Is it possible to build/buy a Media Center PC for under £250?

brisck1

I've been contimplating this for a long while now and would really like to buy/build a compact media center pc for storing and streaming HD video, music etc through my HDTV.

The idea behind it is to have something small that I can keep on the TV stand completely seperate from my home PC and so I dont have lots media clogging up my hdd and of messy wires running around the house connecting everything up.

These are the basic specs I've been looking around for and so far im not having much luck:

• Compact Case (to fit comfortably somewhere on or around my TV Stand
• 1TB hdd
• WiFi
• HDMI output (audio and video)
• 5.1 or 7.1 surround output jacks (want to be able to purchase a proper surround system for it some day)
• And bare minimum CPU and GPU for HD 1080p output and video playback
• (Optional) remote control
• I already have an external bluray/dvd drive so I dont necessarily need that either

I've seen various deals around ranging from £270 (bult from ground up)+vat & delivery, all the way up to £500! I cant seem to find anything so far which fits under my budget of £250 which is my absolute limit atm.

Im wondering if this is even possible on my budget?

Mobeer

Maybe, though you budget is a bit low.

I recommend you have a look at this forum:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cinema-pcs/

and the FAQ thread:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cinema-pcs/798205-htpc-faq-building-configuration-your-htpc-updated-may-09-a.html

LeeSouthEast

You're seriously stretching it. I costed one for a friend (he was quite picky), it came out at over a grand for a decent spec. lol

Scrilla

Perhaps what you're looking for is not a PC.

I have a Western Digital Media player and it does pretty much what you're asking of a media centre.

Western Digital TV HD 1080P Media Player costs about £75, but you will need to buy a separate HD (or use an existing external HD or even a pen drive). It has HDMI and optical for audio.

If you're after something with more features the Popcorn Hour may be more for you. It can house an internal HD and can be networked to your PC. Various base configurations, so look deeper than the link I've given here. More expensive at £180, but it's got a lot more features, connections etc.

There are other options out there too. The WD is the most cost effective, the Popcorn Hour is one of the more feature rich options. Oh, and you'll probably be able to get them cheaper than at amazon - just the first place I searched cause I knew they'd be there.

Hope that helps

RobTang

Best I can get is £242.23p

Mini-ITX case £53.90
USB Wi-Fi £10.26
POV nvidia ion mini-itx motherboard £113.26
1gb ram ddr667 £11.09
1tb Hitachi deskstar £54.72
remainder used for postage.

you'll have to scavange up a keyboard and mouse from somwhere tho...

Its not really do-able without making compremises somewhere, you'll never get a full system for that price, you're probably better off getting a media extender for your main pc.

£$&*"($£&(

I;m not going to say that this meets all yourvrequirements but you could look atv a nettop pc with the NVIDIA Ion chipshet which does HD 1080p.

The Acer Aspire Revo is one example:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/pcs/review/2009/06/05/Acer-Aspire-Revo-R3600---nVidia-ION-Nettop/p1

brisck1

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Funnily enough i was just checking out the AVforums this morning, will probably post about it there also. As for the Western Digital Media player, I've considered something like this before, it's good, but Im not sure how reliable it is to play all of the media I have and how future proof it will be in the years to come, althought the Popcorn one looks more appealing.

Rob Tang: Good system but the cpu is missing? :P (pretty much what kept happening to me, always one component short for my budget!)

Finally the Acer Aspire Revo is very interesting, low power and compact. Processor speed doesnt matter as long as it can play HD I dont need anything else, will look into that one!

Marty_J

The Apple TV is a beautiful little device, and it's incredibly easy to setup and use.

-TangleFoot-

brisck1 wrote: »

Rob Tang: Good system but the cpu is missing?

Unlike most motherboards, those designed around the Intel Atom processor are sold with the CPU already fitted.

brisck1

Ah I see, well that's cool!

Scrilla

brisck1 wrote: »

As for the Western Digital Media player, I've considered something like this before, it's good, but Im not sure how reliable it is to play all of the media I have and how future proof it will be in the years to come, althought the Popcorn one looks more appealing.

For reliability, I've had no problems. It still plays my old converted DVDs in divx and newer ones in H264. As for future proof, I can't see technology surpassing HDMI and optical out audio any time soon (Media such as films and TV won't be redefined for a while I feel from the HD spec, so HDMI is safe. Anything better than optical audio out is wasted because the human ear can't perceive anything better, unless they bring out 25.1 surround or something which I still feel won't happen). However, from the sounds of it, the Popcorn Hour is definitely a better option for you. Considering your budget as well, I think you'd get a lot more from the Popcorn Hour than you would from a low end computer set up.