Budget HTPC

[bg_f50]

Hi Guys,

After flipfloping between Plasma and LED finally brought LGLw6500 after reading reviews from the forum
but to my shock it cannot play flash movies through webbrowser which is a big turn off not sure how they call it smart
and has only 2 USB ports !!!

other then that really happy with my purchase

Now to really make it smart i am planning to build a HTPC instead of buying media player and NAS

have decided to rip open my old desktop , i have the follwing units in gud working conditions

Motherboard : M2N68-AM-SE2
Ram : 4GB DDR2 - Kingston[800Mhz]
Zebronics nVidia 7200GS 256MB
AMD Athlon 64 X2 2.7GHZ
80GB hardisk
DVD RW
WINXP 64bit

without crossing a budget 8 -10k[Max] , can experts provide with tips
how to build high performing HTPC and what components to add

My pc does not have a hdmi port , i can buy a good graphics card which as HDMI output and replace my existing

my requirement will be

1: low power
2: low noise
3: Able to play games

presently i am in Bangalore . if you have any good pointers to buy those let me know the shops also

Thanks
-BG

 

[haisaikat]

I think it will be difficult for a good gaming PC to be low power. Moreover even for normal HTPC if you want a greener low power around 20W HTPC then you have to think of building this around Fusion platform.

Having said that, apart from power consumption your rest of the componets except GPU are fine for HTPc and can be reused. You have to but GT450 / ATI HD6690 or higher GPU to support good frame rate in gaming, else a 4K INR GPU will do fine for 3D HTPC / BD Playback. Btw you might have to look for a BD drive / Writer if BD playback is what you also desire,.

 

[bg_f50]

Thanks haisaikat

Gaming is not a must ,

 

[baijuxavior]

Simply add a GPU with HDMI out (like GT440) and your old desktop will be ready for HTPC duty. If you want a low power, low noise HTPC then assemble one based on AMD fusion E350. Asus has a fanless model. You will also need to buy a good cabinet, fan less PSU and MCE remote.

 

[kaushik]

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices
get a barebone pc add HDD...!
if possible avoid
HTPC is a fancy item .. the amount of tweaking, planning etc for a media playback system that too with 15-30k investment is NOT worth .

yes it has many features , but 10k android mediaplayer with decent 3d support... is all most most average person want .

htpc is kept separate so it is another computer taking good money that will get active just a few hours .

for PC work u need to have a lappy/pc extra

my take .. get a decent laptop , do a wifi setup to TV/Pj
control via wireless mouse hyeah:,silent,instant on,multipurpoase

 

[vinayaga]

My 2c's:

1. Under clock your Athlon so that the heat generated is very less, power consumption is less and the fans can run slower. A 2ghz dual core CPU is more than sufficient to play XBMC.

2. Ditch the idea of a power sucking Geforce 440 or more. Get a Passively cooled Geforce 510 and you will have a card that plays anything that is available today and does so with zero noise.

3. Do NOT use the 500gb hard drive as the boot drive for the media center. Get a 4gb USB Stick for Rs 250 and use it as a boot drive. Install Openelec Generic version of XBMC. Installs on the 4gb stick and boots up in about 5 seconds. The Generic package of Openelec plays very well with the Geforce cards.

When you want to play games, boot from the 500gb HDD into Windows 7

If you want more information, I had written a blog on HTPC's some time back.

Random musings...: Full guide to build a cheap and powerful HTPC !

 

[soulforged]

A thread in time!

A friend of mine wants an HTPC for gaming, HD movies and music. He's on a tight budget and wants to know if there's in someone in Bangalore who assembles HTPC (using an HTPC enclosure).

I have no clue on these things so throwing the question to the forum...any pointers?

 

[madhavk8]

A thread in time!

A friend of mine wants an HTPC for gaming, HD movies and music. He's on a tight budget and wants to know if there's in someone in Bangalore who assembles HTPC (using an HTPC enclosure).

I have no clue on these things so throwing the question to the forum...any pointers?

Go to SP Road in Bangalore. All computer shops out there will assemble an HTPC for you. They also have one of the cheapest prices in the country for computer products.

 

[soulforged]

Thanks will pass the info on...

Any recommendation on the shop, configuration, enclosure?

 

[Kittu]

Thanks will pass the info on...

Any recommendation on the shop, configuration, enclosure?

Vinayaga,ROC, Sam, Spiro and other few members are experts in HTPC department . PM them , they will give you the config you should look for.

 

[madhavk8]

Thanks will pass the info on...

Any recommendation on the shop, configuration, enclosure?

Visit shop Golchha IT on SP Road. It is an ISO 9001 certified dealership and one of the best in Bangalore. I buy all my computer stuff from there only.

Email id - [email protected]
Address - 69 #70, Ground Floor, S.P Road, Bangalore 02 | PH: +91-80- 22278811 / 22998403 / 41146173 | FAX: +91-080-22221122

As far as configuration is concerned the choices are too diverse and depends on budget and requirements and connectivity you require and hence i say better you just go to the shop and they will guide you and help you decide and build for you a best suited HTPC for your budget and requirements.

 

[soulforged]

Thanks! I will pass this on to my friend... :clapping: