Ongoing HTPC Build Help (1 Viewer)

[Malakesher]

Hello I am hoping some people may be able to help me with a HTPC Build
I know how to put all of the hardware of a PC together well enough but I know very little about choosing the right hardware.

However I do want to build a dedicated HTPC (because until I do my partner refuses to let me have my PC back since I introduced her to Media Portal).
So far I am pretty much dead set on the SilverStone SUGO SG02B-F Black MicroATX Case so that means I am looking for a mATX motherboard for starters. Also I already own this 2TB HDD that I am planning on using

I will only be using the for MovingPictures and MPTVSeries in StreamedMP so I do not need to consider TV Cards, a good amount of media that I will be watching will be HD.

The main reason I need help is I need to create this build as cheap as possible and I don't know where to begin.

Also I want to connect to an LG 32" TV via VGA

Finally However much I want things like fanless PSU's etc I cannot afford to pay the extra so I will just have to do any fan noise reduction as possible and turn the volume up.

I live in the UK and have mainly been searching on Scan and Ebuyer
and I understand I am asking a lot from everyone and I am truly grateful of any help anyone can offer me.

Thank you very much Liam Hetherington

 

[Redscare]

Sent you a PM

 

[Malakesher]

Hey thanks a lot Redscare I have looked at the website and it may come in handy but for now I need to do this as cheaply as possible so paying for advice will be a last resort.

I have been looking at some parts although I know little about processors and the like I will be giving it my best.
Firstly I have been looking at this 2.6ghz pentium g620,
coupled with this Gigabyte Motherboard EDIT: If I use a mATX case I should buy a motherboard that will fit .
Together with the case and HDD I mentioned in the first post and some cheap 2GB RAM and a cheap PSU (have not looked at RAM or PSU yet).

But would that combination using the on board graphics be enough
I need it to play up to 1080p video files (no live TV).

Also what do people think about the cheap RAM and PSU possibility? I worry about buying to cheap for obvious reasons I just need to save were ever possible.

Finally (as a bit of an after thought) would the motherboard be enough for live TV if I ever decide to upgrade?

Thank you for any help you can offer I appreciate it all.

Liam

Ok since I realised that the motherboard was a mistake I have found two others one is a lot cheaper than the other and most likely not going to be enough but I barely know the difference between the two so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Motherboard 1
Motherboard 2 EDIT2: Fixed links.
Thanks again.

 

[Jay_UK]

Hi there,

1080p should be ok - its 1080i thats the difficult one!

I thought you were after a Micro ATX board?

I would avoid cutting corners on a cheap PSU - consistant power and quiet are key.

J.

 

[Malakesher]

Thanks for the reply Jay and yeah I caught my mistake with the motherboard and I have edited my post.

I don't really know the difference between 1080p and 1080i (apart from what a quick Google search told me) but I am unsure about when I will be encountering them separately? So far I think I have only dealt with 1080p/720p as that is the format my BD rips are in.

Would it be ok to look at cheap PSU's from trusted brands? Or should I still put more money into the PSU and go for a more expensive one?

Thanks everyone Liam

 

[nfox]

1080i is used for HDTV broadcasts and because it has to be deinterlaced it requires more GPU horsepower to do, and many integrated GPUs do not have the horsepower. If you are not going to watch HDTV then you won't need to worry.

I would recommend sticking 4GB RAM in the PC. It's so cheap these days and if you want to run Windows 7, even the 32bit version likes to have more than 2GB.

 

[cisien]

About this time last year, I set out to build the cheapest HTPC I could find that could still play 1080p x264 content and came up with (very close to) this:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=16702511

The Sempron 140 is what i used in my build. I was able to core unlock it, to enable two cores. Even with one core, and my codecs setup to use dxva/mpc-hc, I was able to watch 1080p videos

I use a small SSD to keep noise and power consumption down, all of my media is stored on a central file server, and accessed over a gig-e network.

I recently migrated from WMC to MP this past weekend and couldn't be happier with my setup.