$500 HTPC: Compact, Efficient and Blu-Ray/1080p/HDCP Certified

Thumb it up!

The Lian LI PC-Q07R, the case featured in this build.

You’ve been asking for HTPCs (Home Theater PCs) builds and I’ll deliver by featuring three HTPC Systems this week. Today, we start with this entry-level $500 HTPC.

This system in short:
Featuring a ZOTAC IONITX-D-E motherboard, equipped with an Intel Atom N330 Dual Core (With Hyper-Threading) and Nvidia ION (Geforce 9400M), the base of this HTPC capable of handling 1080p video while sipping power.

Equipped with a all-in-one Blu-Ray Reader, CD/DVD Burner and a 500GB hard drive for plenty of storage.

All of this is encased in the LIAN LI case seen on your right.

Regarding Blu-Ray playback:
While you do not require any special software, codecs are essential to ensure functionality and smooth playback. Codecs are available for free on the Internet, so make sure to go download them and install them before trying to watch a Blu-Ray movie.

But I have never built a PC before!

Make the jump. Do not be afraid. Building a computer has never been more simple.

While the whole process may look overwhelming, if you look at it one part at a time, you’ll realize how simple it really is.

There are countless resources on how to build a computer, which you can find by doing some research on Google or Youtube.

Here are two guides on how to build a computer that I recommend:

This one, from DriverHeaven.net: http://bit.ly/4bhlwb

This one, from maximumpc.com: http://bit.ly/1TgR7X

If you take your time, are careful and follow guides/videos:

You’ll end up with a fully functional computer, either at a lower cost than a comparable Dell PC or with higher performance for the same price, because you will get the best parts that your money can buy, instead of “ok” parts chosen by Dell. The best part? You’ll be proud of a job well done

What if I get stuck or need help?

Simply drop a comment at the end of this post and either a helpful member of this community or myself will answer you. You can also Contact me directly for some assistance. While I’m pretty busy, I’ll try my best to answer you quickly.

What if I’m outdated on what are the current best parts or simply don’t know which parts to pick?

If you don’t have the knowledge or time to choose your parts, simply stick to my recommendations below (In Bold) and you’ll be more than happy. That’s my promise.

Who are you to tell me which parts to choose?!

My name is Mathieu Bourgie, a computer expert with nearly a decade of experience in building the best computers for a given price and I share my knowledge by blogging on Hardware Revolution, where I offer various custom computer builds designs, along with useful articles such as the Best Video Card for your money, to help you figure out what are the best parts for a computer at a given price.

You can read opinions, comments and more left by my readers on the testimonials page.

What if I don’t agree with your choices?

This is the great part of building your own computer(s), you can customize it to your taste. If you have the knowledge and/or the time to learn, you’re free to use my recommendations as a base and then to customize any build just how you want it.

~$500 HTPC Hardware Parts Recommendations Summary:

In Bold, you’ll find my recommendations, which offers the best performance possible for a price that fits the overall budget. All parts have been verified to be compatible with each other and only parts proven to be reliable have been hand-picked by me.

What if I want more performance than this build has to offer?

No problem. Included in Italic are the best possible upgrades. They are still priced reasonably in regard to the budget and are all compatible with the rest of the system. (You’ll find the price difference over my recommendation in parentheses).

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are other upgrades, but I focused on telling you which ones offered the most value for your money

In simple terms, if you want more storage capacity or a different case, simply pick it from the list of recommended upgrades that are in Italic.

Component:	Make and Model:	Price
Motherboard	ZOTAC IONITX-F-E NVIDIA ION	$170
CPU	Atom 1.6GHz Dual-Core HT on Motherboard	Free
Video Card	Nvidia ION Geforce 9400M: VGA/DVI/HDMI 1.3 Out DirectX 10, PureVideo HD, 1080p and HDCP supported	Free
RAM	A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800	$83
Hard Drive	Western Digital 500GB Caviar Green SATA Western Digital 750 GB Caviar Green SATA Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA	$51 $64 (+$13) $75 (+$24) $200(+$149)
Optical Drive	LITE-ON SATA 8x Blu-ray Reader CD/DVD Burner LG Black SATA 8X Blu-ray Burner	$110 $150 (+$40)
Case	LIAN LI PC-Q07R Red Aluminum nMEDIAPC HTPC 5000B nMEDIAPC Red Wood Wood/Steel HTPC 8000	$80 $80 $110 (+$30)
Power Supply	SeaSonic 300W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified 6 ft. Computer AC power cable 10 ft. AC Power Cable 10 ft. Right-Angle AC Power Cord	$39 $3 $7 (+$4) $9 (+$6)
Cooling	Motherboard includes Fan, Vents on Case	Free
TV Tuner	AVerMedia AVerTV Hybrid Volar Max USB 2.0	$80 (+$80)
Sound Card	Onboard 6 Channels or 7.1 via HDMI or S/PDIF Out via Optical or Coaxial	Free
Network	Wireless 802.11 b/g/n and 10/100/1000 Mbps	Free
Total	Not including shipping, handling nor OS	$520

Is this the right type of PC for me?

