HTPC - Buy or Build - Help /Opinions (1 Viewer)

[delkosred]

HI All

My old PC has died and i am in the market for a HTPC.

It will be used for only streaming Netflix, Kodi and surfing. Big Storage is not a must as i have a number of external drives that can be used.

I am most interested in something that will support HD on a 55" screen. If it has an optical out that is also a plus.

OS would be Windows 10. I would ,like to pay around $300 and would prefer to buy something but would be willing to build also (note I have never built a PC). I was looking at a Quantum Byte or something similar, but as I mentioned would be willing to build if necessary.

Size is not the biggest factor, but smaller would be better.

Your comments are most welcome
Thanks

 

[ArmSC]

I'm thinking $300 is a bit light for a built PC unless you're going just super cheap(bad idea). FYI the OS alone will cost you $100 so I just don't see the rest of it coming together for $200. I think I would just buy one and go from there.

 

[delkosred]

Good point - I should have mentioned that $300 is for hardware and I will purchase OS seperately

 

[Gary Seven]

I prefer to build since I am in control of the parts used and don't have to contend with cheap OEM parts. 300 bucks? A bit of a challenge at that price since you want to use a 55" TV. Good luck.

 

[Gary Seven]

Since you never built a PC before, I suggest starting with the processor you want. From there, see what chipset supports that processor... that is the type of motherboard you will need. Then see what memory is supported by the motherboard and get that type. Then see what video card the motherboard supports and choose one from those types. From there it is a matter of just getting a SATA HD and optical disc drive. Look at you tube videos for tips and help.

 

[jcroy]

I recently purchased a new desktop computer, exclusively dedicated to watching my dvds. It will not be connected to the internet. This computer is connected to my large screen tv via hdmi.


It was an all-in-one model at a clearance price of around $250. The vintage of the cpu was an Intel Celeron processor from around late-2013, with a Windows8 operating system. (I don't intend on upgrading the operating system).



For watching my dvds, I am primarily using "media player classic" with madVR at moderate settings (ie. mostly using the Softcubic algorithm for the luma + chroma upscaling, with film-mode deinterlacing). It seems to do a better job of upscaling SD 480i content to HD 1080p resolution, than any of my standalone dvd/bluray players.


To test how powerful (or not) this machine is, I watched some of my blurays on it. As far as I can tell, the "media player classic" + madVR setup seems to work without dropping any frames on native HD 1080p resolution content, if I change the madVR upscaling settings to DXVA.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectX_Video_Acceleration#DXVA2_implementations:_native_and_copy-back



Occasionally I also use the VLC player to watch stuff that was originally done as 60 interlaced frames-per-second.

 

[ArmSC]

Even $300 for parts is still going to be close but it's possible. Considering that you can get either a new or refurb machine with the OS license for less than $300 it doesn't make a lot of sense to build. Building only saves you money when you're looking at a highend machine. You really save on putting together a gaming rig. When it comes to a basic PC it's hard to be some of the prices the larger brands offer. I would get nice refurb desktop or small form with win 7, buy an ok vid card and then get the free upgrade to win 10.


PC Dell 390 refurb $285

Video card $65

 

[delkosred]

I like that approach - I will look into it further. thanks for the tip, I hadn't thought of re-furbs

 

[jcroy]

Also are you planning on watching anything in 4K resolution with the computer?


Is so, then one might want to pay close attention to the video card.

 

[Rick Shepherd]

I recently picked up a second-hand Lenovo Thinkstation S20 for a few bucks. It has 1 x DVI out, 1 x Displayport out, 1 x Displayport in, 1 x SPDIF out, 1 x SPDIF in, 5 channel analog out. Twin quad core Xeon processors and a Nvidia graphics card that does 2K no problem.

It came with 2 x 500GB internal Sata drives and I have added 2 x 2TB USB drives.

I use this connected directly to my TV and also as a server for streaming around the house.

 

[Daddy]

Check out the Dell deals on new or older refurbished equipment.


New Inspiron Small Desktop

Intel Celeron Processor (Dual Core)
Windows 10 Home
4GB Memory
500GB Hard Drive

1 Year In-Home Support included


or


Inspiron Micro Desktop

Intel Pentium Processor (Quad Core)
Windows 10 Home
2GB Memory
32GB Solid State Drive

 

[delkosred]

I have a chance to buy the following, good for streaming video/Kodi : any comments? Price to buy is $350 cdn /$250 US


BIOSTAR Hi-Fi B85N 3D LGA 1150 Intel B85 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138404

Antec ISK 110 VESA Black ABS plastic / 0.8 mm SECC Mini-ITX Desktop Computer Case 90W External Adapter, Up to 92% Efficiency Power Supply

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129185

WD Blue 500GB Mobile 7.00mm Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM SATA 6 Gb/s Cache 2.5 Inch - WD5000LPCX


http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=1Z4-0002-001C2

ADATA XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600W4G9-DB

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211810


Intel Core i3-4330 Haswell Dual-Core With hyperthreading
3.5 GHz LGA 1150 54W BX80646I34330 Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4600


http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116945

 

[ArmSC]

Those parts look fine to me. I would double check the ratings on the video performance of that board as I don't see a vid card on you list. If you have storage options other than internal I would go with an SSD for the OS. Other than that go for it. I still think I would go with a refurb for this project but that's me.