive space. with the spare money, why not try and get a shared network drive?
1TB LAN External Hard Drive £98

£260 + £98 = £357.

I'm all for building my own computers, but only when it's cheaper

ShadeBlack Wrote:I think perhaps you're looking at a very expensive option there. you're currently on £379, where some of that gear isn't compatible as a previous commenter has stated.

why not go for something like this?
Acer-Aspire-Revo-Intel-Atom-Desktop-PC
it's £260, will easily manage everything you wanted it to do and is roughly the same size if not smaller.

so the only thing you're missing out on is Hard drive space. with the spare money, why not try and get a shared network drive?
1TB LAN External Hard Drive £98

£260 + £98 = £357.

I'm all for building my own computers, but only when it's cheaper

I was hoping someone like you would come along

I've never built a PC before infact I'm a mac user (12 years+) so I was trying to gather enough info to build one.

So what you've posted will play 1080p blueray rips (at 5000+ bit rate, that seems to be the sticking point with some media playing pc's) if that's the case then you saved me potentially electrocuting my self lol give yourself a pat on the back.

that setup is not going to play bluray rips, i would help you with the pc building but don't know of any UK sites to look for parts

jefffisher Wrote:that setup is not going to play bluray rips, i would help you with the pc building but don't know of any UK sites to look for parts

Thanks man, are you talking about the set up I've listed or the Acer-Aspire when you say it won't play blue-ray rips?

your setup isn't going to work at all due to the non compatibilityness, the aspire i'm not quite sure about that video card might actually handle it i found a uk site i'm seeing if i can put you something together reasonably right now though i can't find any decent motherboards that small

Thanks J - Appreciate your time man. To be honest though looking on here and a couple other sites it looks as if this Aspire may do the the trick and at £150! (+ 1TB HD & an extra 1GB stick of ram)

JUICESIX90 Wrote:Thanks J - Appreciate your time man. To be honest though looking on here and a couple other sites it looks as if this Aspire may do the the trick and at £150! (+ 1TB HD & an extra 1GB stick of ram)

The aspire should work well under linux using vdpau(as long as you have atleast 2gb of ram). Windows on the other hand is a no go.

cheers