Hey guys, I'm looking build a HTPC for around $500. Can be a bit more than that if required but less is better. I'm pretty computer savvy so would prefer to build it myself but if there is a suitable pre-build one at a good price then that is also possible. Looking at mainly using it for hosting my Plex server which I currently run off my MacBook. May also use it for some web browsing and light gaming on steam. I had a look at whirpool and some other sites for builds but would like to hear the opinion of the OzBargain community. Thanks.
HTPC Build for $500 HELP PLEASE!
gottacatchemall on 07/04/2013 - 14:19
Comments
Rasberry pi is no good if you dot have a Tv or receiver capable of dts decoding,
As you're already a mac user, you could get a Mac mini and use that - but at $699 it's out of the budget unless you get a second hand one. Personally I'd agree with considering a 'pi. Even after paying for a case, power supply, and wireless keyboard you will probably have close to $400 left in your budget for other stuff like a SSD for the laptop or perhaps a NAS device to put media on (speaking of which, some of those eg Qnap will host plex)….. Assuming your macbook is relatively recent you could probably even use airplay to push your video to the TV screen for the steam/web browsing……
I have a retina macbook so no need for a ssd :) The season I want a htpc is I don't really want to leave my laptop running 24/7 as it is atm and have my plex server running of it. I've heard alot about the rasberry pi but never really used one. Does it run plex well? So I have to buy a separate power suppply etc yeah? Also what about a NUC? The season I prefer a full on pc is so I can use it for some light gaming as well and also download torrents automatically on the htpc and seed since I use a private server and have to seed so can probably save power without my laptop always been on.
A pi isn't going to cut it for $500. Scavange what you can and build something out of here: http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs_htpc
If you can scavange something (i.e. a case), then you can use that money on better parts.
Have a look at this one that I'm thinking of buying (and please critique at will):
http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/PQ7j
The only thing that will change is the video card, they didn't have a HD6750 in Low Profile, which is the one that I want. It'll be cheaper than the one already there, bringing total to just under $500.
Any particular reason not to use this:
http://www.scorptec.com.au/computer/48424-sdssdp-064g-g25Also these are double the capacity for not a lot more (depends on your usage):
http://www.scorptec.com.au/computer/48314-mz-7td120bw
http://www.scorptec.com.au/computer/49176-sv300s37a/120g"Any particular reason not to use this:
http://www.scorptec.com.au/computer/48424-sdssdp-064g-g25"No reason at all, it didn't show up on the pricelist pcpartpicker gave me… or I'm just blind.
Otherwise I picked the cheapest possible as all my movies and shows are on my NAS. The SSD is to only have the OS and maybe some old-school games on it, but even that could be on the shared drives.
You should check out a Raspberry Pi, sure it's not the most powerful thing out there, but it runs well as a server and for $50 delivered with a case it's the cheapest thing around. I just got mine, haven't played around too much with it yet but there are versions of Plex (RasPlex) and XBMC (OpenElec) which are optimised for running it, and can play 1080p content via the HDMI out port. Here's a FAQ about it, http://www.raspberrypi.org/faqs. I put BerryBoot on mine, all you have to do is extract the zip onto the SD card, plug it in and it automatically installs whichever supported operating systems you want. I put Raspbian and OpenElec on mine, if you wanted to put RasPlex on it in addition to other distros. Here is a nice guide http://www.howtogeek.com/141325/how-to-multi-boot-your-raspb…