Extreme Budget HTPC

[rafspeik-1301927]

Hi people,
my mother recently saved up and bought herself a 32" flat screen, a nice upgrade from a 27" CRT!!

I thought it'd be nice to make her an HTPC to go along with that, but I have no experience in this field so I've come to you guys!

So basically, I'm looking to build an inexpensive HTPC, under £100 ($165) if possible as I'm very strapped for cash right now.
It needs to be reliable, Netflix capable, XBMC capable, does 1080p etc., so standard HTPC stuff.
could you guys suggest a list of components for me please?

Thank you!

 

[Eximo]

Roku box, Western Digital TV, Apple TV.

You aren't going to be able to build a machine for $165 that can do all of that well.

 

[Eximo]

Maybe this, but still over your budget, even more so in the UK.

PCPartPicker part list: http/pcpartpicker.com/p/2Gjrh
Price breakdown by merchant: http/pcpartpicker.com/p/2Gjrh/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http/pcpartpicker.com/p/2Gjrh/benchmarks/

CPU: Integrated with Motherboard
Motherboard: Asus E45M1-M PRO Micro ATX E-Series E-Series E-450 Motherboard ($82.34 @ Mwave)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.92 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.06 @ Amazon)
Case: Apex DM-318 HTPC Case w/275W Power Supply ($39.99 @ Mwave)
Total: $205.31
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-23 15:28 EST-0500)

 

[rafspeik-1301927]

this looks great, thank you

 

[Eximo]

Just a warning, I own an E350 ASUS motherboard and just retired it from being an HTPC. It was never really capable of 1080p HD playback and struggled with 720p (I ended up adding a radeon 6670 to make up the gap) The E450 isn't much faster.

Might look into one of the low cost A series chips and a motherboard to go with it, roughly the same cost. But it is hard to beat all the features they cram into those BGA boards.

 

[rafspeik-1301927]

Just a warning, I own an E350 ASUS motherboard and just retired it from being an HTPC. It was never really capable of 1080p HD playback and struggled with 720p (I ended up adding a radeon 6670 to make up the gap) The E450 isn't much faster.

Might look into one of the low cost A series chips and a motherboard to go with it, roughly the same cost. But it is hard to beat all the features they cram into those BGA boards.

Ah, that could be a problem! Thanks for the tip

 

[cottonshot]

Hi people,
my mother recently saved up and bought herself a 32" flat screen, a nice upgrade from a 27" CRT!!

I thought it'd be nice to make her an HTPC to go along with that, but I have no experience in this field so I've come to you guys!

So basically, I'm looking to build an inexpensive HTPC, under £100 ($165) if possible as I'm very strapped for cash right now.
It needs to be reliable, Netflix capable, XBMC capable, does 1080p etc., so standard HTPC stuff.
could you guys suggest a list of components for me please?

Thank you!

 

[cottonshot]

here’s an addy that you should perchance give a gander.....http/www.minix.com.hk/Products/MINIX-NEOX7.html it is a device an entire computer actually, that is only about the size of a Roku yet it allows you to hook up to yer “devices” TV,Roku,what have you!,+ control everything
wirelessly.... It has a 1.6 gig QUAD CORE C.P.U. and,....well just check it out..if ya like....oh yeah..it's under 100 bucks....just!

 

[rafspeik-1301927]

here’s an addy that you should perchance give a gander.....http/www.minix.com.hk/Products/MINIX-NEOX7.html it is a device an entire computer actually, that is only about the size of a Roku yet it allows you to hook up to yer “devices” TV,Roku,what have you!,+ control everything
wirelessly.... It has a 1.6 gig QUAD CORE C.P.U. and,....well just check it out..if ya like....oh yeah..it's under 100 bucks....just!

Thank you for your suggestion, but it isn't what I'm looking for. I need something with storage, that's why I'm going for an HTPC. This does look like an amazing device though, I might consider it for myself in the future.