Is it possible to build an HTPC for under 125 bucks

[Arkitech]

Looking for a super basic PC to play 1080p videos. Hoping for something small and cheap. Does'nt need a blu-ray player or high end video card. Pretty much the only function will be for streaming video, music and checking email/websites.

 

[SithSolo1]

If you bought everything old and used, maybe.

If you didn't need the email/websites I'd say get something like a Western Digital TV Live box.


At minimum you'll need:
Processor
Motherboard
Ram
HDD
PSU
Case

Thats about $20 on average for each item.

 

[mfenn]

If you bought everything old and used, maybe.

If you didn't need the email/websites I'd say get something like a Western Digital TV Live box.


At minimum you'll need:
Processor
Motherboard
Ram
HDD
PSU
Case

Thats about $20 on average for each item.

Agree. With only $125 to spend, I would recommend a WD Live or jailbroken Apple TV.

 

[Arkitech]

I should have mentioned I already have the HD, optical drive and OS. Would I still be pushing over 125 for the remaining parts?

 

[paperwastage]

find a cheap $30 case with built in PSU

RAM = $20 for 1x4gb

if you have a microcenter, <$100 for an AMD combo or i3 combo (processor + mobo)

roughly $150

 

[DaveSimmons]

Yep, used. You might almost make it with an Atom barebones but those are slow for browsing and can't do HD software decoding (such as Netflix)

If you were in the Seattle area I could set you up with my socket 775 core duo E8400 combo in a decent Antec NSK 4xxx case. Unfortunately, shipping a case is horribly expensive unless you are Newegg and get big discounts from UPS.

 

[SithSolo1]

If you scour the FS/T forum, geeks.com, or ebay you might be able to scrape something together on your own.

I did find this: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...MAR-2R&amp;cat=SYS

Its refurbished and over budget but I doubt you will be able to scrape together something much better. It even comes with a stand alone ATI video card(though fairly weak by today's standards). From what I can tell it should either be an ATI Radeon X1300 or X1300 Pro.

Here is a smaller, slightly cheaper unit but with a slower processor and no stand alone video card. It might be able to handle 1080p, I dunno. http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...DC22-R&amp;cat=SYS