Review my HTPC build

[404Ender]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if there was any way for me to make this potential HTPC build cheaper for my needs? I had people on neoGAF suggest parts for me but I wanted to run it by the people here too. Basically I'm just looking for HD movie file and Blu-ray playback. That's it. I don't need to be able to run any new games and I don't need DVR/recording, so if any of these parts are overpowered for my needs and I can save some $$$ please let me know!

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $129.99

SAPPHIRE 100255HDMI Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail $69.99

SeaSonic S12 II SS-380GB 380W ATX12V V2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $62.99

OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2N800SR4GK $45.99

ASRock G31M-S LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $43.99

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E5200 - Retail $69.99

LG Black Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GGC-H20L - Retail $109.99

hec Black 0.7mm Thickness SECC 7K09 Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail $48.99

Thanks!

[Ziggy]

I would switch power supplies, might not be cheaper but I don't buy any PSU that isn't either Thermaltake or Enermax. Power supplies just can't be trusted.

[racketboy]

Small suggestion:
I used to like Seagate drives hands-down, but I recommend Western Digital now.
They are quieter and the reported reliability has been much higher with WD.

[BigTinz]

You need a much stronger power supply....I doubt that computer would even turn on with a 380w.

[Ziggy]

Oh, it's only 380w? I didn't even click on the link to be honest, I just wanted to mention the brand names.

[404Ender]

You need a much stronger power supply....I doubt that computer would even turn on with a 380w.

Do you have a suggestion on a different one, or at the very least the strength I need? Or, looking at it another way, can I downgrade the strength of the other components to work with 380W and still be powerful enough for HD media playback?

[Ziggy]

New Egg has a power supply calculator on their website. You input all the things that will be in the computer and it'll tell you how many watts you need.

http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html

Don't mess around with power supplies though, you don't want to get the cheapest one. Also, watts isn't everything, make sure the amperage is sufficient for your needs as well. Like I said, I'd only recommend getting an Enermax or Thermaltake. If you go the cheap route, don't be surprised when it fails.

[Dakinggamer87]

Small suggestion:
I used to like Seagate drives hands-down, but I recommend Western Digital now.
They are quieter and the reported reliability has been much higher with WD.

Yeah, I would have to agree on hard drives I would go with Western Digital much quieter and reliable I own several external drives and had no problems..

[Majors]

SAPPHIRE 100255HDMI Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail $69.99

ASRock G31M-S LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $43.99

I've had bad luck with Sapphire but I'm also a Nvidia man (can I get a FO' LIFE!)

ASRock is cheap-o in my book. If it works for you, great. But you get what you pay for. I'd stick with MSI, Giga or ECS.

I third the PSU. It's the foundation of any PC and you can use if forever in other builds. I also 2nd Enermax, I've got a 3xx watt running 24/7 in my server for over 5 years and on top of that I've got a Maxtor 40GB HD (that I bought for $500 when it was new!) running for over 10.

I've got a case like this. It has a crap PSU, but it has worked for my for three years. I also do not push it to hard, just EMU, movies and streaming (AMD64 3200, 1GB, 2x160GB HDs, 8600gt, random e-machine/MSI MB that I got for free, iirc)

[Ziggy]

But you get what you pay for.

I totally agree, and from experience. You really don't learn anything better than the hard way.

As far as Seagate and WD goes, it's almost like SNES and Genesis! I've had or have known of both brands failing. I would just settle for one and keep my fingers crossed, read the SMART data often and you should be good.

I get you're trying to build a low cost computer, but you really should consider some of the questionable products you picked out. If it were me, I would definitely switch out the mobo and the PSU. Video cards seem to be hit or miss in terms of longevity, from my experience, but I usually stick with well known brands any way.

To add to the brands of mobos that Majors suggested, one of my new favorites is Biostar. I used one in a budget build for my mom and I was very impressed with it, I got one for my new i7 build. Both computers have been a solid.