JamieFitzsimons
Established Member
Hi all,
I've recently gotten into using services like Plex to stream movies to my TV via Chromecast, currently I use the generic office PC in the house to achieve this. It is not a machine I would like to leave on all the time so I've decided to (try and) build a dedicated machine for the job.
I've done a bit of research into the important components but am definitely in need of advice and recommendations.
So far I have looked at:
Case: BitFenix Prodigy - Midnight Black (Looks ideal for a newbie build) - Purchased
Motherboard: MSI A88XI-AC £70
CPU: AMD A6-6400K - £45
RAM: Looking at 2x2GB for now, open to decent recommendations on this.
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 128GB £70
HDD: Now, I've looked at a few WD drives for this, the WD green looks fairly decent as it's cheap and energy efficient. So I'll most likely throw in one of these.
Power Supply: This is a bit of a grey area for me, I've seen many say 300-400W is enough for any HTPC? Also, I like the idea of a Modular PSU as I am a bit of a neat freak! From what I've read I can put anything within the ATX spec into the case I've chosen.
OS: Windows 8.1 £70 (Was hoping to get a free copy as I work in retail and it was free via Microsoft Expertzone at one point, seems I missed out on that!)
As mentioned above, very new to the building game so I may have missed bits and bobs so please feel free to advise in anyway, it would be much appreciated!
I've recently gotten into using services like Plex to stream movies to my TV via Chromecast, currently I use the generic office PC in the house to achieve this. It is not a machine I would like to leave on all the time so I've decided to (try and) build a dedicated machine for the job.
I've done a bit of research into the important components but am definitely in need of advice and recommendations.
So far I have looked at:
Case: BitFenix Prodigy - Midnight Black (Looks ideal for a newbie build) - Purchased
Motherboard: MSI A88XI-AC £70
CPU: AMD A6-6400K - £45
RAM: Looking at 2x2GB for now, open to decent recommendations on this.
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 128GB £70
HDD: Now, I've looked at a few WD drives for this, the WD green looks fairly decent as it's cheap and energy efficient. So I'll most likely throw in one of these.
Power Supply: This is a bit of a grey area for me, I've seen many say 300-400W is enough for any HTPC? Also, I like the idea of a Modular PSU as I am a bit of a neat freak! From what I've read I can put anything within the ATX spec into the case I've chosen.
OS: Windows 8.1 £70 (Was hoping to get a free copy as I work in retail and it was free via Microsoft Expertzone at one point, seems I missed out on that!)
As mentioned above, very new to the building game so I may have missed bits and bobs so please feel free to advise in anyway, it would be much appreciated!
Last edited: