Looking for Slim/HTPC on a budget...

GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
edited January 2010 in Hardware
I'm looking for a PC to put into my home entertainment unit. My budget is really low. I haven't built a system in a while, but it seems like the minimum price on a halfway decent homebuilt system doesn't come in under $500.

What I have found is a Dell Inspiron 545s at the Dell Outlet for $319, with the following specs:

Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor E5300 (2M Cache, 2.60 GHz, 800 MHz FSB)
16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
640 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Dell 19 in 1 Media Card Reader

Adding a low profile video card like the ATI 4650 card brings the total up to around $375.

Any thoughts on this system, or ideas on doing a cheaper homebuilt with similar specs? The sticking point always seems to be the case when I try to do homebuilt... all the decent HTPC cases come in at around $100, and that kind of blows the budget up when the case alone is 1/4 of the cost.

Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    What do you want this HTPC to do?
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    Provide a playable framerate at 1650x1080 for less intensive games such as DDO, TF2, etc.

    Decode 1080p video with no lag (which from what I've read the 4xxx series of ATI cards can do)

    Look really nice with Fantasy Grounds on my television. ;)

    Thanks!
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    I'd get the system you linked and add a Radeon HD 5670.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    Is there a low profile version of the 5670 available? That's a slim case. Dell also has the Inspiron 537 on the outlet for $279, with a Celeron 450 (2.2GHz, single core) in a mini tower with similar specs otherwise, so I wouldn't need a low-profile card... though it would be a tougher fit in my media center. It has a lesser CPU but would allow for more video card options...
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    You won't find a slim PCIe card that meets your performance requirements.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    Should I stick with the lesser spec'd mini tower then?
  • ZanthianZanthian Mitey Worrier Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    Here is an option: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.319346

    <dl class="comboPriceList"><dd>
    1. Antec M FusionRemote 350:$89.99
    2. ASUS M4A785-M:$79.99
    3. AMD HDZ720WFK3DGI:$109.99
    4. G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ:$49.99
    5. G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ:$49.99
    6. Western Digital WD1001FALS:$99.99
    7. LG ELECTRONICS CH08LS10:$89.99
    </dd><dd class="comboTotalPrice">
    • <label>Combined Total:</label>$569.93
    • <label>Combo Discounts:</label>-$88.98
    • <label>Combo Price:</label>$480.95
    </dd></dl>
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    Nice combo, but it's about $80 above my upper budget limit and that's without a video card.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    GHoosdum wrote:
    Should I stick with the lesser spec'd mini tower then?

    I wouldn't price yourself out of dual core if at all possible. What about this?
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    Hmm... I can spec that one on the HP configurator through Costco at $324, but it has less RAM and smaller HDD than the Dells. So many options to consider. Some days I wish I knew less about computers so that dropping $2000 on an Alienware would seem like a good deal. ;)
  • MAGICMAGIC Doot Doot Furniture City, Michigan Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    You could always get a flixible pci extender and mount a 5670 sideways in your slim case.. Might take a small amount of modding on your part though.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    You are pretty much looking for the holy grail Ghoose.
    My experience with slim cases, and HTPC builds in general is that they get extremely warm. And warm systems needs loud fans to survive. A slim case have limited fan options. You might survive if you have that case in the open, but if your idea is to put it in a rack of some sort, forget about it. You will be extremely dissapointed. Simply put, that extra videocard will add to much heat to things. But you already know this.

    What is your current gaming machine? Any chance to route a hdmi cable from your primary system out to the living room? Use bluetooth for mouse and keyboard and you are all set. Much cheaper too.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    I agree with you 100%, and I'm leaning toward a mini tower now, especially so that I can put in a full height PCI-E card.

    My current "gaming" rig is a 16" laptop with an integrated nVidia 8200M chip, so it's not great for much of anything. I intend to use the HTPC to upgrade my gaming experience now as well.

    I remember being able to build a pretty competitive system back in the Athlon XP days for under $400, but that doesn't seem to be the case any more. I'll have to go with what I can afford, though, so the new system will have to be pretty modest.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    If you're looking to do some gaming, your video card choice will be heavily dictated by what sort of frame rates and image quality you deem acceptable. For example, the 5670 will get beat to a pulp by 1080p. As it is, it struggles with graphically superior titles at 1680 if you try to turn anything up off of their minimum settings.

    Long story short, the fact that you're looking to upgrade your gaming experience pushes you into the $600 range.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    I'm not as concerned with gaming resolution as I am with video resolution supporting 1080p. I'd be satisfied to simply be able to game at a playable frame rate at any resolution, something I can't really do with the integrated 8200M.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    Zanthian found some deals for me today, a Newegg combo on an ECS G41 board and 750GB Seagate hard drive for around $75 (less AR) and an E5300 CPU on ZipZoomFly for $60. I added a $23 LiteOn DVD burner and a cheap 4650 video card and I'm sitting at $223, with $40 in rebates coming back... and now I need to find a deal on RAM (PC2-6400), case, and PSU.

    I realize that the 4650 is underpowered, but for the $25 it costs I figure I can upgrade soon, and in the meantime I'll have a video card that is still a touch better than the integrated graphics of the 8200M.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    I added a $20 case, $30 Rosewill PSU that gets 4 eggs, a $9 card reader and a 4GB kit of OCZ PC2-6400.

    Total for the PC is at $372, with $55 in rebates coming back to me. Not bad!
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited January 2010
    GHoosdum wrote:
    I added a $20 case, $30 Rosewill PSU that gets 4 eggs, a $9 card reader and a 4GB kit of OCZ PC2-6400.

    Total for the PC is at $372, with $55 in rebates coming back to me. Not bad!

    If you decide on anything with DDR2, now is the time. Prices on DDR2 is about to skyrocket. Even Asrock have a new Mini ITX Atom board out...with DDR3. That's about as scary as it gets.

    Why not use your laptop as a Mediamachine? Put those hard earned dollars towards a gaming machine instead. Or hustle some buy and sell forums for some good second handed deals. You're a modder, you'll sort things out.
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