Thinkpads Forum

Would anyone have a small form factor PC laying around that they'd be willing to part with?

I'm looking to build a HTPC for my parents as a Christmas gift, but they wouldn't want a full size tower sitting next to their TV. Preferably, I would like something with a HDMI out, and is powerful enough for 1080p streaming. The brand/model doesn't matter too much.

My budget is around the $100 range, but I'm also willing to trade.

Edit: Found a Dell OptiPlex 780 on eBay for $80 after shipping. Thanks for the input, everyone.

that1nerd wrote:I'm looking to build a HTPC for my parents as a Christmas gift, but they wouldn't want a full size tower sitting next to their TV.

SFF desktops virtually always cost more than minitowers. It would be very hard to find an SFF for $50 that has HDMI and is powerful enough to deliver smooth 1080p videos. Can you put the computer underneath the TV? If you can, see if you can lay a minitower flat and slide it under the TV. A minitower laid flat isn't much higher than a standard desktop or an SFF. It may be relatively easy to get a Core2 Duo minitower with HDMI for $50.

I recently bought a Dell OptiPlex 790 ultra small format factor (USFF) desktop as a HTPC. It's tiny and very cute!

pianowizard wrote:It would be very hard to find an SFF for $50 that has HDMI and is powerful enough to deliver smooth 1080p videos.

Yeah, I know I'm pushing it... Figured it was worth a shot, though.

I've pieced together a decent mini tower already, but it's too large to fit in the cabinet where the TV's set up. I'd be willing to trade it, but that's only if I get desperate.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you spend for that 790?

that1nerd wrote:I've pieced together a decent mini tower already, but it's too large to fit in the cabinet where the TV's set up. I'd be willing to trade it, but that's only if I get desperate.

Another idea: Would the minitower fit behind the TV?

Yet another idea: Buy a parts laptop with the display broken or missing. Hook up the bottom to the TV.

that1nerd wrote:If you don't mind me asking, how much did you spend for that 790?

$205.07 including shipping and sales tax from Dell Financial Service. I got it around Black Friday when there was a 45% coupon that included free shipping. It's a super deal for an USFF desktop with Core i5-2400S, 500GB HDD, 4GB RAM, and both VGA and DisplayPort outputs. What's more, my Discover card is giving 5% cashback for all online purchases in Oct through Dec, so I expect to get $10.25 in cashback for this purchase.

pianowizard wrote:Another idea: Would the minitower fit behind the TV?

Yet another idea: Buy a parts laptop with the display broken or missing. Hook up the bottom to the TV.

The TV's mounted to the wall with a dresser immediately below it. The dresser is completely covered with DVD racks and equipment. I'd take a picture of the setup, but that's going a bit too far for a thread in the marketplace. Just trust me in the fact that a mini tower is not an option...

A halftop might be a good idea, but then there's the HDMI/1080p playback issue. That's why I'd want a SFF PC, so I can at least have the option to upgrade the video card.

pianowizard wrote:$205.07 including shipping and sales tax from Dell Financial Service.

That's actually not a bad price, but it's a little beyond what I'm willing to spend right now. Must make for a pretty sweet HTPC, though.

that1nerd wrote:My budget is around the $100 range, but I'm also willing to trade.

It's good to see that you've raised the budget from $50 to $100. To save on shipping, which would cost at least $20, you should definitely consider buying locally (though gas might cost you nearly that much if you need to drive far...). The Tampa Craigslist has some potentially interesting SFFs within your budget. Many probably only have DVI out, but some may have DisplayPort which carries audio signals just like HDMI. A DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter costs only several bucks on eBay.

that1nerd wrote:That's actually not a bad price, but it's a little beyond what I'm willing to spend right now. Must make for a pretty sweet HTPC, though.

$195 (after the $10 cashback) is not just "not bad", but phenomenal for such a modern, business-class USFF. Also, it consumes significantly less power than an SFF. So, if we take electric bills into account, in the long term (10 years?) this USFF may end up costing the same amount of money as a $100 SFF.

UPDATE: I just tested some 1080p YouTube videos on my OptiPlex 760 SFF desktop (Core2 Duo E8400, 2GB PC2-6400 RAM, 500GB 7200rpm SATA HDD, Windows 8.1, Internet Explorer), which drives an HP 1920x1080 LCD monitor through DisplayPort. They played surprisingly smoothly. That's good news for you because eBay has many Core2 Duo 760 SFFs and even USFFs for under $100 shipped. Add $4 for the HDMI adapter.

