Build Advice playback machine *cheap, low power, 1080p*

hello everyone and may i first thank you for any help you can give

basically im looking to build a 1080p capable machine for as cheap as possible while keeping the power usage as low as possible, it will be used exclusivley as a playback machine, ill use my main rig to rip/encode my dvd's and tv ep's which will then be transferd over to this pc

now im not at all clued up on hardware but i have tried to do some research... just so i dont sound totally blonde!

so fist off i have this tv - Sharp LC42XD1EA - 42" Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD TV - With Freeview, i cant find the tv on there website but i do still have the manual if any questions arise

As for the parts of the machine, i really dont know what to use but i will list what ive chosen and why, also (if i do it right) links to the products

Case: Casecom 6630 Black Midi Tower Case this case is perfect, nice and cheap but i am concerned about airflow as i really want some low rpm 120mm fans so its whisper quiet, or could i get away with no fans in the system?

CPU: AMD Sempron LE-1250 i dont know if this is any good, i got really stumped when it came to cpu's if the mobo is doing the decoding with its onboard gfx chip wouldnt this cpu be enough?? as ive said before the machine will only be playing back 1080p (and lower resolution) videos and perhaps some music

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H if my reading is correct this board will playback all my 1080p files no problem with its onboard gfx chip? or do i have to buy a proper card? also will the sound go through the onboard hdmi port or do i have to hook it up some other way?

Memory: Extra Value 2GB Kit dont know if the speed of the memory is important or how much i'll need so please let me know if this is enough?

Hard Disk: Seagate 1.5TB i wanted as big as possible... like all girls teehee but the 2TB western digital is £250! so ill settle for this i think, i will add more in the future

Power Supply: Compucase Green Earth 350W i think this is powerful enough?

ill also be adding a dvd drive i have spare for installing the os, speaking of which i do have an old copy of xp pro i could install, or should i install windows 7 (the free one that lasts till next year?)

Finally can you reccomend me a as close to silent as possible hsf please

the grand total for the machine is £245.64 which i think is close to perfect. I didnt want to go over £300

so feedback time, have i completely got it wrong? what would you suggest?

thank you very much for your time/help/advice and sorry this post is so long, hope ive given enough info.

 

1080p?

7750 Black Editions are £50 now - a bit more expensive, but should offer more grunt to video that can't be GPU accelerated.

And that case looks awful CM 300?

and I haven't even heard of Compucase PSUs before Corsair CX400W? £41 I think.

I'd get a 1Tb Samsung F1 personally - £60-70 now. Less space, but proven to work (unlike the .11 Seagates 1.5TBs where some have firmware issues (is this still a problem??))

 

1080p video lol did i forget to add that bit? i appologise

i thought the gpu could do everything? would the 5050e be enough?

yeah the case isnt the bees knees, but was the best i could find under £20 besides it will be hidden away behind my tv stand so looks arnt important... its whats on the inside that counts

corsair cx400 is 44.16

thanks for the hdd tip ill get that changed, now grand total is £254.59 (with the 5050e)

anything else need changing? will it handle all my hi-def files? i know itll play the xvid n divx stuff no probs

 

To be honest you really don't need a decent case if it's just for video playback and you won't be looking at it. So long as it fits the stuff you want to put in it and it moves some air around you should be fine. You could also probably get away with a cheap PSU as you won't have very high power demands, but I still wouldn't recommend it and the Corsair unit is worth the extra £18 just for peace of mind.

The onboard GPU should cope fine with HD playback, but you could also just get a cheaper motherboard without integrated graphics and just get a cheap media card (something like a 3450/4350/9400GT would be fine).

 

My 2 cents worth
M/board Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H, AMD 780G, Scan £62.09 not stocked Ebuyer

HDD WD 1TB WD1001FALS Scan £83.55 Ebuyer £85.10
OR
1TB Seagate ST31000528AS Barracuda 7200.12, Scan £78.19 (THIS WEEKEND till midday Monday)

AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750+, Black Edition, AM2+, Kuma Core, Dual Core, 2.7GHz, 3MB Cache, Scan £47.71 (THIS WEEKEND till midday Monday) Ebuyer £56.25

Memory Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-18 Scan £24.14 (THIS WEEKEND till midday Monday) Ebuyer £26.19

Case + PSU Coolermaster Elite 340 MicroATX Case with Coolermaster 460W PFC PSU Scan £54.05

I would get them all from Scan

I can recommend the mobo - got two.

