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McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain

Member

Tough build...HTPC for the wife

I don't want to throw out the old parts that I just replaced with my new build, and I really don't have space in the barracks to store them. So, the wife wants a machine to sit on the kitchen counter next to the little LCD TV I set up for her before I left. Nothing special, just something that will stream Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, iTunes type stuff.

The kicker is, I want to reuse my ATX motherboard and AMD Phenom II...as well as the Hyper 212 that I've got lying around too. I've also got fans and a video card.

And the case needs to be "girly"

The budget is as small as possible...(I told her I could do it for around $200, but I think that's a little unrealistic)

I don't know wtf I'm doing here...building something "girly" and semi small on the smallest budget possible isn't something I've done before. The timeline is by the end of May (birthday present)

I would ask elsewhere, but I trust the guys in the Gaming community here more than anyone else. Can you guys help me?

facepalm
join:2012-08-20
Lumberton, TX

facepalm

Member

The only advice I can really offer is to let her pick the case. That has "trap" written all over it. lol. If she chooses and dislikes then that somewhat absolves you of any blame.

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain

Member

Yeah man, she wants a pink case...but every one I can find online looks like it fell out of a Unicorn's butt. They're hideous.

facepalm
join:2012-08-20
Lumberton, TX

facepalm

Member

I saw some nice white ones on Newegg, but I am no judge of girly for darn sure.

s1deout
Geek4Life
Premium Member
join:2003-12-10
Troy, OH

s1deout to McBrain

Premium Member

to McBrain
»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 11144147

It's black and pink but its micro ATX.

Yea most of them are fugly imo.

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain

Member

I'm not certain, but I don't think the motherboard I've got will fit a microATX case. If it will, it opens up a whole new set of options for me. The motherboard measures like 12" x 8.6" if that helps.

Octavean
MVM
join:2001-03-31
New York, NY

Octavean to McBrain

MVM

to McBrain
My sister once asked me to find her a good laptop and stipulated that it be "Pink",......shudder,.....

Well I looked and long story made short I simply couldn't find one that I thought was right but I did give her some options. Impatient, she ended up buying some Dell laptop with a pink lid which never did seem to work well.

I use that as an example for a lot of things when I think someone is getting cought up in unnecessary details,...like when my daughter wanted a white iPhone.

Anyway, if it were me I would probably get the Wife a little HP Touchsmart or Compaq equivalent for the kitchen,.....

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain

Member

Yeah, I could probably buy a little miniPC or something for the price I could build one, even with salvaging the parts I've got...they just weren't built for what she wants.

Imagine a home theater PC with a GTX 570, full ATX motherboard, and Phenom II x4 965 with a giant Hyper 212 pasted onto it...talk about overkill...

Octavean
MVM
join:2001-03-31
New York, NY

Octavean

MVM

Yeah, that's a bit overkill for a kitchen PC,...

Also note that a Kitchen or rather a typical well used kitchen is a poor environment for a standard PC. Heated water turns to vapor which is not favorable for a computer. Grease from animal fat and vegetable oils do the same and settle on / in whatever is in the general area.

If all the Wife wants to do is look up some recipes or watch some videos then maybe a closed system like an Android tablet or Apple tablet would do. Slap that thing on the refrigerator or countertop field expedient method style and you're good to go.

Phantasee
join:2009-08-27
Hammond, LA

Phantasee to McBrain

Member

to McBrain
Just do 3 SLI Titans and tell her you will need a 60" 3D TV to make this work.
Phantasee

Phantasee to McBrain

Member

to McBrain
But to be srs. Just get her a freaking iPad/tablet. Lord. It's gonna be easier to use and she can take it all over the house/apt/hut.

I got my wife an iPad she uses in the kitchen and all over the house. So much simpler and tons of sammich apps.

s1deout
Geek4Life
Premium Member
join:2003-12-10
Troy, OH

s1deout

Premium Member

+1 for this as well. My wife has the iPad and she watches it in the tub. Plus she can watch shows on TWC while I watch my shows on the big TV.

I_H8_Spam
join:2004-03-10
St Catharines, ON

I_H8_Spam to Octavean

Member

to Octavean
said by Octavean:

My sister once asked me to find her a good laptop and stipulated that it be "Pink",......shudder,.....

My wife wanted something girly as well, I got her a decent Asus ultrabook and used pink heat shrink wrapping and some stick on stickers. Since the purchase she's come to her senses and its just the stickers.

Phantasee
join:2009-08-27
Hammond, LA

Phantasee to McBrain

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to McBrain
You can get an iPad for 329.99. Streams Netflix. Does everything she would need. No wires everywhere. Reliable. Consumes less power. Instant boot. Virtually no viruses. Quiet. Versatile.

Seems like the best choice, to me, for what she needs/wants. I don't know your setup, but a PC in/near the kitchen would drive me insane.
They have some decent Android Tablets as well.

weaseled386
join:2008-04-13
Edgewater, FL

weaseled386 to McBrain

Member

to McBrain
If the TV has an HDMI connector what about an Apple TV box? I think they're still $99. I know it'll do Netflix & iTunes all day long, but not sure about Amazon Prime Video. The box is only like 4" x 4" x 1".

EDIT: Appears you cannot view Amazon Prime videos with a stock Apple TV. Sorry, but I tried

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain to Phantasee

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to Phantasee
She's got an iPad, but the little tyke ends up with it most of the time...any time he sees it, it's on like Donkey Kong. Little guy's gotta get his fix of Go Diego, Go!

Blockgorilla
Sarcasm is my native tongue
join:2010-02-11
Wichita, KS

Blockgorilla to McBrain

Member

to McBrain
I just bought a roku x2 XD for $79.99 at BestBuy and it works wonderfully for this. It's literally the size of the palm of your hand. Functionally, it does everything, Pandora, Hulu, Vudu, Netflix, amazon, etc. I don't think she's going to like something of the size that fits your atx mobo, (if she's anything like my wife anyway).

It works wirelessly and plugs right into the back of the TV with an HDMI cable (not included) or your regular coax cables.

»www.bestbuy.com/site/Rok ··· p=1&lp=1
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO

me1212 to McBrain

Member

to McBrain
Get her an internet refrigerator. »www.samsung.com/us/appli ··· HARS/XAA

McBrain
BRB Face Melting
join:2010-05-06
Marietta, GA

McBrain to Blockgorilla

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to Blockgorilla
said by Blockgorilla:

I just bought a roku x2 XD for $79.99 at BestBuy

»www.bestbuy.com/site/Rok ··· p=1&lp=1

That's what's up. Ordering one today. Thanks.

Blockgorilla
Sarcasm is my native tongue
join:2010-02-11
Wichita, KS

Blockgorilla

Member

there's a $59.99 version for tv's that aren't 1080p, I believe it's the first gen version.