HTPC Budget Build

[Pete from Waban]

Good afternoon,
I want to build a HTPC with Intel CPU which would include HDMI on the motherboard and USB 3.0 and would allow me to upgrade down the road.
Budget: $500.00
I do not do any gaming, mostly movies, You Tube, TV, music and of course, standard Office applications.
Any suggestions from the community would be appreciated.
Thank you.

 

[Ken g6]

OK, Pete, you missed answering a few of [thread=80121]the questions[/thread], but I'm guessing you're in Waban, MA? If so, there's a Micro Center <10 miles from you!

Any idea what form factor you'd like? Mini-ITX, micro-ATX, or full ATX?

 

[ShintaiDK]

Something like a Silverstone Sugo series miniITX chassis with PSU (For example SG05B). Some i3 perhaps (Soon there will be Ivy I3s.) And some H77 MiniITX board with USB3. Mix with a HD and memory and you are ready.

 

[blastingcap]

Are you sure you want to spend that much? A non-gaming rig goes for cheaper than you might expect, these days. Your budget is about as much as the total build cost of my entire rig, except for the video card. Just asking now, because what you set your budget to can influence suggestions you're going to get.

And yes micro center has combo deals that can be quite well-priced. Tigerdirect also has decent combos sometimes, but people hate on them (their CEO is a jerk, true).