Self build media centre PC

[CardinalRed]

I'm about to come into some random bits of hardware and I've always wanted a media centre PC in my living room to connect to my TV. I've decided to try to build an SFF myself.

Main requirements are:

Small-ish, discrete (black, no flashy lights or windows)
No need for optical drive
Needs USB to connect external storage
HDMI output to connect direct to TV
Possibly (not essential) an optical output for sound into my soundbar

The chip I am getting is AM3+, so I was looking at this motherboard:

Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Socket AM3+ VGA DVI HDMI 7.1 Channel Audio mATX Motherboard - Ebuyer

And this box:

IN Win BL641 300w Slim Desktop Black ATX 80 Plus - Ebuyer

I have a spare 120GB SSD and 2 DDR3 RAM sticks (8GB).

Am I right that I just need to find a power supply, graphics card, and then maybe some cooling?

Its main use will be playing media from the hard drives, Kodi, some very light gaming (talking browser level here) and some internet browsing.

Thanks!

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
The ddr2 ram is useless on this board

Memory
- 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory (Note 1)
- Dual channel memory architecture
- Support for 1333+ (O.C.)/1066 MHz memory modules
(Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information.)

 

[CardinalRed]

Hi,
The ddr2 ram is useless on this board

Memory
- 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory (Note 1)
- Dual channel memory architecture
- Support for 1333+ (O.C.)/1066 MHz memory modules
(Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information.)

Hi thanks.

It should say 2x DDR3 sticks sorry!

Will now edit.

 

[alphaniner]

The case you linked comes with a PSU. That's often true for small cases like that. One thing to keep in mind though is availability of replacement PSUs should the original fail.

Onboard video may be enough for your usage, I'd try that before buying a GPU. If you do buy a GPU, make sure it's compatible with low-profile case.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
Okay yep that will help
Although yea the case probably is going to have poor cooling too along with limited gpu options
I had one of those slim line cases they do bite so more intake and exhaust fans are needed.
http://www.sevenforums.com/pc-custo...52-modifing-old-desktop-machine-new-case.html

 

[mjf]

You should consider if relatively low cost devices like this meets your needs
WD TV - Media Player

 

[CardinalRed]

Hi Mjf,

Strangely I do have one of those already and it works fine (except some issues with .ISO playback) - but this is more of a "what can I do with these bits of hardware" question, as selling them really does sound quite boring

 

[mjf]

Hi Mjf,

Strangely I do have one of those already and it works fine (except some issues with .ISO playback) - but this is more of a "what can I do with these bits of hardware" question, as selling them really does sound quite boring

I've had one for years and I generally playback ISO and mkvs. Mine is a WD Gen 2 and haven't come across any iso playback issues.

I get your point on putting spare hardware to use - good luck with the project.