Budget HTPC

[Juked07]

1. Playback 720p (bit on a 42" samsung 720p plasma on black friday), some every day tasks like e-mail/office while I'm at home because my main comp is at school.

2. As cheap as possible while being able to perform the above tasks and fitting in the shelf in our TV stand.

3. USA

4. No

5. TV

6. Yes

7. Default speeds probably suffice for my goals (see 1). I'm also probably just going to use the stock cooler, because this is a budget minded build.

8. Within the next few days/week

Case: I've never built a non midtower before, but probably something similar to Foxconn DH153C-CF300K Steel MicroATX Slim Desktop Computer Case 300W Power Supply. I doubt the PSU is any good, but the below components take basically no power so hopefully it's okay... Please make recommendations if you have any.

Mobo: Pretty much any mATX mobo should be fine I think. I don't have any specific needs. HDMI is nice. Maybe Foxconn M7PMX-S LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7100 / nForce 630i HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard. This should be able to playback 720p no problem right?

CPU: I think I have an E2200 at home, but I'll have to check. If not I may purchase an E2200 or an E5200.

Memory: 2x2gb DDR2800. I'll probably go with the same mushkin kit I have in my desktop since I haven't had any problems with it and it was cheap.

HD: The 640gb WD?

Optical drive: LITE-ON Black 4X Blu-ray DVD-ROM 12X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM SATA Internal 4X Blu-ray DVD ROM Model DH-4O1S-08 is the cheapest I have seen. Should I anticipate having any problems with it?

 

[SpeedEng66]

not sure if they changed it
but my mb with 7150/630i did not support purevideo
it did fine with a e2160 @ stock for 720 (without pure video)

but just wanted to throw it out there fyi

 

[Juked07]

Originally posted by: SpeedEng66
not sure if they changed it
but my mb with 7150/630i did not support purevideo
it did fine with a e2160 @ stock for 720 (without pure video)

but just wanted to throw it out there fyi

Thanks, I didn't know about this. Just to make sure I understand correctly, the lack of support for purevideo means that the CPU will have to handle the load of video decoding rather than the GPU, right?

Also, can someone experienced confirm that this build should be able to serve its intended purpose? I just want to be sure before I pull the trigger.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SpeedEng66]

yes cpu will have higher load due the 630i/610i using the 775 does not have offload
(the amd version had no problem tho )

 

[jdkick]

I recently helped a friend build a new HTPC using an XFX nForce 750a board with integrated GeForce 8200 (supports PureVideo HD and has an HDMI out), an AMD X2 5000+ and 2GB DDR2-800. Got everything as a bundle for cheap. The machine is stable and plays HD without a hiccup.