![]() The Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X-ITX+, $100: This tiny motherboard has support for 7.1 HD surround sound, HDMI out, and some nice features for managing the speed (and noise level) of your fans, which is great for keeping your home theater quiet.If you want to be able to play more modern PC games, you might need a separate video card, though-which will make the build louder and more expensive. Plus, it has an AMD Radeon HD 7480D built in, which means it can even handle some games (like the emulators we’re going to add in later). The CPU: AMD A4-5300 3.4Ghz, $60: This processor is not only inexpensive, but it’s more than powerful enough to handle any tasks your home theater PC will throw at it.Otherwise, you’re free to tweak certain aspects of the build to fit your needs, but here is what I recommend. If you’re already set on your hardware but still want to know how I set everything up, feel free to skip down to part two below. It won’t necessarily play the latest games on ultra high settings, but you should be able to play them on lower settings pretty easily, and all your streaming video should run like a dream. ![]() This build is powerful enough to handle nearly anything you throw at it, and at a very reasonable price. In order for my media center to accomplish everything I wanted, I’ve found that I needed a very specific set of hardware, since a lot of HTPC builds are too low-powered to handle things like video games or even Netflix. Video games from nearly any classic system, as well as some PC games.Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime streaming, plus nearly any other streaming channel you can imagine like CBS, NBC, Bravo, MTV, Comedy Central, SyFy, USA, Revision3, TWiT, and many more (Unfortunately Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime are much more difficult than they used to be.All of your ripped or downloaded movies, TV shows, and music.This build will allow us to play virtually anything, including: We’ve tried a lot of different builds over the years, but not every build can handle everything you throw at it. I'm finally in the market to get a home theater PC, and I'm not sure which… Read more What Should I Use for My Home Theater PC: Apple TV, Nettop, Old Computer, or Something Else?
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