>Spinpoint f3
Like I tell everyone, it's cheaper at superbiiz
"Price: $59.99
Free Shipping (Restrictions Apply)
In Stock"
Am I looking in the wrong place?
Yes. Superbiiz almost always has a global coupon which takes off $5-$15 off the total price, and often has hard drives and CPUs cheaper than newegg on top of that. This week the deal is "CHICKEN" for 10% off up to $10.
Also you can save extra on an optical drive combo there if you don't have one already.
No mobo-i3 CPU combos priced lower than $195 while still having an i3 with Intel HD Graphics 3000. Of course though, since it looks like that's where most of the cost can be cut from, should I be looking at things like
this?
While I know it's not exactly a "gaming computer",
Intel is way behind in the graphics department. I also think that AMD usually has
much better idle performance due to their cool and quiet technology, which drops the voltage down to 0.4 volts and clock speed down to 800 MHz. It's one of the few times I would actually recommend an AMD processor right now, and since the graphics inside it are the absolute best for an IGP. It will only be maybe half as fast as an i3, but then again, it's also half the price.
The a4 3400 has a number of combos on half decent motherboards. I'm a fan of UEFI, so I would recommend this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131768 at $160
but there's a gigabyte one which doesn't have UEFI and is $20 cheaper at $140
You can also get a better CPU, but I don't see the point really for an HTPC.
I think having a small case for an HTPC is an excellent idea, but unfortunately the case manufacturers don't see any reason to make cheap small cases, which is really too bad.
I can't recommend the power supply, but I do like the size and price of this case. However, Athena Power is
not on the
list of bad PSU brands and they have made some decent power supplies in the past. If you want to save a little bit of money, you should be able to use it, as with such a low power build you could get away with a 250 W PSU. There were a few reports of PSU failures in the reviews. To be safe though, you should probably get a micro tower with a standard PSU size and get a low power quality PSU.
Something like this won't look trashy and will be at least be the cheapest you can find on newegg at $35 -$5 and free shipping.
Otherwise, this one is a damn beauty at $50:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352009Or you can wait around for a new email deal to get a decent price on a better case. Usually around $30 with shipping is the cheapest you'll find.
As far as the reasons for getting a small case go:
Small cases look better, fit in more places closer to the TV, are easily portable and moveable, can lay on their side or upright, and in general make better HTPCs for those who don't know much about computers.
Bigger cases are cheaper, but bulky, and often look worse. It's your choice on which to get.
By the way:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044If you include the Mail in Rebate, you can swap out your old PSU if it's decent for this build and give yourself a $40 650W.
That's why it's hard to recommend something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033since they're the same price after rebate, but clearly the 380W will be better for this build.
Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Sep 25 2011, 6:18 pm by rockz.
"Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Chairman - do we have to call the Gentleman a gentleman if he's not one?"