CPU/Mobo Dirt Cheap HTPC Build

S

sreenisatish

Disciple
I am thinking of this bare minimum HTPC build:
AMD Phenom II X2 250 - Rs. 3225
Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H - Rs. 4463
1GB DDR2 800Mhz - Rs. 1200
Basic Cabinet + PSU - Rs. 1200? (Can I get this at 1200?)
Basic UPS(Rs. 1500)

This much comes to Rs. 11500.

I already have the optical drive, monitor, HDD and KB/mouse. So, not adding them.

The 785GM chipset is capable of decoding H.264, VC1 and MPEG2 with HW acceleration. So, Blu Ray playback is covered. The motherboard has HDMI and DVI with HDCP. So, connection wise, both monitors and TVs are covered. I will be running Win Xp - more than enough to cover HTPC needs and I guess 1GB RAM will be sufficient for XP (can someone confirm?) and Blu Ray playback? I am not interested in going for any gaming whatsoever - I have a separate rig for that :) So, utility matters more than power user stuff like overclocking.

I was thinking of going for the WD TV Live, but there is no way to play my Blu Ray discs (I have a small collection!) on it. Also, this build is just 3K more than the cost of a WDTV Live.

What do you guys think of this build? Can I go any cheaper?
 
^ I think the parts are fine but you should not skimp on the power supply so much. It's true that you don't have a hungry graphics card but it is still better to go for a power supply like FSP Saga II 350W Power Supply or something or this sort. Cabinets will cost you 1000 upwards if you get the cost of the inbuilt power supply deducted.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Edit: Just looked up the motherboard. That is an excellent board for the price! Superb features for an HTPC build.
 
sreenisatish said:
The motherboard has HDMI and DVI with HDCP. So, connection wise, both monitors and TVs are covered.
Click to expand...

You would be able to use either the HDMI or DVI at one time, you cannot use both outputs simultaneously.
 
I guess this thread should have gone to PC buiying advice. Sorry.

Will try to throw in a decent PSU :) Also, I am fine with 1 output at a time.
Anyway, any ideas if I will be fine with 1GB RAM?
 
Update on the build:

I have built the system and it is working fine :)

Final config:
AMD Athlon II X2 240 - Rs. 2675
Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H - Rs. 4400
Kingston 2GB DDR2 800Mhz RAM - Rs. 2000
Segate 500GB SATA - Rs. 1850
Some el cheapo cabinet
Cooler Master CM 350+ PSU - Rs. 1500

All prices are exclusive of tax.

Also ordered a Liteon iHos04 Blu Ray drive on ebay global easy buy for Rs. 3600

Onboard HD decoding works fine for most videos. I ran into trouble for some HD videos though - the way the files were encoded were not supported by the GPU (must have to do with the H.264 encoding profile. This particular video had L4.1). So, had to turn off DXVA :( Anyway, the processor was able to decode 1080p content using the Arcsoft Video Decoder without any lag.

Have to find some way to enable DXVA for high profile H.264 content too. According to my research, Nvidia GPUs do a much better job at HD decoding than ATI GPUs. So, I am even thinking of going for a cheap NVidia card (4350?) if I run into issues. But, for now, everything looks fine :)
 
If you need a card anyways, you could have opted for-

E5300/E5400 (2.9-3K) + Gigabyte G41 DDR2 (2.3K approx) + 2Gb DDR2 800

and also get a HD4350 (ATI) or 9400GT/9500GT (Nvidia). :)

PSU- FSP SAGAII 350 (1.5K approx).

I have seen some opt for the ATI onboard gfx to play HD and not fully satisfied depending on requirement.

So i feel it's safer to opt for HD-capable gfx card with a budget cpu+mobo combo. :)

Sorry for being late here. :ashamed:
 
Hey nice specs and pretty latest too.

This is my HTPC Build specs but not so latest

It is also bare minimum and I am using an old mobo to get my work done.

My Build is not yet Complete I am getting most of the parts from U.S or Canada

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-81915-ME-C

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 HT enabled 2.8Ghz LGA775 Socket

RAM: Transcend JetRAM 2x1GB DDR 400Mhz

HDD: 40GB MAXTOR IDE for Boot and 2TB Hitachi or WD Green Retail Pack for Storage

Sound Card: Turtle BEACH RIVIERA 5.1 PCI Sound Card with Optical out

Graphics Card : ECS nVidia 9800GT Green 512MB DDR3 with HDMI(with Artic Cooling L2 Pro prefitted)

CPU Cooler: Scythe BIG Shuriken 120mm cooler

Cabinet: Lian-Li V351

PSU: OCZ Fatal1ty 550Watts 80+ Modular

OS: Windows Vista Home Premium SP2(OEM:COA) and Office 2010 Professional Plus VL(MAK) (got this free of cost from Internet and Very legal:eek:hyeah:)

Anyone has any other suggestions please mention them.
 
Yeah That's True arvind.

My point when I make a PC is to make good use of the existing stuff than throw/sell it away and purchase new components.

If you see my signature it also has a very different combination of features and that PC is 5 years old and still pretty much game.
 
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