If you’re looking for a PC to listen to music, look at pictures, watch TV, DVD or Blu-Ray Disks on your computer or HDTV, you’re at the right place. If this is not what you’re looking for, check out our other Computer Systems instead.

~$500 HTPC Hardware Parts Recommendations, Detailed Version:

Motherboard: ZOTAC IONITX-F-E NVIDIA ION

This motherboard/cpu combo features an Intel Atom N330 Dual-Core (With Hyperthreading) 1.6Ghz, Nvidia ION (Geforce 9400M) for 1080p playback without a problem, 6 channels sounds through audio jacks or 7.1 through HDMI.

This motherboard features six USB ports, two PS/2, VGA/DVI/HDMI (HDCP supported through DVI or HDMI along with 7.1 sound for HDMI), E-SATA and S/PDIF Out via Optical or Coaxial.

Best of all? It sips power, keeping your system cool and silent, while keeping your electricity bill low.

Video Playback is taken cared of by the Geforce 9400M, which supports DirectX 10, 1080p playback and 7.1 sound through HDMI.

For $185, you get everything that you need:
All these features makes it the ideal HTPC motherboard.

CPU: Intel Atom N330 Dual-Core (With Hyper-Threading) 1.6GHz

The Atom N330 is a perfect fit for this HTPC as it only draws 8W, keeping your system cool, silent and consuming very low power. With the Nvidia Geforce 9400M to assist it, it will have no problem handling 1080p content.

It is included with the motherboard, so you don’t need to buy it separately.

Video Card: Nvidia ION (Geforce 9400M)

This Geforce 9400M will take care of handling 1080p HD content by assisting the CPU when it comes to decoding. PureVideo HD technology on the GPU takes on the processing-intensive video decoding task, freeing the CPU and 3D engine to run other applications while playing a high-definition movie. Lower CPU utilization can result in reduced power consumption, heat and noise.

RAM: A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB DDR2 800

4GB is pretty much the same price as 2GB, so you might as well load the motherboard with as much RAM as possible. 4GB is preferable in any case, to make the OS and video playbacksmoother.

Hard Drive: Western Digital 500GB Caviar Green SATA

Seeing as this is an HTPC, I went for a “Green” edition hard drive, that spins slower at 5400 rpm. That allows for lower noise, power consumption and heat. No worries though, 5400 rpm is still plenty fast enough for video playback, even at 1080p. 500GB should offer you enough storage capacity for all your videos, but feel free to upgrade to more if you want to.

Upgrade the main drive:

1. Western Digital 750 GB Caviar Green SATA – For only $13 more, you get an additional 250GB
2. Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA – For only $24 more, you get an additional 500GB.
3. Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA- Much more pricey at $200, but interesting nonetheless if you want a LOT of space.

Add storage with an additional 2.5″ drive (Recommended Case supports one 3.5″ and one 2.5″ hard drive.):

1. Western Digital Scorpio Blue 320GB 5400 rpm SATA – $65
2. Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB 5400 rpm SATA – $88
3. Western Digital Scorpio Blue 640GB 5400 rpm SATA – $120

Optical Drive: LITE-ON SATA 8x Blu-ray Reader CD/DVD Burner

This is a Blu-Ray Reader that can also burn CDs and DVDs.

Note that for Blu-Ray playback, you’ll need the appropriate codecs. These are available for free on the Internet, no need to buy a special software, you can use WMP or VLC for example. Just make sure to download and install the required codecs.

Upgrade:
Bluray burners are starting to speed up and go down in prices, making them more and more interesting. The LG Black SATA 8X Blu-ray Burner is a 8X Burner, currently available for $150.

Also, seeing as Optical Drives often go out of stock, here are a few alternatives that you can use. All are SATA based and compatible with the rest of the system.

1. LG 8X Blu-Ray Reader and CD/DVD Burner – OEM
2. LG Blu-Ray Reader and CD/DVD Burner – Retail
3. PLEXTOR Blu-Ray Reader and CD/DVD Burner

Case: LIAN LI PC-Q07R Red Aluminum

Nothing short of a brilliant case from LIAN LI. Built with the usual quality that you can expect from LIAN-LI, this case is deep cherry red, anodized on vertically brushed aluminum, giving it a very nice finish.

Why do I like this case so much? Because it allows you to use full-size optical drives, hard drives and power supply making this build more simple, less expensive and allowing you to use higher capacity 3.5″ hard drives.

Note that while I recommend only one 3.5″ hard drive, you can also add a 2.5″ laptop drive for more capacity.

See this video for a visual tour of it:

Brillant case, don’t you agree?

Recommended alternatives:

nMEDIAPC HTPC 5000B If you want more storage, this particular case allows you to install up to four 3.5″ hard drives.

nMEDIAPC Red Wood Wood/Steel HTPC 8000
This case is made out of WOOD! Yes, WOOD! It has this unique look, reminding me of an radio back many years ago, I love it.

