Need to build a low cost Media Center PC

[vyamoham]

1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Stupid answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work. Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.')
Ans: I want to build a low cost media center PC. Not for my personal use. It should be able to play 1080p videos without any problem. I plan to install some XBMC software in it. Some mild gaiming is also required. Nothing new. Some 3-4 year old games are fine.

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then mention this too.
Ans:10-12k

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans:No

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans:Windows 7

5. How much hard drive space is needed?
Ans:160GB or as amuch as I can afford.

6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention which screen size and resolution do you want. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, again mention the size and resolution of monitor you have.
Ans:No. I plan to use the HDTV.

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy or which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans:I want only CPU.

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans:Next week

9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
Ans:I will try to assemble it myself, if it is not difficult.

10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans:Open to both.

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans:I want the cabinet to be small. Preferably mini ITX cabinet.
No need to run new games. Some old games with 1 or 2 player should be fine (Some old FIFA, Wrestling game, Some car racing game). What if we go with an AMD APU based configuration.

 

[Chaitanya]

AMD A4-4000 @ 3.1k
Gigabyte F2A55M DS2 @3.7k
Corsair value RAM 2GB @ 1.2k
Toshiba 320 GB Laptop Internal Hard Drive (MQ01ABD032) - Toshiba: Flipkart.com @ 3.5k

Antec BP 300 @ 2k

Cabinet 1k


Moral of story increase budget by a bit..

 

[vyamoham]

Moral of story increase budget by a bit..

Will this be sufficient to do HD Playing and play few games? If it wont, how much more should I spend. As I said earlier, this not for personal use.

I would need an HDMI out also from the motherboard. Does the Gigabyte MB have that?

What would a good mini ITX cabinet cost? Are they costly? The cabinet should look good. What is inside the cabinet doesn't matter. It should play 1080p files without stuttering. I thought of building a low cost media center using raspberry Pi and OpenElec. The total cost of that including power adapter, key board, Wifi USB adapter etc comes to 6000 + some change only. I would have been happy with that if it could play 1080p videos. But unfortunately it doesn't.

Also kindly suggest some games that can run on this config. Some 3-4 year old games are fine. Some single/two player games. (Like wrestling, fifa, mortal combat, chess, NFS. I haven't played many games. So I dont have a clue.)

What about

Gigabyte GA-E350N WIN8 Motherboard - 4.2k
Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case (RC-120A-KKN1) - 3.1k
Corsair XMS3 DDR3 4 GB Desktop RAM (CMX4GX3M1A1333C9) - 2.5k
Some 160GB hard rive.

?

Would this be good enough?

 

[ankush28]

go for this

Intel pentium G2010 @ 3.2k
Gigabyte GA-H61m-D2H @ 2.8k
Corsair Value Select 1600 MHz 4 GB @ 1.8k
Antec BP300 @ 1.7k
iBall/Zebronics cabinet w/o PSU @ 0.7k
WD Blue 500 GB @ 3k
Asus DRW 24B3ST DVD R/W @ 1k
logitech MK200 Combo @ 0.7k
Total ~ 14k

Add graphic card letter Like HD 6670 DDR5

ref=0691d64a-0a63-4763-955e-0f84c973f2be[/B] Toshiba 320 GB Laptop Internal Hard Drive (MQ01ABD032) - Toshiba: Flipkart.com @ 3.5k

LOL
laptop hdd
affiliate link

 

[Chaitanya]

^^Could have suggested that but it goes grossly out of budget..

LOL didn't see it was Laptop HDD..
BTW if it's SATA then no problem..

