Re: building from scratch around ceton infinitv 4 card
You really don’t need too much CPU power these days in a HTPC. A basic system can be built with an AMD 785G motherboard and a dual core 45W CPU. I’d probably go with the dual core to keep the power and heat down, but a tri or quad are fine choices as well. Remember, you can always upgrade later if you decide you really need the extra CPU power.
I like the Antec NSK 2480 case since it comes with a nice power supply.
2GB of ram is enough, but I don’t build without 4GB anymore. Especially since the really cheap motherboards I like to build with sometimes only support 2 slots for RAM.
A SSD is overkill, and 2TB drives are $100 now.
I don’t expect you really need to spend much more than $400 right now on a HTPC and other than a better video card, I don’t see much reason to spend more than that. But, with the AMD 6XXX series coming soon, I’m hoping that AMD’s lowest end and lowest power card will finally be a good HTPC performer. The 5450 isn’t much of an upgrade over the 785G. The AMD 5570 is the go to card right now if you want more than the 785G.