HTPC

I have decided that it is time to make a home theatre PC. Not that I have a hometheater, far from it, as can be evidenced by the SD plasma and PS2 running as the DVD player.

In any case I want to be able to watch TV on the couch. The second reason is my gigantic case is actually running out of room and I need another computer to stash some more storage space into.

I have done a lot of research and have decided on intel because its going to be cooler and therefore need less fans, better sound and they just 'feel' more reliable than AMD's.

Proposed Parts:
  • Intel i3 530 $140
  • Gigabyte H55M-S2H $100
  • Corsair Select Value DDR3 1x2gb $70
  • WD 2TB green $180
  • Wifi Card $45


All this will cost me around $500, which is a good starting budget, I know these sorts of projects tend to get quite costly over the long run so I don't want to blow my budget on the initial purchase.

I was going to put all my HDD in the one box, but then realised that running 10+HDD whilst trying to watch a movie is not going to work. So I will need to build a server, which I will build after setting up the HTPC.

To save some money I will initially use some old parts:
  • Case
  • PSU
  • DVD drive
  • HDD

At the beginning I am going to use an old wired Keyboard & Mouse, obviously I will need to purchase a wireless set and a remote. Having looked into the items that I desire this is going to cost me an additional $500 on input devices alone. So I will have to work out their importance and buy them in that order.


I think the first major upgrade will have to be the case as I suspect my Mum in particular will be dissatisfied with having a noisy beige box sitting in the lounge room. There is no budget for the case as its going to be the ‘face’ of the show and is what will sell the idea.

I realise its going cost a lot of money but once setup it will be pretty awesome and hopefully should last quite a while.

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