 

[ankush28]

arrey man just 2-3k more
Graphic card is just option.
g2010 can beat any a4 easily.
Now for graphics IMO A4's graphic with 2GB ram will not that much good

 

[Chaitanya]

arrey man just 2-3k more
Graphic card is just option.
g2010 can beat any a4 easily.
Now for graphics IMO A4's graphic with 2GB ram will not that much good

Haan bhai... (I meant HD6670 + rest)

Well G2010 is strongly recommended

 

[vyamoham]

Hi,

What about Biostar CPU onboard A68I-350 DELUXE R2.0 Ver. 6.x Socket BGA FT1 AMD A68 Chipset? It is processor, graphics card and motherboard all in one.

A68I-350 DELUXE :: Motherboard :: BIOSTAR

Socket BGA FT1
AMD A68 Chipset
AMD Radeon HD 6310 Graphics
Supports USB 3.0
Mini size (17*17cm ) for flexible use
Supports BIO-Remote 2 Technology
Supports Charger Booster Technology

I has HDMI port and USB 3.0 too. It costs 4451 after discounts in ebay.
Biostar CPU onboard A68I-350 DELUXE R2.0 Ver. 6.x Socket BGA FT1 AMD A68 Chipset | eBay

Would this board be enough to play HD videos? I can get a 4 GB RAM from Flipkart for 2086/-.

Transcend DDR3 4 GB Laptop RAM (JM1066KSN-4G) - Transcend: Flipkart.com

And a good looking cabinet for 3110 from ITDepot.

Buy Online Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case (RC-120A-KKN1) in india

Do I need anything else? The total cost comes to 9647 only. Wouldn't this be enough for playing the HD videos? If I go for low cost cabinet, the price could still be less.

Thanks

 

[avinandan012]

dont go for any cpu on board system those are grossly underpowered

 

[vyamoham]

Hi all,

Just restarting the thread.

How about the below configuration?

CPU: G2020
Motherboard: I don't have much idea(mini ITX motherboard with HDMI out and USB 3.0) H61, H77, B75?
RAM: 4 GB 1600MHz
Case: Cooler Master 110 Slim Mini-iTX (It comes with 200W bronze certified PSU).
Buy Online Cooler Master 110 Slim Mini-iTX Cabinets (MIN-110-KKA200) in india
Hard disk: I will re use my 320GB internal hard disk(if it can fit in the case). Or else, can I use flash drive for booting?
Optical drive: Later

Please suggest me a Motherboard too..

Will this be sufficient for playing 1080p videos? Or do I need to add a GFX too? Will Sapphire AMD/ATI HD 7750 1 GB GDDR5 Graphics Card fit in this case? Or are there other low profile GFXs? Upgrading from G2020 to i3220 is worth? Do I need to consider APU based configuration?

If these components cannot fit in the case, can I consider Antec ISK 300-150?

If you have better suggestions, will make the changes. If there are some components currently not available in India, I can get it from US. Anyway I am going there next month.

 

[blackbird]

U didn't yet purchased any system?
if u can wait than wait for new amd and intel 4th generation... there might be price reduction in previous product line.

If u are looking for mini itx motherboard than your only option is
H77N wIFI FROM gigabyte. which cost way over your budget..
so
H77N wifi - 9400
G2020 - 4000
Ram - Corsair DDR3 4 GB (1 x 4 GB) PC RAM (CMV4GX3M1A1333C9) - Corsair: Flipkart.com 2475
Antec BP300 @ 1.7k
iBall/Zebronics cabinet w/o PSU @ 0.7k
WD Blue 500 GB @ 3k
Asus DRW 24B3ST DVD R/W @ 1k
logitech MK200 Combo @ 0.7k

around 21k... or increase more to get i3.. Do go for costly cabinet.. get iball baby 306 or whatever the above guys mentioned..
upgrade later with good cabinet

 

[vyamoham]

Hi,

There are atleast the floowing mini ITX boards out there.

