[REQ]Help build a Steambox for a cheap as possible!

[LaP]

I'm not sure its advisable for anyone to be building an htpc around SteamOS yet.

I don't think it is. He should wait no doubt about it.

[TrickierStinky]

Thanks so far the responses...

 

for those saying I should wait, I do realise what you are saying about waiting to see what the specs are and that the OS is in it's infancy. But I'm seeing this as a more a project I have come into some money so I would love to really tinker and hopefully come out with something playable.

 

 

And to the others, I've taken your suggestions and tried this

 

CPU:  Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  (?95.79 @ Ebuyer) 

Motherboard:  Asus H81I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  (?59.77 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Memory:  Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  (?54.94 @ Amazon UK) 

Storage:  Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (?78.10 @ Amazon UK) 

Video Card:  PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB Video Card  (?133.00 @ Ebuyer) 

Case:  Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  (?32.44 @ Amazon UK) 

Power Supply:  EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (?39.92 @ Scan.co.uk) 

Total: ?493.96

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-16 13:00 GMT+0000)

 

 

but I don't know I feel like I've gone slightly backwards for more cost does that look correct?

 

[spikey_richie]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/12/everything-you-need-to-know-to-install-steamos-on-your-very-own-computer/

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

How about this for a bit less:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  (?137.99 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-B75N Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard  (?61.50 @ Aria PC)
Memory:  Corsair XMS3 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  (?49.67 @ Amazon UK)
Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card:  Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 2GB Video Card  (?136.48 @ Ebuyer)
Case:  Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  (?32.44 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply:  EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (?39.92 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: ?458.00
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-16 14:40 GMT+0000)

 

Changes:

• Ivy-Bridge i5 instead of a Haswell i3.
• Ivy-bridge motherboard.
• Faster clocked R9-270
• Cheaper hard disk

You could replace the R9-270 with a GTX 660 as well assuming that the AMD drivers continue to suck, although it is slower than the R9-270, and won't get any Mantle goodness.

[riahc3]

Hello,

I agree with most on here: You shouldn't be buying a "Steambox" You should be buying a regular PC.

As noted, RIGHT NOW, you should go with NVidia because SteamOS supports it.

Also, as recommended:

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770, i5-4570, and i3

Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan, GTX 780, GTX 760, and GTX 660

Graphics card RAM: 3 GB GDDR5

Main RAM: 16 GB DDR3-1600

Hard drive: 1 TB storage/8 GB SSD cache hybrid drive

Power: 450 W power supply

Measurement: 12" ? 12.4" ? 2.9" high (30.5 cm ? 31.5 cm ? 7.4 cm)

[Ironman273]

The only part of a Steambox that interests me is the controller, which I can't buy off the shelf (yet) anyways.

[Boo Berry]

Honestly you're better off installing Ubuntu/Debian/Mint and installing Steam that way, rather than running SteamOS at the current time. SteamOS is basically Debian Wheezy with backports.

[snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member]

Honestly you're better off installing Ubuntu/Debian/Mint and installing Steam that way, rather than running SteamOS at the current time. SteamOS is basically Debian Wheezy with backports.

 

And 250+ RT patches and a custom compositor...