Cheapest ever HTPC that's decent. Proud of myself. - Page 7

Yeah I downloaded the USB tool...

But I want to install PRO not HOME. I don't have the file for PRO version. Only the OEM disc I bought.

yes.

You can use the same code on a G620 or G630 too.

I think the G630 was $61 before the discount... so that is a great value too.

1600mhz DDR will run at slower speeds.

The motherboard just downclocks it to 1066 or 1333 or whatever the CPU and chipset require.

It's pretty much automatic. Just push the ram into the motherboard and turn it on. There is nothing special to do.

I personally won't buy 1066 or 1333 DDR3 since 1600mhz is basically the exact same price.

The difference is any is a dollar or two. For that price- I would rather have the better DDR3 ram since you can run tighter timings- it's often better quality- and I can re-use it with a Z68 board or better CPU in future.

I choose and H61 board because it's a good board. It's cheap. It works great- it has fast restarts and a good feature set for that price. But H61 is not a 1600mhz board and chipset like Z68 or Z77 is.

I figured that for $48 it was solid deal. But at some point I might find a nice Z68 or Z77 board for $50 and upgrade it- and if so the memory is still good and I don't need better to overclock or get max performance.

I know I am a bit different than most- I change my stuff over more often. This stuff matters to me, where many might set it and forget it. If your going to build a HTPC and never touch it for years to come... none of my methods would make much sense.

I often find I can buy a CPU or board for a good deal - play and enjoy it- then use if for something else and upgrade- or sell it on ebay. Effectively it might only cost me 10 or 20 bucks to use that piece of hardware for 6 months or a year.

I mean a $48 Asrock 1155 socket motherboard with USB3.0 and SATAIII ports is always going to be worth north of $40 in next couple years. I Paid $48

A $38 Sandybridge G530 is always going to be worth north of $30. We are talking about $8 difference between purchase price and open market used resale value.

When I find a great deal on a higher end board I will jump on it.

I actually have an Asrock Z68 motherboard arriving tuesday.

I found a pretty sweet deal on @ New Egg.


ASRock Z68 PRO3-M LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813157252R

$69

I am going to be using this for the HTPC now. Not the H61. I will run the DDR3 @ 1600mhz.

H61 will become a temporary server board with a G530 untill I swap that out for a more permanent solution. (I would like 8+ SATA and 4 SATAIII + Intel networking LAN CHIPSET)

I also bought this PSU since I realized I needed one for a server case. (I wish I got two of the ANTEC's for $29)

COOLER MASTER Elite 460 RS-460-PSAR-J3 460W ATX12V V2.31 Power Supply $17 shipped AR. It's better than anything nears it's price for sure.

Dual 12V+ Rails and 4 SATA connectors for this price makes it good. They are quiet too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171046




I also grabbed a $48 shipped 60GB SSD.
Not my favorite SSD but for $48 shipped I had to pull the trigger. It won't get wasted.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227725

Ken,

On a last note you can certainly use 1066 or 1333 memory on this board if you like this MB- and find a great deal on this type of memory.

Just because I choose 1600mhz which also works great- does not mean you should or have to. I would get the slower DDR3 if the price was cheaper. I just usually seem to find $30-$40 8GB Kits (4GBx2) of 1600mhz.

I have used Gskill, Crucial, and Mushkin all several times each. All three are great. I usually can't find a 1066/1133 kit any cheaper than $30-40 I am buying these kits for- the difference is often a single dollar or two. For that price I choose the better just for the sake of future possibilities.

15% off Newegg ran last week.

2.4 vs 2.6 ghz is advantage.

Newegg has this now:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...m-_-19-116-399

EMCYTZT1481. Promo code. Free shipping.

Invade you want 620 and prefer newegg as retailer. It's solid option.

I have bought two H61 open box motherboards from Newegg in last 30 days. The ones above.

Both models arrived perfectly. All accessories included, still in wrap plastic.
Nothing was missing, and the motherboard works fine.

I just bought a third openbox motherboard this time a Z68 chipset.

It will arrive tomorrow. I will update on how that is.

I have never had trouble with open box from New Egg. Often just package is opened. It's worth saving the cash for me, since I know how to deal with missing stuff just in case.

A quick email to any MFG about the missing item and they send it quickly for free BTW... Just include a receipt and or serial number. It's easy.

But I have never had anything missing- to me it's identical to buying new in almost all aspects accept the lower price.

$48 for the Asrock boards above was a good deal for me. I have bought new at $65. I have two of the same previously- and was familiar with this board. So I guess I might have more confidence in buying an open box one than normal first time buyers.

I think if you buy from a good retailer you should be ok.

Then yeah just get a G620 for $50 at Microcenter. That would serve you well and $49.99 is a good price for a CPU of that performance level.

ECS LGA1155 board back on newegg for 34$. AR

Fyi

Nice!

Post some pics when you can.

I built two more PC's today.

Z68 Asrock for me 120GB SSD, 8GB DDR3 1600mhz, ...

And a WHS2011 server that I plan to set up with FLEX RAID. (20-30TB)

I should throw up some pics soon.

I also just built a cheap $300 HTPC, and another for a friend.

Will be building another Z68 HTPC this weekend. Should have some cool stuff to show off.

Seems like my HTPC is rubbing off on my friends. I showed them my set up and they all want it now. When I explain you can have a real HTPC for $300-$400 they are amazed.

Most of them think it's a super computer- never seen something work so well and so fast. Doubt they ever seen or used and SSD based OS before.

It's quite a difference with an SSD and modern hardware set up right vs a few year old PC - even if it was midrange/highend at the time.

You should enjoy it! A HTPC does not need to cost thousand dollars.

My main PC is i7 overclocked costing $3000+ and honestly a $300 G620 based machine is perfectly acceptable to me for 10% of the that cost.

Your welcome

As head up the open box Asrock board is back for $48

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813157236R

Good board for $48

Also there is a few others, including a mini ITX for $55 and some 67's at decent and low prices:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...13-157-271-Z01

What kind of case you want?

NewEgg had the Antec and the Coolermaster for $40 shipped.


Do you have a PSU ?

I see $20 cases all the time online.

The cheapest is not always the "best" or best value.

For the cheapest I use this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227725

$63 normal price and I got 15% making it $48 for the last one I bought.

I won't buy a 60GB unless it's 1$ per GB or less. $80 for a 64GB is just not smart to me.

If I am not on a super budget (think $50 or so) then I step up to something better/faster that is also $1 per GB in the 120GB size.

I like this for both performance and value. It's as fast as anything out there under $200 and great price too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227706

$120 is not a bad price. But you can get it for $99.

The difference is the NAND they use. In the Vertex3 the controller is more optimized for performance and the NAND is a faster type.

Real world - they both are good.

For HDD storage I like the 3TB seagate. THey are $139 all day long at Costco. That is like $45 per TB. No rebates. No Fuss.

It's was easy and fast. In stock and mo rebates.

The drive can be used as internal without breaking the case too . So you can convert it back and forth .. Cool design