Home Theatre PC

TPD

Hi folks. I'm getting a bit sick of the general sluggishness of the pipo x7 I'm using for my TV's computer. Hoping to salvage a piece or two from an old gaming desktop (2007) and make something worthwhile for under the TV.


1. What is your budget? €500ish, could be stretched

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? HTPC, pre-gamecube emulation maybe, possibly Rocket League

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? 120gb SSD, Radeon HD 4890, 4gb 800mhz Corsair DDR2 RAM, Creative Xonar D2 soundcard

5. Do you need a monitor? No


5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1920x1080. Can upgrade the pc if/when I get a 4k TV, will be years yet.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? No

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Yes

8. How can you pay? Debit Card / Paypal

9. When are you purchasing? No mad rush



I'm looking for a decent form factor for under the TV, as quiet as possible. The pieces I've mentioned are currently in the old gaming PC, but it won't boot fully. I'm suspecting the motherboard is the problem, as it was a piece of crap at the time.

I'm not averse to ditching the GPU all together and relying on the CPU's output until such time as it needs upgrading.

I can get windows from Reddit and I've a logitech k400 for input. USB3 ports front and back would be nice. No garish lighting, hoping it'll be unnoticeable in a darkened room.

Thanks for any help!

TerrorFirmer

I would go for a mitx build. Something like this. It works out at 570 delivered, but can be easily whittled down by getting a matx board instead of ITX, and slightly bigger case, but if its a HTPC smaller is better really. I've also included an SSD, but you already have one so it would be under 500 without the SSD.

In any case, it's just a guide to give you an idea. Would also handle all the latest releases pretty well if you decided to dabble in some more gaming.

There's also the option that if it never gets more intense than rocket league, of going even smaller again - with a true ITX small case like this, but upgrade options are then extremely limited/non existent.

TPD

Cheers for that, looks pretty perfect size and unobtrusiveness-wise. A few questions though:

Am I right in saying that I wouldn't be able to reuse my soundcard with that setup though?
The case looks to have only two slots for PCIE cards to poke out the back, and the graphics card is double slot if I'm not mistaken?
Or have onboard sound chips moved on a bit in the last decade to the point a soundcard isn't worth it?
Would the GPU hold up well enough for 4k video down the line?

Finally.. What site is the basket screenshot from? Would be handy ordering it all in once place.

Thanks!

Edit: Is the DDR4 ram compatible with the DDR3 motherboard?

TerrorFirmer

Sorry, I just overlooked the fact that the board wasn't DDR4. You could just pick another or go with DDR3 ram either.

Unless you were doing some sort of professional work I wouldn't see any need for a sound card, really, onboard is fine.

You don't really need a GPU for 4K video, that's just for those games and emulation you mentioned, doesn't need to be that powerful but it's the best budget card, next model down is about 30 euro cheaper and 50-60% less powerful.

The website is OCUK.

TPD

Thanks again TerrorFirmer for your help. I'm about to hit the order button on the attached configuration - but before I do, will I need any additional cables or screws or fans etc? Thermal paste? I've a couple of sata cables from the old machine, and a few different molex cables and adapters.