The HDMI sound needs a download from Realtek and you use the Realtek control panel to select HDMI

 

I was going to suggest a Mini ITX system: A) because it'll be small and quiet and there is some awesome HTPC hardware for peanuts. And B) 'Cos I'm on a MiniITX binge as I spec my system.

But I cant find anything that good for that money. If you're willing to up slightly, £350 will get you a small dvd-player size case, psu, RAM, everything. A JNC62K / 5050e will do 1080p at around 40% processor use.

 

If size matters, hold out for a NVIDIA ION system. Released this summer, 1080p playback is what it was made for http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/pcs/2009/03/20/nvidia-ion-platform-performance/1

One of the first boards, pricey but remember - no PSU! http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2009/05/02/first-look-zotac-nvidia-ion-mini-itx/1 And you know you want
http://www.hoojum.com/new/html/technical_c3.htm to go with it...

 

Seagate F1? You mean Samsung?

Yeah.. great drives.

Also got a 1.5TB 7200.11 here... no problems for me.

 

~Brain thinks one thing, fingers type another

 

There's a firmware update out (that works) now, I believe.

- Diosjenin -

 

There is indeed

http://seagate.custkb.com/seagate/crm/selfservice/search.jsp?DocId=207931&Hilite=


All you need to know is there.

Mine's not affected fortunately.

If you have a 7200.11.. I advise you run the serial number check to see if you need a firmware update.

 

thanks for all the replys and info you have given me

thanks to PureSilver im now tempted to wait because i really like the look of the ion platform, to me it seems to get better scores at playing back the 1080p stuff than what i was gunna go for, but im struggling to find a nice small black case to house it, would this do Piano Black Mini-ITX Case with 120W PSU i notice under the specs it only has room for a dvd drive... not a hdd??

i dont really like that case you linked tho, and at a staggering £599.50 ex vat i deffo can live without it!

oh well this builds not sorted yet but ill let you know how it goes when ive got my parts

thanks again for the input u lot rock

 

I think the case you quoted should do the business, but if it's going under the TV it could be done with more style! I don't know about the PSU either, worth waiting until you know exactly what you'll need and whether having splashed on a silent(ish) 'board you want to spoil it with the possibility of an included PSU's wind-turbine roar. (Sorry, I also forgot to point out that the ION system Bit-Tech reviewed included a silent Pico-PSU. So you definitely don't want a horrible OEM thing then.)

About the Cubit; £600 is for the whole computer, not just the case - they don't sell just the cases anymore, and evidently they took down the photos of the 3 (which was £140 and to die for) and replaced them with the 5 which is bigger and looks like it was styled by firing grilles into it from afar. See? I defy you to not like that case

 

Have you considered the "Popcorn Hour"

£199 plus HDD of your choice.

 

Just get yourself a WD Greenpower 10EACS. Fast enough for your purposes, very quiet, very cool, very economical.

 

That's the way I'd do it to be honest. I'm starting to just think there's no point in building a HTPC anymore.

 

WD TV?

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=572

 

They're on play.com for pretty cheap atm too. I'd just grab a WDTV really.

 

thank you very much for the suggestion Bindibadgi i would never have known about that, best thing is i can use my usb stick instead of buying a new hdd very cheap!

meanwhile ill worry about backing up all my dvds etc to a das unit thinking of using this one with 4 1tb samsung f1's but thats going to be a different story lol

well after reading this review i think im sold!

but first im gunna read through this thread and then the second part

anyone here got one btw??

ooo im getting excited now

 

it's alright from what it looks like.. but remember your not networking that into your lan- so you have to fill up the usb drive on your computer then plug it into the wd- seems like a hassle unless your using it with a ext. bluray- then kinda no point to having it