So yes it has the looks, but it also has plenty of space to handle your system with space for up to four internal 3.5″ hard drives. It also has a multi-card reader, E-SATA, FireWire and 2 USB ports in the front, along with audio jacks.

The cool it down, it features a large 140mm case fan.

Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified

This is an HTPC with an Atom processor and onboard video, so needless to say, it draws very little power and you don’t need a 500W power supply here. Instead, I focused on giving you a high-quality and efficient (80 PLUS Bronze Certified) from SeaSonic.

Note that it does not come with a power cord, so you need to buy your own. Here are three power cords that I recommend, choose the one that suits you best:

1. 6 ft. AC power cable
2. 10 ft. AC Power Cable
3. 10 ft. Right-Angle AC Power Cord

Cooling:

With the Intel Atom processor that only has a TDP of 8 Watts and onboard video, the cooling is insured by the fan included with the motherboard and the vents on the case, which is plenty enough

TV Tuner: AVerMedia AVerTV Hybrid Volar Max USB 2.0

The only drawback of this setup is that the motherboard has no expansion slot, so you can’t install a PCI-based TV Tuner. However, nothing stops you from using this USB TV Tuner if you wish to watch/record TV. Note that it is optional and that its price is not included in the build due to budget restrictions and because not everyone want/need a TV Tuner.

Sound Card:
6 Channels Audio Jacks, 7.1 via HDMI or S/PDIF Out via Optical or Coaxial

This motherboard does include integrated onboard sound, but you can also decide to get it via the HDMI connection thanks to Nvidia ION. You can also choose to output sound via S/PDIF Out Optical or Coaxial.

Network: Wireless 802.11n and 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN

The motherboard includes wireless 802.11n and 10/100/1000Mbps LAN.

Recommended operating systems:

The operating system cost, if there’s one, is not included in the total cost. The two reason for this are that the cost represents only hardware and because you may be able re-use a previous license, go with an open-source OS such as Linux or , if you’re so inclined and are aware of what you’re doing, use torrents, not that I recommend it for obvious reasons. Nevertheless, here are some recommendations:

Windows 7

Considering that you’ll have 4GB of RAM, you could go with a 64-bit version but I would recommend sticking to 32-bit to make your life easy when it comes to finding drivers.

Windows 7 is by far better than Windows Vista, looks better, more functional, less annoying and consumes less resources.

Three Available Versions:

1. Windows 7 Home Premium: The basic edition, with all the looks and most of the functionality.
2. Windows 7 Professional: If you want the virtual XP mode, you’ll need at least the Professional edition. Also required if you want to backup to a network, using the built-in backup mode in Windows.
3. Windows 7 Ultimate: To help protect data on your PC and portable storage devices against loss or theft with BitLocker and to work and switch between 35 languages.

OEM vs Retail:

The OEM version allows you to only install it once on a computer. You cannot transfer the license to another computer in the future and you do not receive support from Microsoft. It’s the same type of license you get when you get Windows on a desktop or laptop that you buy from Dell, HP and such. It’s less expensive, but gives less flexibility. Ideal if you intend on keeping your computer for many years.

The Retail version is the full version, which allows you to transfer the license to another computer in the future and you can call Microsoft if you need any form of support. Ideal if you intend on upgrading/changing your computer down the road.

Other than that, you get the same features on both, only the license differs. The price between the two differs obviously.

OEM Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit OEM – $105
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 32-bit OEM – $140
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit OEM – $175

Retail Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Retail – $184
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Retail – $275
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Retail - $292

Linux

A lot of people these days boots more than one OS. Linux is a wonderful choice: powerful, cool, and cheap. Take your pick of distributions and have fun! For Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware, and Mandrake, try Distrowatch.com, Cheapbytes.com, LinuxQuestions.org or one of the many others.

What about Word processing, Excel and other Windows-based programs that Iyou need? Linux being an open platform, there are many free alternatives that will answer your needs. For Word/Excel and such, try OpenOffice.

Cost: Free

Conclusion

Did you like this computer build? What you would do to improve the build or this article?

I’m always open to your suggestions and ideas to improve this blog, your blog.

If anything, I invite you to comment on this computer build, share your opinions, what you think about it, etc.

Building this system?

Contact me and let me know how it goes, send me your story, pictures and I’ll publish it on the blog, to share with and help bring confidence to others who are thinking of building a computer for the first time.

Did you enjoy this build? Support me and Hardware Revolution

For each article, I spend many hours of research and many hours of writing/editing and I generously offer it to you and everyone else for free. If you appreciate my work, you can help me cover my costs (Hosting, living, etc.) and support our community by making a donation.

How much should you donate?

I suggest $10 because if you think about it, a consultation for a custom computer like the one in this article, from an expert with a decade of experience like me would cost you $50, if not even more.

Have I mentioned all the time and money that I have saved you through this and all of the other articles available on Hardware Revolution?

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