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Barebones system as HTPC?

The m/b only has VGA out so you'll need a video card if you want HDMI/DVI. A 5450, 5550, or 5570 would fit the bill. I use a passive 5450 and it's a great, cheap card for an HTPC. It will allow for bitstreaming if you upgrade to a blu-ray down the line too.

My only beefs with the system would be using a tower case as an HTPC, though you may have reasons for going that route, and that you could spend a bit more for a more power efficient system and save that money on your power bill in the long run.
 
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TastesLikeChicken said:
The m/b only has VGA out so you'll need a video card if you want HDMI/DVI. A 5450, 5550, or 5570 would fit the bill. I use a passive 5450 and it's a great, cheap card for an HTPC. It will allow for bitstreaming if you upgrade to a blu-ray down the line too.

My only beefs with the system would be using a tower case as an HTPC, though you may have reasons for going that route, and that you could spend a bit more for a more power efficient system and save that money on your power bill in the long run.
Click to expand...

There's probably threads around for it..but how much of a difference does HDMI/DVI compare to VGA?

And is it mainly the 450W power supply that'll drain the most electricity? Is there a more efficient alternative? What sort of power supplies do HTPCs generally use?
 
Syringer said:
There's probably threads around for it..but how much of a difference does HDMI/DVI compare to VGA?

And is it mainly the 450W power supply that'll drain the most electricity? Is there a more efficient alternative? What sort of power supplies do HTPCs generally use?
Click to expand...

err, you want dvi at the very least. VGA is not a good idea at all. you can always get a dvi-hdmi cable.
 
I would be more concerned about fan noise on these than performance. If you aren't streaming 1080p Blu-rays across your network, a 3GHz machine with 2GB of RAM should do.
 
Syringer said:
There's probably threads around for it..but how much of a difference does HDMI/DVI compare to VGA?
Click to expand...
For an HTPC it's a pretty big difference. VGA is an analog output whereas DVI/HDMI are digital. VGA doesn't support HDCP so you would have problems watching a blu-ray disk without using AnyDVD or ripping the disk and stripping the DRM. Also, if you plan on getting a speaker setup you'll want HDMI to connect to a receiver in order to get HD audio playback.

And is it mainly the 450W power supply that'll drain the most electricity? Is there a more efficient alternative? What sort of power supplies do HTPCs generally use?
Click to expand...
It's not so much the power supply itself as it will only provide as much power/current as the system requires. It's the system components that determine how much power is used at idle and load. idk if there are typical power supplies for an HTPC but there are many HTPCs that use 200W PSUs (and some far less than that) because the system components won't pull a load higher than that.

Your CPU is pretty much overkill for a dedicated HTPC. Honestly, an E3300 (dual-core Celeron) has more than enough oomph for an HTPC and will draw quite a bit less power than the quad-core AMD chip in the system you are looking at. You can put together a respectible HTPC with an E3300 for only slightly more than you are paying for that barebones system.

For some of the best efficiency available currently, and a powerful HTPC system, you can't beat a Core i3-530. Combine it with a mATX H55 motherboard, 2GB of ram (an HTPC doesn't really need 4GB), hard-drive, and a mATX case w/ 150W to 200W PSU and you have a small, efficient HTPC that has all the basics. Onboard HDMI is powered by the on package GPU of the i3, it is HDCP compliant, and it can bitstream HD audio. It's more of an initial upfront cost for the i3 system but you'll recoup that cost over time with lower power bills.

It's all about the priorities and economics that are right for you though. I'm just trying to give you options.
 
Syringer said:
This is way more than $199.
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You will easily save the difference in energy quickly.

But again, if you are looking for something under $200 and really only looking for Netflix and some Hulu the best option is AppleTV.

Oh, don't forget, the package you list in the OP doesn't come with an OS.
 
Syringer said:
This is way more than $199.
Click to expand...

Your bundle doesn't include an OS (if I remember correctly, the link no longer works for me :hmm🙂, so unless you have one lying around or plan on using Linux, you'll need to factor that in as well. That link does include an OS and also a nifty remote.
 
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