Need help for an HTPC build

[Fhistleb]

I'll just be using it for movies and that is it. What would be a good build? I'm new to this whole thing. I'll use $800 for it.

I'm not going to be picky about this so anything will do, Amd or Intel I dont care.

 

[mfenn]

Do you want an HTPC-style case or would a normal tower be fine? Do you need an OS?

 

[Fhistleb]

I'll take the HTPC case. I do need an OS.

 

[darkewaffle]

Even with the OS you probably won't be even close to 800 unless you buy an absolutely extravagant case.

Rough setup

Athlon II X2 CPU $60
880G Chipset Mobo (Or 785G if you find a good deal) $90
2GB DDR3 (DDR2 if you go 785G) $100
1TB WD Caviar Green $70
Corsair 400CX PSU $30 (AR)
Win 7 Home $100

So about $450 + case/upgrades, but thats a bit of an overestimate and isnt including any combos or other rebates. It'll likely pan out to a bit less.

Possible upgrades; a tri or quad core CPU if you're encoding your movies as well, a blu-ray drive, a modular PSU, a 2TB hard drive, a discrete GPU or 4GB RAM (I went with both, use my box for emulation and moderate gaming). Depending on your case you also might need to consider a non-stock heatsink because many HTPC style cases will restrict the amount of room you have to work with above the CPU.

Off hand I'd say the Silverstone GD05B is a great desktop style case, really like mine. But a little on the expensive side.

 

[Fhistleb]

Would a cheap Radeon 5570 help?

 

[darkewaffle]

For certain tasks. If you play a lot of standard definition content on a HDTV then the 5570 would help you out by giving you more power to use for post-processing; basically software tricks that make old content look nicer in higher resolutions.

And of course a dedicated card, even a 5570, would be better for games than the integrated graphics.

 

[mfenn]

OK. here goes:

Antec HTPC case with 350W PSU $100
Athlon II X2 245 and Blu-ray combo drive combo $124
PQI DDR2 800 4GB $76
MSI 785GTM-E45 and Windows 7 Home premium 64-bit combo $160
Passively-cooled Radeon 5550 with low-profile bracket $72
Samsung F3 1TB $60
Total: $592

 

[darkewaffle]

nevermind.

 

[jdjbuffalo]

I recommend my build (see sig). If you don't need it for gaming then you don't need a separate graphics card. The i3 530 with an H55 or H57 motherboard will work great.

They don't have the Enermax modular power supply like I got. I do recommend a modular one if you can find a good one.
Here is a good non-modular one:
SeaSonic S12II 380B 380W - $49.99

If you want to control it from your couch with a remote then I recommend the AVS Gear GP-IR01BK Windows Vista Infrared MCE Black Remote Control - $24.99
If you want something better that can control everything in your media center then look at the Logitech Harmony remotes.

I did a quick total at Newegg for everything, including Windows 7 Home Premium, for $691.91 + shipping.