Crazy cheap but good build thread!

I'm building a new dedicated HTPC with the goal of making it much more family friendly than the current setup of PC, media server, laptop and media streamer, all connecting various ways and powering different things. It will be headless, administered by remote desktop, controlled by IR and wireless KB/mouse combo.

My goal is to have the following:

- play media library
- watch and record OTA TV
- possibly some light gaming (emulators etc)
- run it all from a media closet via 5.1 channel receiver + HDMI over Cat6 extenders
- I don't need an optical drive. I rip BluRays on my main PC will transfer them over the network.

Current new parts list:
CPU: Intel G630 ($53 at Microcenter inc tax)
Mobo: ??? I need help on this one
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 2x4GB PC1600 ($40 at Newegg)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB ($80 at Newegg)
PSU: Antec Earthwatts 380w ($31.50 at Newegg)
Case: Rosewill R101-P-BK ($29.50)

If I assume $75 for the mobo, thats $306 in total including tax and shipping (excluding software and parts below of course)!!!

Parts I already have:
- 500GB samsung spinpoint for DVR drive
- 2x 2TB samsung spinpoint for media library
- HDHomeRun DUAL
- USB IR receiver

What do you think? Most of the parts are ordered but I haven't really spent enough time researching motherboards to finalise the purchase. Any recommendations?

Edit: I think I'll go with the ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 ($70 at Newegg). New complete total is $301!
Edited by ljo000 - 8/29/12 at 8:04pm

I doubt I'll need to do any transcoding during the day. I run MCEBuddy on schedule in the early hours to transcode everything so its available on other streaming devices. The HTPC will just keep everything in .wtv files.

As to the second point, I should clarify. I meant that the admin side of things would be done via remote desktop so that I wouldn't need to connect a KB/Mouse over the distance to the media closet, which is actually in the basement. Instead, HTPC functions will be controlled via MCE IR remote with an IR over Cat5 extender (HotLink XL - works flawlessly) and gaming will be done using a wireless gamepad and USB over Cat5 extender from monoprice.

Looking at some of the reviews and benchmarks, its actually surprising how capable the G630 is relative to much more expensive options from AMD or the i3 line. The bottleneck is definitely going to be the on chip Intel HD graphics but if I find that its giving me problems, I'll add a discrete card. I doubt I'll need to though as emulators tend to be much more CPU than GPU dependent.

I ended up going with the ASRock H77M as it had everything I need and would be a fine board to upgrade the CPU on in the future.

Supports DDR3 1600 2x slots
2x SATA 6Gb/s + plenty of slower ones.
2x USB 3.0

The only thing its lacking is eSATA but that could easily be added with an expansion card if needed in the future. I'm actually quite impressed with the spec for the price.

Sure but none of them are necessary in most setups and they are already incorporated into my existing setup. I'm also not counting the cost of the TV, A/V receiver, 5.1 speakers etc etc. The parts I list could be assembled and stuck next to a TV for a very nice HTPC, although I concede that you'd likely need at least 1 HDD.

I thought about this but the cost difference was small and it would likely be something I'd upgrade in the future. Going to 4GB could have got this built to under $300 though which is pretty amazing for what its capable of.

Yeah the RAM is overkill but I was thinking more of the upgrade path. A few years down the line I could thrown in a better CPU and/or discrete vid card to make this into a full blown power PC.

Also this build is nice and low power. It could be the basis for a bunch of different things, not just HTPC. Take out the SSD and put in HDDs and you have a nice server setup for example. It would also make a great family or student PC.

FYI I went ahead with this build on the weekend. Sorry no pics yet as I haven't done any cable management or moved the HDDs over from my other PC. I can say that I am very impressed though. It feels much snappier than my PC (Core 2 Quad 9550) for launching progs and startup and it boots from cold to Chrome launch in 10 seconds! So far it has no problems playing any media and runs cool and fairly quiet. I've also ordered a front intake fan and some foam filter material to keep the dust out which was $16 but probably not actually necessary. Also as its going in the basement anyway, looks and noise are unimportant.