So you want an HTPC (Home Theater PC / Media Center) but you’re not Mr. Money Bags? That’s fine — you can still build a great one.

The goal of this build was to play HD content streamed over the network to an HDTV. The requirements were:

  • Powerful enough to handle 1080p Blu-ray rips
  • Fairly compact
  • Fairly quiet
  • Inexpensive

The Parts

Barebone System: Foxconn R10-G3 — $80

This kit comes with an HTPC case, 250W PSU, and an LGA775 motherboard. It’s a great value — the board has a gigabit Ethernet port (essential for streaming HD over a network), 6-channel S/PDIF audio out, and includes 2 SATA cables. Build quality is solid.

CPU: Intel Celeron Dual-Core E3300 — $53

LGA775 to match the board, plenty of power for 1080p Blu-ray rips, and cheap. The E3400 is a fine alternative as well.

Video: PowerColor HD3450 Low Profile — $30

The motherboard’s integrated graphics was weak and only offered VGA output. Any low-profile GPU with HDMI out will work — it just needs to fit the case. This one was not only cheap but completely silent (passive heatsink, no fan). Other options to look at: ATI 5450s and Nvidia 8400s.

RAM: G.Skill 2GB DDR2-800 — $30

2GB is the right amount for a box like this. If you find a deal on 4GB, grab it — but note the motherboard only has a single RAM slot.

Hard Drive: Western Digital 250GB Caviar Blue — $50

Any 7200RPM drive works. For this build, media is streamed over the network from a separate media server, so local storage only needs to hold the OS and software. If you’re storing everything locally, go larger.

Total: $243

Prices were current in the weeks leading up to this post and will vary.

The Software

OS: Windows or Linux

I had a spare Windows 7 license, so that’s what I went with. Linux is a solid free alternative — Ubuntu is a good starting point if you’re new to it.

Media Center: XBMC or Windows Media Center

Windows Media Center is Windows-only and limited to certain editions. XBMC is free, cross-platform, and far more capable — it fetches cover art, metadata, and episode info automatically with no extra plugins needed. Its skin system gives it a polished look on any TV.

I went with XBMC inside Windows instead of Windows Media Center and never looked back.

The Result

This HTPC hit every target: compact, quiet, cheap, and fast. It handles 1080p x264 .mkv files without breaking a sweat.