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Cheapest ever HTPC that's decent. Proud of myself. - Page 25

post #721 of 860
2/2/13 at 10:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

No beep codes. No nothing... Just black screen.

Assuming there's no onboard video, try booting with no card. That should produce a beep code. If not, I would suspect a motherboard problem or something connected wrong.
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post #722 of 860
2/2/13 at 12:41pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeattleSuburbia View Post

Assuming there's no onboard video, try booting with no card. That should produce a beep code. If not, I would suspect a motherboard problem or something connected wrong.

good Idea... I will try.
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post #723 of 860
2/2/13 at 3:50pm
Hey guys,

I have been trying to absorb as much info the past few weeks regarding HTPC's. I am ready to attempt to build my own, and wish to build a very budget conscious HTPC. Was just wondering thoughts on what I have in mind so far. I am open to any suggestions for improving performance and/or decreasing build cost. Just want to make sure I build it right, but not overbuild for my use.

My HTPC use: No gaming. No 3D. Will web browse, watch TV, and slowly get my movie collection on the PC. At the moment plan to use Windows 7, WMC and media browser.

Case: Silverstone ML03B $59.99 shipped ( I like how this case looks, and will look good with other components in my AV rack)

CPU: Intel Celeron G540 $41.99 (before 15% discount and shipping cost)

MOBO: Asrock H61M-U3S3 $65.99 (before 15% discount and shipping cost)

MEM: Crucial 4GB Ballistix Sport DDR3 1333 $23.99 shipped

HHD: Undecided (not sure on exact size)

SSD: Undecided (sounds like 120GB is the way to go, but doe to cost would go with 60GB for the OS)

PSU: Corsair CX430 $24.99 after $20 rebate/free shipping

OPTICAL: Lite-ON iHOS4-06 BDrom

My biggest gray area is what do I really NEED out of he MOBO. I looked at a bunch of 61/75/77 series boards and not sure what I specifically need. I know for sure HDMI, but outside that I am clueless. It sounds like as far as a HHD goes getting and external and removing it from its case is a cost effective way more more affordable internal memory. It sounds like I have to be careful with my power supply selection with the ML03 case.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Jason
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post #724 of 860
2/2/13 at 8:15pm
craigslist deal on a Dell P4 machine shouldn't run you more than $50 or so

Should get you some extra scrap parts as well. Also, if you have a lower end graphics card try it in a different PCI slot

I had a similarly ridiculously overpriced 775 motherboard as a gaming machine back in the day, and they typically didn't have onboard video
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post #725 of 860
2/4/13 at 10:12am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Duke Broadway View Post

Hey guys,

I have been trying to absorb as much info the past few weeks regarding HTPC's. I am ready to attempt to build my own, and wish to build a very budget conscious HTPC. Was just wondering thoughts on what I have in mind so far. I am open to any suggestions for improving performance and/or decreasing build cost. Just want to make sure I build it right, but not overbuild for my use.

My HTPC use: No gaming. No 3D. Will web browse, watch TV, and slowly get my movie collection on the PC. At the moment plan to use Windows 7, WMC and media browser.

Case: Silverstone ML03B $59.99 shipped ( I like how this case looks, and will look good with other components in my AV rack)

CPU: Intel Celeron G540 $41.99 (before 15% discount and shipping cost)

MOBO: Asrock H61M-U3S3 $65.99 (before 15% discount and shipping cost)

MEM: Crucial 4GB Ballistix Sport DDR3 1333 $23.99 shipped

HHD: Undecided (not sure on exact size)

SSD: Undecided (sounds like 120GB is the way to go, but doe to cost would go with 60GB for the OS)

PSU: Corsair CX430 $24.99 after $20 rebate/free shipping

OPTICAL: Lite-ON iHOS4-06 BDrom

My biggest gray area is what do I really NEED out of he MOBO. I looked at a bunch of 61/75/77 series boards and not sure what I specifically need. I know for sure HDMI, but outside that I am clueless. It sounds like as far as a HHD goes getting and external and removing it from its case is a cost effective way more more affordable internal memory. It sounds like I have to be careful with my power supply selection with the ML03 case.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Jason

You can get a newer than H61 chipset for about $69.

I have a couple of those motherboards and they are nice... but 61 was replaced by 68/75/77 which are better now. But honestly on a budget build you won't notice anything.

It's on the higher CPU you would since you can go faster memory DDR3 speeds (1600mhz+)

Not an issue for you.
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post #726 of 860
2/4/13 at 10:21am
What are key tgings i should be looking at in my budget mobo?
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post #727 of 860
2/4/13 at 10:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Duke Broadway View Post

What are key things i should be looking at in my budget mobo?

HDMI
# of sata ports you need
USB 3
Intel NIC (most budget's won't have, but worth a shot)
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post #728 of 860
2/4/13 at 11:01am
Thread Starter 
Intel NIC isn't big deal. And you can add that later. That's more a server thing ...
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post #729 of 860
2/4/13 at 11:02am
Thanks guys. plan on buying cpu and mobo today while the harbowl code is still in effect.
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post #730 of 860
2/5/13 at 12:54pm
I officially ordered my first two items....wooo hooo. I ended up getting the g540 for $39.68 shippedfor my cpu. For the mobo I went with an Asrock H77M LGA 1155 for 59.99 shipped. Its a start.
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post #731 of 860
2/6/13 at 5:53am
Thread Starter 
Congrats ! Nice start. Do you have plan for rest ?
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post #732 of 860
2/6/13 at 8:26pm
Just ordered the corsair cx430 for $39.99 free shipping. Will end up being $19.99 after rebate. Gonna with the Silverstone Milo for case. I think I will just go with 4 GB ram. Just trying to figure out what to go with for memory. Undecided on ssd. Waiting for a smoking deal on a hard drive.
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post #733 of 860
2/7/13 at 6:08am
Thread Starter 
Hard drive deals are small these days.

