Budget HTPC build, for $300 how does this look?

[SwanRonson]

I'm looking to build a relatively compact, quiet, low power PC. I don't have a set budget but cheaper is always better. I have explored some used off the shelf options like Optiplex and Thinkcentre, but from what I can tell for the same amount of money those sacrifice H.265 hardware decoding for extra RAM/CPU, which is unnecessary because this will sit idle most of the time besides acting as a DVR / Plex server very now and then.

I will toss in a single shucked WD Easystore which I've left out here because the price will be the same regardless of how the rest of the build goes. Prices may be slightly different from what you see because they include Nevada 8.25% sales tax... sorry about that.


I could obviously save money, but not much, by going with an ATX PSU, case, and mobo, but I figured if nothing else the SFX PSU would be more likely to transfer on to a future build and will make installation of parts easier. I'm not as young as I used to be and building these things is more frustrating than fun to me nowadays


Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!



Memory: *Team - Elite Plus 4 GB (1 x 4 GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($28.04 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Kingston - A400 120 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($21.63 @ Amazon)
Case: *Cooler Master - MasterBox E300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($43.28 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: *SeaSonic - FOCUS SGX 450 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($97.41 @ Newegg Business)

Could go either way with the CPU:

CPU: AMD - Athlon 200GE 3.2 GHz Dual-Core Processor ($53.42 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B350M PRO-VD PLUS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($64.99 @ B&H)
Total: $308.77


CPU: *Intel - Celeron G3930 2.9 GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.55 @ B&H)
Motherboard: ASRock - B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($61.78 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $301.69

 

[EffrafaxOfWug]

I'm biased, but I'm exceedingly happy with my 2400G in my new HTPC; nice zippy CPU, an excellent hardware decode block, and 3D graphics good enough for light gaming duties (meaning I could fit a small gaming system into a small passively cooled case). The 200GE is significantly slower 3D-wise but IIRC still far better than the celery on the GPU and hardware decode front (although I'd still prefer to spend extra on the 2200G model instead).

If you do go down the ryzen route you'd probably want some faster memory though. Back when I was looking, the price difference between DDR4-2133 and 2666 was nil.

 

[StevenDTX]

Buy a NUC.

 

[BoredSysadmin]

Nvidia shield tv

 

[jonobk]

Hi @SwanRonson,

I've built and used HTPC for the past 10-15 years. I now use an Nvidia Shield TV Pro, and it is fantastic. The hardware works great, plus you get a controller and a remote that both allow headphone connections. I run it as a Plex server with media coming from a FreeNAS box, but you could just as easily use that external HD you mentioned.

However, the thing that really sold me was the software support. Nvidia is regularly pushing updates, and also supports high def from sites like Netflix, which require hurdles on a Windows box to get an integrated experience.

Good luck!

 

[TomUK]

I would save some money and get a different PSU - that case you've selected could take a standard ATX PSU, and some good ones are available for far less than the one you've selected (it's an excellent unit - but not needed for this)

The money saved could go else where - e.g an extra 4GB of RAM etc.

 

[WANg]

Just buy a used Corporate NUC. Anything with a Skylake or above should have HEVC encoding/decoding blocks in hardware, so target for something like an HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini or above.

 

[marcoi]

i have an old htpc for sale in my thread if your interested i am asking 400 +s/h
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/fs-2019-thread.23575/

 

[BoredSysadmin]

Video acceleration (or Quicksync) started from Sandy Bridge and newer, but each gen typically added new functions. As WANg mentioned, Skylake's Video provides a decent long list of features and capabilities as can be seen here:
Intel Quick Sync Video - Wikipedia

BUT, I'm currently using Khadas Vim 905x box which I've bought on eBay for $22 and 18.1 Kodi on LibreElec. It works really awesome including hardware decoding for nearly everything including 10bit and 4k.
LibreELEC Downloads – LibreELEC

 

[ReturnedSword]

How about ASRock's DeskMini series barebones? You can go either AMD or Intel, though the AMD Ryzen APUs look like a much better buy than an i3-8100/8300.

ASRock DeskMini A300 Series
ASRock DeskMini 310 Series

I stopped using an HTPC years ago when a Chromecast or Fire Stick does mostly what I want. My current TV has Android TV built in, and when the chipset is too slow I probably will just get something similar to a Shield TV. The idea is less headaches for me when supporting the primary customer (the SO ).

 

[arglebargle]

Wait and see what happens with HW transcoding support on the Jetson Nano. That board has the makings of an absolutely killer transcoding host for $99.

Otherwise, go for a shield. None of the non-nVidia ARM media boards support hardware transcoding with Plex for my$teriou$ rea$on$.

 

[BoredSysadmin]

Wait and see what happens with HW transcoding support on the Jetson Nano. That board has the makings of an absolutely killer transcoding host for $99.

Otherwise, go for a shield. None of the non-nVidia ARM media boards support hardware transcoding with Plex for my$teriou$ rea$on$.

Yes, Jetson Nano is the same hardware as Shield, BUT Kodi devs say chances are practically slim to none of Nvidia open sources the drivers.
Nvidia Jetson Nano, superfast Kodi device?

 

[SwanRonson]

Thanks everyone. I opted for an HP mini for a few reasons.

The Shield is a great piece of hardware, but I'm trying to get more comfortable with Linux.

BUT, I'm currently using Khadas Vim 905x box which I've bought on eBay for $22 and 18.1 Kodi on LibreElec. It works really awesome including hardware decoding for nearly everything including 10bit and 4k.
LibreELEC Downloads – LibreELEC

ok you win the thread lol