Media Center Server and HDMI Player

[AgileHumor 123]

I have a friend whom is looking to spend about $650 on a Media Center PC and wondering if you feel this is a good, low cost + low space solution.

 

He's not looking to add Live TV day one, but looking for the best option for the future, so I suggested a DLNA compatible tuner.

 

Sadly, he won't have enough for a storage expansion at the moment and will continue to use is 4TB USB external drive.  However, I wanted to come up with the best option today that he can budget for.

 

What do you think of these specs?:

 

·         $650 Media Center

o   $304 - Server + HDMI Media TV Player i5:  http://www.amazon.com/Intel-D54250WYK1-i5-4250U-Processor-Power/dp/B00H3YT8CC

§  $226 (save $80) - Server Only i3: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-D34010WYK-DisplayPort-i3-4010U-Consumer/dp/B00F3F381A

o   $82 -System Drive (120GB SSD): http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-120GB-mSATA-Internal-CT120M500SSD3/dp/B00BQ8RFAI/

o   $72 - Memory (8GB): http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-4GBx2-DDR3-1600-CT2CP51264BF160B/dp/B005LDLVAO/

o   $139 – Windows 8.1 Pro  http://www.amazon.com/Windows-8-1-System-Builder-64-Bit/dp/B00F3ZN0CC/
     (Note - Need to add Windows Media Center for additional $9.99 in Windows Add/Remove Features)

o   $50 - Media Browser Supporter (Server/Classic/MBPlus)  + Mobile Apps + other ancillary software when needed:

§ - Couch Potato

§ - Sonarr

§ - NZBGet

§ - UTorrent

 

·         $99 Live TV

o   Dual HD DLNA Tuner: http://www.amazon.com/SiliconDust-HDHomeRun-Compatible-Streaming-HDTC-2US/dp/B00GY0UB6I/
(Note – This will work with encrypted channels like Comedy Central, etc. from cable company with a Cable Card)
(Note 2 – Will need 2 ethernet jacks in your internet router.  One for the PC above and one for this Live TV tuner)

 

·         $780 Storage Expansion  (Phase 2 – Use Existing External USB Drive Now)

o   $99 - External Disk Array (4Bay): http://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-ProBox-HF2-SU3S2-Drive-Enclosure/dp/B003X26VV4

o   $680 - 4 x 4TB Hard Drives (8TB Usable with mirrored storage space to never lose data): http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-3-5-inch-IntelliPower-WD60EFRX/dp/B00LO3KR96/