Super Economy HTPC/MiniPC

Mmmm_Lemony

1. What is your budget? [100-150, but realistically the cheaper it is the more likely I'll be able to do it, so maybe start at absolute barebones]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Linux Server for testing college projects / mainly media box for Netflix, Movies, Music etc...]

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [No, running Linux]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [I might have a very old HD laying about, but that would be it internally. I might be able to get my hands on a case, failing that may be able to retrofit an old DVD player for the craic so won't need a case]

5. Do you need a monitor? [No, but needs HDMI to hook up to the TV]

5a. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [TV is 32", not changing anytime soon]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [No]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes]

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser/Cash]

9. When are you purchasing? [Can start buying bit by bit from next Thursday]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [Will put together myself]

So basically cash is king. It has to be dirt cheap. It Its going to sit under or beside the TV and fire up every now and then as either a linux server or test bed for college projects, but mostly will be used to stream the odd match, watch a few movies off a USB, or browse the net, that kind of thing. It won't be playing any games or high end graphics needs (aside from min requirements for stream and movies etc.) It's beside the router so can run a cable if needed so for the moment its ok without wifi but this could change.

Worth mentioning I've built my own before, (actually a suggested build from here... thanks again lads, still going strong) and most of the components were from HV so no issues going that route. Any and all help appretiated!

Lu Tze

Have you had a look at the raspberry pi?

TerrorFirmer

Just buy a PC off Adverts. Old Core 2 machines can be gotten for next to nothing. I've bought a few Core 2/2gb ram machines for about the 50-70 euro mark, just add in a cheap video card like a G210 or HD5450 for the 25 euro mark and you're sorted for everything including full HD playback.

Unless you go the Pi/Android device route, you're not going to build a machine for 100-150 new.

Serephucus

You can, actually. It's not pretty, but:

Item|Price
HKC Case 4673GD, mATX, 420Watt|€35.17
MSI H61M-P31 (G3), Intel H61, mATX|€38.73
4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9|€25.07
Intel Celeron Dual-Core G1610 Box , LGA1155|€37.45
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€155.41

You could shave a few Euro off if you go for a G540 (still dual core) and 2GB RAM, but that's about it. If you could source the case yourself, I'd put that money into this PSU, as it'll likely be a million times better than what comes with the case.

Allyall

Fairly basic, but you could go for this

Zotax ZBOXSD-ID13-E

Roughly €140 delivered from there, but i haven't searched around for cheaper.
You may get their "Special Offer" which is a "Live Agent" - and will offer you free 3- 5 day express shipping (Press x to exit window and she'll appear.) to make it cheaper.
(I am almost 100% i have seen that model for £105stg)

Add an SD card or USB key and RAM

Download Precise Puppy Linux and PuppyLinux: XBMC

May just slightly top €150 depending on what hardware you have lying around. May remain below..

Zotac Box = Roughly €130 if you get free shipping, or Parcel Motel add €3.50

talking_walnut

Serephucus wrote: »

You can, actually. It's not pretty, but:

Item|Price
HKC Case 4673GD, mATX, 420Watt|€35.17
MSI H61M-P31 (G3), Intel H61, mATX|€38.73
4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9|€25.07
Intel Celeron Dual-Core G1610 Box , LGA1155|€37.45
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€155.41

You could shave a few Euro off if you go for a G540 (still dual core) and 2GB RAM, but that's about it. If you could source the case yourself, I'd put that money into this PSU, as it'll likely be a million times better than what comes with the case.

I don't mean to thread hijack but I'm looking to do something similar and don't think there's much point starting a new thread to ask my question as it's probably relevant to the OP too.

Did you go for the Intel CPU because it's the cheapest one that'll do the job or because they're the best value? I'm not up-to-date on hardware these days so trying to figure out what type of CPU to look across. I came across this guide on building a cheap HTPC and it suggests an AMD CPU. I'm just trying to build a media centre that won't wreck my head with lag/loading times etc. Preferably with the option for some light old-school gaming if I get my hands on a game controller at some stage.

Serephucus

I went for the Intel CPU because it's cheap. To upgrade to FM2 needs a bit more money, mainly on the motherboard side.

Mmmm_Lemony

Is it possible to get a board with hdmi onboard? I'd prefere hdmi out as DVI doesn't carry the sound and makes it a little messier. None of the mini boards on HV seem to have it.

Tij da feen

This one has HDMI.
It's Out of Stock with no stated delivery time.

This has HDMI too but is more expensive than the other one.

Mmmm_Lemony

Saw that one but was worried as its for a different chipset. Any difference between Intel H61 Express and Intel B75 Express?

Tij da feen

Mmmm_Lemony wrote: »

Saw that one but was worried as its for a different chipset. Any difference between Intel H61 Express and Intel B75 Express?

B75 is a newer chipset and is better than H61. Namely that it has 2 USB 3.0 port and a SATA 3 port.

Mmmm_Lemony

Serephucus wrote: »

You can, actually. It's not pretty, but:

Item|Price
HKC Case 4673GD, mATX, 420Watt|€35.17
MSI H61M-P31 (G3), Intel H61, mATX|€38.73
4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9|€25.07
Intel Celeron Dual-Core G1610 Box , LGA1155|€37.45
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€155.41

You could shave a few Euro off if you go for a G540 (still dual core) and 2GB RAM, but that's about it. If you could source the case yourself, I'd put that money into this PSU, as it'll likely be a million times better than what comes with the case.

