HTPC New or can i salvage some parts from old pc?

[wmarandu]

I have a rather large older pc that I may be able to salvage some parts out of for a smaller HTPC or I could sell my pc as a whole unit and use the cash to buy parts to build a HTPC...
Here's what I have:

Lian Li PCV-600 Case
ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe MOtherboard
AMD Athalon 64x2 Dual Core Processor 5200+
TAGAN TG-580-U15 Switching PSU
NVIDIA GeFORCE 7300LE Graphics Card (no HDMI)
a std CD/DVD RW Drive
Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200rpm SATA Drive
Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200rpm SATA Drive (OS Drive)
External 1TB USB 2.0 Drive
4x1GB RAM

Would like a smaller footprint HTPC to go into my entertainment unit...if building new I was thinking of something like:
AMD A10-5800K APU Quad Core Processor Socket FM2 3.8GHZ
ASUS F2A85-M/CSM mATX FM2 85X FCH DDR3 2PCI-E16 1PCI-E1 1PCI SATA3 DVI HDMI USB3.0 Motherboard
PSU ?
CD/DVD RW Drive
4-8GB RAM
either an SSD Drive or SATA Drive for OS (Win7)
a Wireless Keyboard/Mouse for HTPC (I have a Logitech Harmony One I can hopefully use for remote?)

If building new I would like to keep under $500...preferrably in the $300-400 range.

Suggestions would be appreciated...

Thanks

[Mayoo]

invest into NUC for HTPC Setup

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL4MX-0V8l4

[BobSagget]

invest into NUC for HTPC Setup

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL4MX-0V8l4

That's an interesting product. I just watched a few videos on YouTube about it.
The price seems a little high though for what you get(currently $300 at NCIX). I mean you still have to supply your own RAM, mSATA SSD, wifi card (if you want one) and operating system.
Also going by Intel's website, this product was just released within the last month (says Q1 2013). It's 2013, not coming standard with USB 3.0 ports is kinda crap. I mean sure, for peripherals like mouse/keyboard and stuff USB 2.0 is fine, but USB 3.0 has been around for a few years now. It should be the standard on all new devices.

Currently I am using my Lenovo P580 as an HTPC . Paid $249.99+tax for i5 cpu/750GB hdd/HD4000 GFX/6GB RAM/4 USB Ports(2 USB 3.0)/HDMI/Windows 7/

Now of course this thing has my laptop beat in form factor, and I am sure that's the main thing it's going for, but I still think $300 is a little high considering what you get. If you don't NEED a 10cm x 10cm computer, you can pick up a laptop with better specs to use as an HTPC for basically the same price.

Or you know...create your own HTPC.

[redzone]

i say use the old pc as file storage so your htpc can be 100% silent.

then use something like this , add a few quiet fans and a low profile quiet heatsink and yoru gtg!@

Link

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/AgTi

[wmarandu]

hmm A4 Dual Core processor is not any better than what I have...I don't really need the pc as a file server if I have external drives...
The Intel box does seem cool, but once you add in the RAM and HD it is an expensive option.

[george__]

^
Get a A8 or A10.

[redzone]

i didnt say it was faster. i said it was quiet. to me htpc needs to be quiet. the worst thing is to hear a damn fan spin up or a hdd crunch away in a quiet suspenseful scene in a movie. totally takes you out of the movie experience...

also and A4 has a much better video processor then your current pc.. and it is quite a bit faster then an athlon 64x2...

[willy]

You just need a HD video capable video (ie. HD 6450 or GT430 or GT640) ... Your computer is good enough. The video card will do most of the heavy lifting.

[teoconca]

You just need a HD video capable video (ie. HD 6450 or GT430 or GT640) ... Your computer is good enough. The video card will do most of the heavy lifting.

+1. OP's old PC would be ok for HTPC. Just need to get better video card with HDMI and DVI ports.

[wmarandu]

I kinda figured that the pc would be fast enough, but the case is too big for my entertainment unit and the pc is a bit on the loud side to use as a HTPC, normal pc operations, it's fine, but for an HTPC I want it to be as silent as possible.

[alkizmo]

Smaller footprint eh?
It might just be cheaper to buy a cabinet matching your entertainment unit in which to store the PC tower.

The new "in" thing now is to have a small closet space near the entertainment unit that's hidden in which you can install all your networking equipment and your computer. Just run a few cables through the wall to the TV and voila.

Of course, it's more of a handyman job than a techie job.

[number8888]

There's a lot of ways to make your computer run quieter:

change CPU heatsink
use "green" HDD's (instead of 7200rpm ones), or better yet use SSD's
change computer case and/or intake/outtake fans
use PSU with high-efficiency rating
switch to fanless video card

If you can identify the source of the noise then you can work towards quieting down the system and reuse it. I don't think you can get much by selling it anyway.

[willy]

If the noise is from ....

CPU heatsink ... If you can stick with the large case, you can either get a heatpipe with a larger but slower spinning fan. Liquid cooling is another possibility.

HDD ... You can install SSD as boot drive and move all HDDs to a NAS (and place it always from the HT).

Case fan ... Slow them down with 7V mod.

Video card ... Get a passive (no fan) one.

PSU ... Most of the current generation models are fairly quiet.