Home Theater PC/DVR Build

I've been kicking around the idea of building a HTPC for a couple of months now and have finally decided to take the plunge. The end goal for this build is to have a Windows 7 HTPC that can be used to play/stream movies, watch netflix, browse the web, do light computing, and last but not least it should be able to double as a DVR. I'm hoping to get all of this done for less than $400 but we'll have to see how that works out. I'm still in the planning and ordering phase now but here is what I have so far for a parts list ...

- Motherboard - $50 (Purchased - eBay)
Asrock E350M1
http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/E350M1/
mini ITX form factor board powered by an AMD E350 APU with HDMI port, and 7.1 Channel HD sound. After some research I decided to go with this board/processor combo because of its small size, low power consumption, and price. I found this one in like new condition on eBay for $50.

- Ram - $35 (Purchased - eBay)
Kingston KVR1066D3N7/4G 1x4gb

- Hard Drive - $70 (newegg)
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003. 1TB, 7200 rpm, 64MB Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840
I elected to go for the extra space vs the extra speed of having a SSD and HDD

- Power Supply -
to be determined

- Tuning Card - $75-$100 (eBay)
InfiniTV 4 PCIe Card
http://cetoncorp.com/products/infinitv-4-pcie/
Brand new these go for $200 but you can find them in barely used condition for much less on eBay. This device (along with the CableCARD) will record up to 4 programs at one and integrates well with the Windows Media Center in win7.

- CableCard w/ Tuning Adapter - $2.50/month
(compared to $21.95/month for HDDVR service from TWC ... in theory these savings will pay for my HTPC in about 18 months)

- Case -
My plan is to build the PC in a vintage looking radio I have laying around the house

The hardest part of this build is obviously going to be integrating the components into the custom case, but who knows I may chicken out and go with a pre-built case and PSU instead. I have built other computers before but this will be my first experience with a custom enclosure. If anybody has done something similar to this or have suggestions then feel free to reply. I will post pics and update the parts list as the build progresses.

 

I built a computer in an old portable space heater once (don't have it anymore). I put the cooling fan where the actual fan went and added red LED light bars to make it look like a heating element. It was fun to do.

If you don't forsee really using it as a computer, you might look into setting up a MythTV box instead of Windows 7. It's an open source DVR that runs on Linux (free). You'd want to double check your tuner card to make sure it's compatible.

http://www.mythtv.org/detail/mythtv

A friend of mine set one up years ago. I'm not sure how they do the guide menus now but back then you had to answer a survey question like once a month or so. That gave you a channel guide for the month. No subscriptions.