HTPC Help Please

[Inverness_Andy]

Hello



I am hoping that this forum can help me, I am looking for a HTPC which will be used to play 1080p video via XBMC, have my music and photo library and use for skype calling as well as some browsing.



The system will be connected to my television via HDMI which is how I would like the sound and vision to travel. I have no idea what level of processor I require or graphics cards, etc. Clearly it also needs to be very quiet and keep pretty cool during sustained periods of use as it will be beneath the television. The only criteria that is a “must have”is 4-8gb of ram, blu ray play drive, 2tb hard drive with space for at least 2 more drives in the future. Oh and finally this bad boy needs to come in below£500 if possible. As for as OS goes windows 7 will do just fine.



Could anyone please give me a hand as to what I should be looking for or point me in the right direction?



Thanks


Andy

 

[PCS]

Welcome to our forums

Here is a specification that should suit your needs well. It is 100% silent as it has no fans whatsoever, is very small and can play full HD 1080P without issues:

Case
PCS Hush! Silent Mini-ITX Case + 60W PSU (ETA 26/10/12)
Processor (CPU)
AMD® Zacate™ E-350 Dual-Core Processor (1.6GHz) 1MB L2 Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® E45M1-I DELUXE: AMD Fusion Dual-Core with AMD® Radeon HD6320
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated AMD® Radeon HD 6320 Graphics - DX11
Memory - 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
1TB WD SCORPIO BLUE WD10JPVT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 8MB CACHE (5400 rpm)
1[SUP]st[/SUP] DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
SONY BC-5550H 4x BLURAY COMBO DRIVE & CYBERLINK SOFTWARE
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
INTEGRATED GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD (AS STANDARD)
USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £465.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/amd-silent-mini-pc/60bFKj5BhS/

Unfortunately it can only accommodate 1 hard drive and the maximum capacity we offer on this is 1TB. However, you can easily add an additional external 2TB drive to this specification for £95.

If extra HDD storage is absolutely imperative at the expense of a fan based system that is larger, please consider the specification below:

Case
Silverstone SG02B-F Mini-ITX Case (Black) + 450W PSU
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Celeron® Dual-Core G550 (2.60GHz, 2MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61-I R2.0: Mini-ITX, LG1155, USB 3.0, SATA 3GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD + Clear Video HD Technology
Memory - 1[SUP]st[/SUP] Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
1[SUP]st[/SUP] DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £501.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/intel-top-spec-mini-pc/ohaNjVuNNz/