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ION platform with PCI slot

As explained in my previous blog, I needed an ION platform with a PCI slot. The slot will hold my already existing TV tuner card. I searched for a nvidia ION motherboard with a PCI slot. I could only find one in newegg. At $160 it is pretty cheap too!

Now I need a case to enclose it. I found this case. It is not the best, but will do for now. The reason for going with this case is because I wanted it to be compact and at the same time should be able to house 2 3.5" hard drives and a 5.25" blu-ray drive. The case is small at 11.80" x 8.70" x 5.1". The cost of this case is $40.

Next up, I need a couple of memory sticks. I am not planning to remove the memory sticks from my desktop PC and put them here because I want to sell the old desktop in a proper working condition. It will have everything except for the TV tuner card. I think 1 GB should be sufficient for the small HTPC especially since it will run linux. A quick search produced results with 1 GB memory sticks costing about $25.

Finally I need a 1TB hard drive. A decent western digital hard drive can be had for about $85. So that completes the HTPC. I am not planning on purchasing additional hard drive or blu-ray/DVD drive at this point simply because I don't need them yet.

The total cost of the HTPC comes to about $310. Not bad at all. With shipping and taxes it still will not be more than $350. I am not sure when I will buy it, but it is on my list of things to buy...

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