System Buyers Guide: PCs under $800

Intel HTPC

To be honest, if there's one system in this roundup that is likely to get a lot of comments and criticisms, it's going to be the HTPC configuration. That's not to say that our particular configuration is unreasonable, but in the HTPC market we will invariably encounter a lot of differing opinions about what is necessary and what is not. We detailed our assumptions about the HTPC configurations tin the introduction to the AMD HTPC system. You may want to look back at the considerations. We assume the end user has already selected an HDTV or monitor and a sound system. Very few end users need a TV tuner any more so we are not making that recommendation. We also assume the primary use of the HTPC computer is to play, store, and stream Blu-ray movies and other video entertainment.

As discussed in the Intel entry PC, the E5200 is an excellent value point in the Intel CPU line. Anything lower priced is generally a lot worse in performance, but higher priced CPUs do not gain that much in performance. At the new lower price of $73, the dual-core E5200 is also an excellent match to an NVIDIA 9400 chipset motherboard. It doesn't hurt, either, that the E5200 is rated at 65W, which will help in keeping the HTPC as quiet as possible.

The motherboard for the Intel HTPC is the $135 Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H featuring the NVIDIA GF9400 chipset. Our motherboard reviews found this chipset and the GF9300 a better choice than G45 in HTPC systems due to superior video playback and overall system performance. Some users have reported that the stock Intel CPU heatsink touches the chipset heatsink on this motherboard and they found the heatsink fit best and worked best by rotating the heatsink 90 degrees. For best results check the fit and best positioning before completing the mount of the heatsink/fan.

The HTPC case is one of those very personal options in building an HTPC computer. Some like the small cube form factor that can easily hide next to books on a shelf, while others prefer the audio component look. While it is fairly expensive for the actual size, we find the cube-like Lian Li PC-V350B a great small aluminum cube. The PC-V350A is the silver version and the PC-V350B is the black version. Both colors sell for the same $110. There is enough space for all the typical HTPC requirements, with good cooling and above all the important blessedly quiet operation. Only a Micro ATX motherboard will fit and there are two 5.25" external drive bays that can open right or left and two internal 3.5" bays for hard drives. Front ports for USB, audio, and FireWire (IEEE 1394) are featured behind a door to keep the appearance sleek and uncluttered. At just 10.3" tall by 11" wide, the V-350A fits in most bookcases just fine, but the depth of 14.7" makes the Lian Li most comfortable on deeper 16" shelves (279mm W x 262mm H x 373mm D).

The little Lian Li is coupled with a robust PC Power & Cooling Silencer 500W power supply that you can currently buy for a bargain $50. You can spend more on a PSU but you will be hard pressed to find a unit as quiet and reliable as the Silencer. It also has enough power for whatever video card you might throw in your HTPC in the future - though high-end GPUs are at odds with the silence most desire from HTPCs.

If you prefer the "audio component" look in your HTPC an excellent alternative is the Silverstone LC13B-E Media Center case selected for the AMD HTPC system. It is worth mentioning that if you choose a full size ATX motherboard for your HTPC, it will fit in the Silverstone but not in the Lian Li cube. The Silverstone is presently on rebate, so the normal $115 price is reduced to $100 after the $10 rebate.

The rest of the components are the same as those found in the AMD HTPC system. For detailed information on the rest of the components chosen for the Intel HTPC please refer to the detailed discussion on the AMD HTPC page.

AMD systems have held the lead for some time in HD video and HTPC boxes. The AMD advantage was large enough that AnandTech hadn't recommended an Intel HTPC build until last December. The NVIDIA GeForce 9300/9400 chipsets have done a lot to level the HD and HTPC playing field - but at a premium price. The Intel HTPC problem was never the CPU, but rather the motherboard chipset. That is the reason we can combine a cheaper Intel CPU with an NVIDIA GF9400 chipset motherboard to create a competent HTPC box.

While we can't tell you HD playback capabilities are completely equal between AMD and Intel today, we can tell you that both HTPC builds provided smooth, stutter-free Blu-ray playback. Certainly that is the primary concern of most HTPC system builders. If you're interested in doing video encoding/transcoding on your HTPC, however, the triple-core Phenom II setup is definitely faster than the E5200; such users would likely want to take a long look at quad-core offerings in all honesty, as encoding is one of the tasks that truly leverage the power of multi-core processors.