LGA 1155 Mini ITX motherboards

ECS H61H2-I3 (v1.0) $49.99
Foxconn H61S $49.99
Gigabyte GA-H61N-USB3 $69.99
Asus P8H61-I R2.0 $78.98
Gigabyte GA-B75N $81.98
ASRock B75M-ITX $89.98
ASRock H77M-ITX $99.99
Asus P8H77-I $102.24
Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI $103.97
MSI Z77IA-E53 $109.99
Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI $113.97
Zotac H67ITX-C-E $123.99
ASRock Z77E-ITX $134.99
Intel DH77DF $141.99
Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe $144.99
Zotac H67ITX-D-E $146.99
EVGA 111-IB-E692-KR $175.55
Jetway JNF9A-Q67 $179.98
Asus P8Z77-I DELUXE/WD $200.99

FM2 Mini ITX motherboards

Zotac A55ITX-B-E $82.98
MSI FM2-A75IA-E53 $84.99
ASRock FM2A75M-ITX $89.99
ASRock FM2A75M-ITX R2.0 $91.97
ASRock FM2A85X-ITX $96.97
Gigabyte GA-F2A85XN-WIFI $107.98

Any of these are available in India?

I believe Intel processors have more processing power when compared to the APUs. APUs are good in integrated graphics processor. I want to take the intel route. If required I can add a dedicated graphics card.

The case Cooler Master 110 Slim Mini-iTX looks great. It is not very costly also. It has 2000W PSU inbuilt too.
Buy Online Cooler Master 110 Slim Mini-iTX Cabinets (MIN-110-KKA200) in india

Could you please suggest me which all components I can go for, if I need to fit everything in this case.

 

[blackbird]

Available list
Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI 8.5k (best if not overclocking price is okay)
Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI 9k (for overclocker)
ASUS H87I-PLUS 9.5k (very latest 1150 u can add 4th generation cpu too.. but doesn't have many things like wifi, bluetooth etc price is too high)

No amd available...
you might get old zotac ....
THAT'S IT!!!

Pair the gigabyte H77N with G2020 or i3 and you will get a very high power machine...Also get a 24 or 22" led IPS panel that will make your system complete..

Don't go for amd due to heat issue in htpc.. Many complaints that is why it is not available in india..
You also need SMPS with that cooler master remember that.
Still confused than go with BIOSTAR one less power but in budget...

 

[rijinpk1]

Available list
Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI 8.5k (best if not overclocking price is okay)
Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI 9k (for overclocker)
ASUS H87I-PLUS 9.5k (very latest 1150 u can add 4th generation cpu too.. but doesn't have many things like wifi, bluetooth etc price is too high)

it is compatible with 4th gen only. previous gen are not supported on lga 1150 socket

Don't go for amd due to heat issue in htpc.. Many complaints that is why it is not available in india..
Still confused than go with BIOSTAR one less power but in budget...

please feel free to elaborate with proofs

 

[blackbird]

I m not saying that. it is the words of Prime abgb .
Mainly for this reason there is no mini itx board in the market...
Pile Drive consume much power so much heat dissipation..
and this kind of thing will be having too many issues of air due to compact cases.
I m saying just for mini itx mobos...
I would love to have one but due to this issue not available...

-------------
Regarding 4th gen it is only suggestion.. not mentioned though my mistake. never mind

-----
Have anyone seen the mini 210 from cooler master ? it is very nice case. But i doubt it willl be available..

 

[rijinpk1]

I m not saying that. it is the words of Prime abgb .
Mainly for this reason there is no mini itx board in the market...
Pile Drive consume much power so much heat dissipation..
and this kind of thing will be having too many issues of air due to compact cases.
I m saying just for mini itx mobos...
I would love to have one but due to this issue not available...

-------------
Regarding 4th gen it is only suggestion.. not mentioned though my mistake. never mind

-----
Have anyone seen the mini 210 from cooler master ? it is very nice case. But i doubt it willl be available..

never ever trust any shop keepers. They will not tell the truth most times and redirect the buyer in to buying something else just like a backdoor trojan does. amd comes with much better cooler. so even on compact cases, it may not be a problem while crappy intel coolers will make much more heat than amd on a smaller case. I dont have a confirmation though.