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HTPC (Home Theater PC) for under 1K?
billpa:
I am thinking of building a HTPC for work. We produce videos and commercials and have a boatload of material we show clients in our conference room (see attachment). Currently I encode all our projects to DVD and then they are cataloged in one of those disc binders. However, it gets to be a pain when you want to show someone different videos and of course, there is always the person that takes a disc out to give to someone. Also, we are producing a lot more HD content and we have no means of showing it in the room as it stands right now.
So I talked to my boss about building an HTPC that would have a touchscreen interface (located in the right corner of the photo) and would be able to store and play our collection of videos. It would have to have dual monitor support (one for touchscreen and one to display on the 42" plasma) and it would have to be able to play 1080i content without a hitch.
He seemed interested...asking if it had to be a PC (we are all Mac based here) which I answered, yes. I figured it would be cheaper to build a dedicated PC for this type of application. He then told me if I could keep it under a thousand (that includes the touchscreen) he would probably go for it.
So I am wondering what suggestions everyone has on the components to build this thing....case, motherboard, processor, power supply, video card, audio card (5.1 sound), memory, etc. I know there are a ton of different options but I need to keep this within the budget....could possibly go over a little bit especially if I am doing this piecemeal. Or would it be cheaper to buy a manufactured PC??
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
billpa
RayB:
I guess this thread is reserved for the exclusive club of people who know what "HTPC" is.
billpa:
Sorry...Home Theater PC :D
massive88:
First, I dont really know about touchscreen costs.
Second, keeping the first point in mind, you can easily do this for under 1k. Main point being, you dont need a beefy graphics card for an HTPC. Decoding HD content is mainly a processor intensive feat, but even that should not be a problem for any reasonably powered computer, especially if thats basically all you need it to do at one time.
Third, peicemeal will always be far cheaper. However, if you want something thats ready to go, and that you dont have to be the tech support guy on at work, then Id look into premade options.
That said if I were to build a HTPC today I would probably go with something like this...
Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856101034
Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052
Ram - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098
HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152100
BluRay (if needed) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106227
If not Needed - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827101131
And if you need another Vid Card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500033
Just as an example... that would run you...
$715 plus shipping for BluRay
$602 for just a dvd player
And it gets you a Core2Duo with 750 gig HDD, 2 gigs ram. You could definitely get by with a much weaker processor as well, and depending on your HDD needs, a smaller (and cheaper) HDD. You probably dont need 2 gigs ram either, but with it being so cheap, Id aim high!
On board sound should be fine, as should just about any video card (including on board). I chose a shuttle just because I like em!
Edit: Also, if you are all Mac users, perhaps going along the lines of a linux based machine would be good as well. I know there are dedicated HTPC linux based solutions out there, then you could also cut your costs by not needing to purchase an operating system. I have no experience what so ever in interacting Linux with Macs over networks though, but I assume there are solutions.
wbassett:
It also depends on what you are shooting for. If you want 1080p then you will need a good video card and CPU, but you can still bring it in for a grand of less.
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