Building a Low-End HTPC

Building a Low-End HTPC

Punit Lodaya, Jan 12, 2007 1700 hrs IST

A couple of months back we configured a mid-end HTPC, it's time to Build a Low-End HTPC now. Let's get started...

Graphic: Onboard Nvidia 6150 (Price: N.A.)

The board we have chosen has integrated 6150 graphics chip, which is a scaled down version of the GeForce 6200. It is fully complaint with DirectX 9.0c and fairly competent when it comes to entry level gaming. But don't expect miracles. It shouldn't have any trouble crunching the pre-2005 games, but will struggle with the recent releases. There is also a PCI Express slot to plug in a better graphics card if you get serious about gaming.

Sound Card: Onboard Realtek ALC-883 (Price: N.A.)

This motherboard is equipped with the Realtek ALC-883 chipset. It supports 8-channel audio and manages a high quality output. The performance is more than satisfactory, especially when you couple it with any value speaker system. Also it allows you a fair bit of tweaking.

TV Tuner: Compro VideoMate TV PVR/FM M200 (Price: Rs. 1850)

Compro VideoMate TV PVR/FM M200 features the Philips 9-bit ADC chipset which has superior picture quality than most of the budget TV tuner cards available in the market. The VideoMate TV PVR/FM M200 allows not only to watch TV but also record/scheduled record live shows, timeshift, and transfer your VHS tapes into digital formats. (MPEG-1/MPEG-2/BMP/VCD/SVCD/DVD.) The VideoMate TV PVR/FM M200 also provides an FM stereo radio listening and MP3/WMV/WAV formats recording.

With the specially designed IR remote control, the VideoMate TV PVR M200 enables users to do thumbnail channel surfing, single button recording, and time shift live TV shows.

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Building a Low-End HTPC

A couple of months back we configured a mid-end HTPC, it's time to Build a Low-End HTPC now. Let's get started...

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