Any Seagate 3 TB for $120 is nice deal.
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post #734 of 860
2/7/13 at 6:08am
Thread Starter 
Costco has 4TB for $160 btw...
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post #735 of 860
2/7/13 at 7:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

Hard drive deals are small these days.

Any Seagate 3 TB for $120 is nice deal.
$120 is a great price for a Seagate 3TB HDD. I just picked up another 3TB Seagate Backup Plus USB external drive at Best Buy for $140. That's the same price that newegg gets for the bare Barracuda drive that Seagate puts inside the Go Flex and Backup Plus external enclosures. Those enclosures aren't too difficult to take apart if you know where to pry. biggrin.gif

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post #736 of 860
2/7/13 at 8:49am
Thread Starter 
Oh yes!

I've broken many open in that manner !!!

Well done.
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post #737 of 860
2/8/13 at 7:35am
And the USB3 base is handy too. It uses the standard SATA connectors on top so you can just 'impale' any drive, including an optical on it. Great for cloning or testing drives...
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post #738 of 860
2/8/13 at 9:47am
Thread Starter 
I have about ten of them.... lol

I should throw out 5
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post #739 of 860
2/8/13 at 9:48am
Thread Starter 


I ended up slapping some of the hardware I bought earlier in this thread into a secondary HTPC
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post #740 of 860
2/8/13 at 11:14am
How good is this dea (especially for us Canadians)l?

$149 for a OCZ 240GB Vertex 3 Max IOPS

I'm not quite sure, but I may be doing some upgrading in the next couple months, so it's kinda tempting.

Thanks!
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post #741 of 860
2/8/13 at 12:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by olyteddy View Post

And the USB3 base is handy too. It uses the standard SATA connectors on top so you can just 'impale' any drive, including an optical on it. Great for cloning or testing drives...
I never thought about optical drives.
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post #742 of 860
2/8/13 at 1:17pm
Thread Starter 
lol @ your picture... haha
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post #743 of 860
2/8/13 at 1:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eldar3333 View Post

How good is this dea (especially for us Canadians)l?

$149 for a OCZ 240GB Vertex 3 Max IOPS

I'm not quite sure, but I may be doing some upgrading in the next couple months, so it's kinda tempting.

Thanks!

That is a freakin great deal!

That SSD is a total beast. It's pure Toshiba Toggle Nand. There's nothing faster and bigger for that price. You would need a Vector or Samsung 840PRO to best that beast... and both 256GB sizes are easily $100 more.

That SSD will crush a normal 256GB in speed.
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post #744 of 860
2/8/13 at 1:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eldar3333 View Post

How good is this dea (especially for us Canadians)l?

$149 for a OCZ 240GB Vertex 3 Max IOPS

I'm not quite sure, but I may be doing some upgrading in the next couple months, so it's kinda tempting.

Thanks!

Do the price match at memoryexpress and you get it for $5 less!
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post #745 of 860
2/8/13 at 3:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by halfordb View Post

Do the price match at memoryexpress and you get it for $5 less!

Not sure I have time to see if they'd match--the deal is only on for another 8 hrs.

Thanks for the tip Mfusick--I might have to get 2! smile.gif
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post #746 of 860
2/8/13 at 4:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post



I ended up slapping some of the hardware I bought earlier in this thread into a secondary HTPC

Is that the ML03B case that you recently bought?
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post #747 of 860
2/8/13 at 4:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike99 View Post

Is that the ML03B case that you recently bought?

Yup !
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post #748 of 860
2/8/13 at 5:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eldar3333 View Post

Thanks for the tip Mfusick--I might have to get 2! smile.gif

OK--rebate is only good for 1 drive, so I just got one; I'll probably use this one in a desktop rebuild, and get a smaller one for a HTPC (which will do *some* light gaming) Still need to figure out how much I can spend....
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post #749 of 860
2/8/13 at 6:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eldar3333 View Post


OK--rebate is only good for 1 drive, so I just got one; I'll probably use this one in a desktop rebuild, and get a smaller one for a HTPC (which will do *some* light gaming) Still need to figure out how much I can spend....

What is your budget ?

Desired size?

Desired performance level ?

Can you do an $80-100 128GB ?

The vertex4 and Samsung 840 are solid choices if your looking for a faster and higher quality drive. They are tops right now.

Below them is a bunch of drives.. that might be a bit cheaper.
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post #750 of 860
2/8/13 at 8:27pm
I think I am gonna hold off on getting a hhd for my build. I am gonna focus funds on a ssd and tuner so I can get it up and running sooner. 1st priority is a ota dvr, 2nd browser and media streamer. Then when I am ready ad a 2 or 3TB hhd. Any issues with that reasoning?
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