Building Theatre Computer ($300-$400)

[carsoncb056]

I'm currently in the process of building a new computer to run Blu Ray (1080p) movies from my gaming computer downstairs to the tv upstairs. This would be it's only purpose. It will need to have wireless capabilities. I don't want to spend more than $400 after considering rebates. I plan on buying all of the components within this next week. I already have a monitor (tv), speakers, keyboard, and mouse. I want to buy all of the parts from newegg unless the same part is $10 or less on some other site. I prefer an SSD over the HDD because I have gotten used to using SSDs. I am in the US. Below are the parts I am considering on purchasing. Can you please advise as to better options or possible incompatibility issues?

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117374
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148719
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132215
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127584
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438012
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119274
SSD : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147372
CD/DVD Drive:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106393
Wireless Adapter: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704045

 

[MongGrel]

If its only purpose is to play Blu Rays why not just buy a Blu Ray player ?

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...d-keywords=blu+ray+player&sprefix=Blu,aps,186

But I really doubt that would be all you have in mind, have a HTPC in the bedroom I'm on atm.

 

[Aikouka]

What exactly do you mean by "Blu ray (1080p) movies"? Are these going to be Blu-ray ISO rips, 1080p MKVs, or something else? Honestly, my biggest worry is that you're trying to do wireless, and worst of all, you want to do it with a Wireless-N adapter. Now, if you could guarantee a perfect 150Mbps, I wouldn't worry about it, but in my experience, you aren't going to get that. Also, keep in mind that if your gaming computer also runs off Wi-Fi, then you're going to have even more latency as the router has to switch between talking to both devices. Wi-Fi uses radio waves, which can only effectively talk to a single device at a time... unless you have the rather new technology, MU-MIMO, which allows a router to use separate radios for talking to separate devices.

 

[carsoncb056]

My desktop is hard wired to my wireless router through an ethernet cable, so it would be on a shared network type of thing. I am currently running a low-end laptop, but it only lags on the BluRay items which is the reason I wanted to build the desktop. When I play these blu ray files, I usually have to move my desktop upstairs, and I'd rather just have a stand-alone cheap desktop up there. All of my blu rays are downloaded files, not disks, so a blu ray player would not work, otherwise, that's what I would use. Most of my blu ray files are .mkv. Would the better option be to use a wireless pci card, or is the usb item not enough? I'm not sure if the wireless adapter is as powerful as a low-end laptop's wireless feature.

 

[Charlie98]

I agree with Aikouka...

The weak link is the wifi connection between the router and the HTPC.

The HD6450 is a waste, however... the iGPU in the G3258 is at least equal to it. Your budget precludes anything else more suitable. I had a HD6450 in my HTPC (to fix the playback issues with the Sandy Bridge iGPU) but comparing that with the stock G620's iGPU (my original chipset) I couldn't tell any difference. The G3258 is much better in that regard.

 

[Aikouka]

I agree with Aikouka...

The weak link is the wifi connection between the router and the HTPC.

The HD6450 is a waste, however... the iGPU in the G3258 is at least equal to it. Your budget precludes anything else more suitable. I had a HD6450 in my HTPC (to fix the playback issues with the Sandy Bridge iGPU) but comparing that with the stock G620's iGPU (my original chipset) I couldn't tell any difference. The G3258 is much better in that regard.

That's a good point. I didn't even notice the video card. At worst, you could put the money from the video card into a better wireless adapter. If your wireless router supports 802.11ac, I'd say go with an adapter that supports that. At that point, you should be okay... as long as we're only talking about files that range from 4-10GB.

EDIT:

Since this box will only be for playing video files, what are your thoughts on a SFF system like the Intel NUC? For example, this Celeron NUC is only ~$130, and it just requires a single SO-DIMM and a 2.5" drive. Of course, if you want something with a bit more power, you could always go with a full-fledged i3-based NUC, which does have a better Wi-Fi card built-in (2x2 instead of 1x1) and support for m.2 (and 2.5" if you get the taller model).

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Is a wire absolutely out of the question?
Nothing wireless will beat the reliability of a 1000BaseT (or hell even 100BaseT) hardline.