So actually ready to purchase. I went with your advice on the PSU, but as I still won't be sure on a case I went with the fractal. The mobo is also slightly different to allow for HDMI out. The budget was pushed a little so though maybe an ssd might be an option, and as some have said makes linux super fast.

Article No. HV203FD6DE
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse Core 1000 black | 31,10 €
Article No. HVR350CSDE
Corsair VS Serie VS350, Non-Modular, 80+ | 28,89 €
Article No. HV20G161DE
Intel Celeron Dual-Core G1610 Box , LGA1155 | 37,52 €
Article No. HV1136MCDE
MSI H61M-P31 (G3), Intel H61, mATX | 37,47 €
Article No. HV12CV01DE
Crucial V4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2.5") SATA II | 59,84 €
Article No. HV20CO41DE
4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9 | 26,61 €


Totals at 220 mark before shipping. Would this setup work?

Serephucus

Don't go with a V4 SSD, they're not great at all. This one is much better, and ~€5 extra.

http://www.hardwareversand.de/Solid-State-Disk/46113/Crucial+M4+64GB+SSD+6%2C4cm+%282%2C5%29.article

Another €20 on top of that and you can get 120GB:

http://www.hardwareversand.de/Solid-State-Disk/67795/Samsung+SSD+840+120GB+SATA+6Gb+s.article

talking_walnut

Mmmm_Lemony wrote: »

So actually ready to purchase. I went with your advice on the PSU, but as I still won't be sure on a case I went with the fractal. The mobo is also slightly different to allow for HDMI out. The budget was pushed a little so though maybe an ssd might be an option, and as some have said makes linux super fast.

Article No. HV203FD6DE
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse Core 1000 black | 31,10 €
Article No. HVR350CSDE
Corsair VS Serie VS350, Non-Modular, 80+ | 28,89 €
Article No. HV20G161DE
Intel Celeron Dual-Core G1610 Box , LGA1155 | 37,52 €
Article No. HV1136MCDE
MSI H61M-P31 (G3), Intel H61, mATX | 37,47 €
Article No. HV12CV01DE
Crucial V4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2.5") SATA II | 59,84 €
Article No. HV20CO41DE
4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9 | 26,61 €


Totals at 220 mark before shipping. Would this setup work?

Does that motherboard have a HDMI port? I can't see one on the specs page.

Mmmm_Lemony

No HDMI, but plan on getting an economy gpu soon.

On a side note, I'm having issues getting it setup. The PSU I took on recommendation from Serephucus, doesnt look like it's supported on mATX. The power supply for the CPU on the msi h61m takes a 4 pin connector. The VS350 doesnt have a 4 pin connector :O

Is it a case of a square peg, round hole? Or is there an adaptor that will make it fit? I am getting power, but only for a split second, as I assume the CPU isn't getting a supply.

HELP!

Tij da feen

Mmmm_Lemony wrote: »

No HDMI, but plan on getting an economy gpu soon.

On a side note, I'm having issues getting it setup. The PSU I took on recommendation from Serephucus, doesnt look like it's supported on mATX. The power supply for the CPU on the msi h61m takes a 4 pin connector. The VS350 doesnt have a 4 pin connector :O

Is it a case of a square peg, round hole? Or is there an adaptor that will make it fit? I am getting power, but only for a split second, as I assume the CPU isn't getting a supply.

HELP!

It should have a CPU power connector that splits in half. So you can use 4 of the 8 pins at the top of the motherboard.

You need a 4-pin ATX connector to power the CPU. If you don't have one then you can get a molex to 4-pin ATX adapter.

Mmmm_Lemony

Deleted User wrote: »

You need a 4-pin ATX connector to power the CPU. If you don't have one then you can get a molex to 4-pin ATX adapter.

Any bricks and mortar shop selling these?

Cant see in click, maynooth, or memory c

Mmmm_Lemony

Mmmm_Lemony wrote: »

Any bricks and mortar shop selling these?

Cant see in click, maynooth, or memory c

I couldn't tell you, I don't know anywhere decent. There is plenty online but I assume you want it asap to get crackin' on your system.

A good PC repair shop would be able to make one up for you. Or to put it another way, any repair shop who couldn't aren't worth their salt.

Mmmm_Lemony

Tij da feen wrote: »

It should have a CPU power connector that splits in half. So you can use 4 of the 8 pins at the top of the motherboard.

I've had another look, and it appears I'm an idiot! The cable does in fact split in two, and we have POWER!

I couldn't see the join as its such a well built product (that's my excuse anyway :P).

Mmmm_Lemony

Looking to build another cheap PC. It's for my sister in law. She will be using it for college and watching a few videos. Nothing heavy. I can get OS and peripherals myself. (ram gone up by 12e since I purchased similar!)

Is there anything drastically wrong with this build? It's coming in around the 250 mark. I'm looking to get it as cheap as possible as she isn't working.

Article No. HV203FD6DE
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse Core 1000 black
29,66 €

Article No. HV1140IFDE
Gigabyte GA-H61M-HD2, 1155, mATX
42,93 €

Article No. HVR350XRDE
XILENCE Redwing Series, 350W, Rev. 3
21,90 €

Article No. HV20CO41DE
4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9
35,69 €

Article No. HV20G162DE
Intel Celeron Dual-Core G1620 Box , LGA1155
36,15 €

Article No. HV12SSD1DE
SanDisk SSD 64GB 6,4cm S-ATA 600
52,33 €

+/- 250e