I have been looking around on Craigslist, but the only ones that seem promising are a bit of a drive for me. (To drive from where I live to St. Pete, it'll be at least a 50 mile drive.) I'll keep looking around online, but I was curious as to what might be floating out here in the forums.

For about 250 (I know it's more than 100), I have the i3 NUC from Intel with 128GB SSD & 4GB DDR3 running Windows 8.1 for sale

Have you thought about a streaming box like a Roku, or if your parents are a little more adept, an android stick/set top box? Either would meet the $100 budget.

I second the Roku suggestion.


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My recent OptiPlex 790 purchase along with your WTB post got me excited about USFF desktops, so I have done some further research after my last post. While the OptiPlex 760 USFF comes with only VGA and DVI (which lacks audio output), the OptiPlex 780 USFF is the first OptiPlex desktop of this form factor to have DisplayPort. Of course it's more expensive than the 760 USFF, but on eBay it's not hard to find one fairly close to $100, e.g. this one is $127.49 shipped and the seller's rating is 100%: http://www.ebay.com/itm/321573472000 . If you don't mind bidding and can wait for a few days, you can probably find something cheaper.

My 790 USFF is much smaller than my 760 SFF or my 9010 SFF. If your parents want the smallest HTPC possible, you should seriously consider spending extra for an USFF. The USFF chassis doesn't leave any room for video card upgrades though, so make sure your folks aren't planning to get a 4K TV any time soon.

BTW, I bought this $4 DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter and it works perfectly with my 790 USFF: http://www.ebay.com/itm/231406298771 .

Omineca wrote:Have you thought about a streaming box like a Roku

JaneL wrote:I second the Roku suggestion.

But a PC can do sooooooo much more.

Yeah, but his budget is $100, and Rokus run as low as $39.99 although I'd avoid the streaming stick. Battery life on its remote is terrible. Also, the Roku has a very simple interface if his parents are novice computer users.

Omineca wrote:Have you thought about a streaming box like a Roku, or if your parents are a little more adept, an android stick/set top box? Either would meet the $100 budget.

JaneL wrote:Yeah, but his budget is $100, and Rokus run as low as $39.99 although I'd avoid the streaming stick. Battery life on its remote is terrible. Also, the Roku has a very simple interface if his parents are novice computer users.

That's not a bad idea... But I've already got a lead on an OptiPlex 780 SFF that a guy's selling on craigslist. If I can get a SFF video card for it, that should suit my purposes just fine.

pianowizard wrote:But a PC can do sooooooo much more.

Agreed. I'd rather have room for upgrades and a wider selection of software instead of being stuck with an all-in-one box that will be out of date within three years.

I appreciate all the input everyone.

that1nerd wrote:But I've already got a lead on an OptiPlex 780 SFF that a guy's selling on craigslist. If I can get a SFF video card for it, that should suit my purposes just fine.

Don't rush out to buy a video card yet. Like I said, even the Intel graphics of the OptiPlex 760 is sufficient for playing 1080p videos. The notion that integrated GPUs "suck" is very obsolete. On my OptiPlex 9010 SFF, I am using its Intel GPU to drive a 4K (3840x2160) monitor!

pianowizard wrote: Don't rush out to buy a video card yet. Like I said, even the Intel graphics of the OptiPlex 760 is sufficient for playing 1080p videos. The notion that integrated GPUs "suck" is very obsolete. On my OptiPlex 9010 SFF, I am using its Intel GPU to drive a 4K (3840x2160) monitor!

My reason for wanting a video card is that I want dedicated HDMI with sound output. From what I've heard, DisplayPort doesn't support sound output. Only video.

Some DisplayPort interfaces support audio; it's an optional feature. In fact, according to the formal spec, video is optional as well.

ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort

You might also investigate if DP++ (Dual-Mode DisplayPort) will work for your usage. Using a simple passive adapter, DP++ can output single link DVI or HDMI signals.

that1nerd wrote:My reason for wanting a video card is that I want dedicated HDMI with sound output. From what I've heard, DisplayPort doesn't support sound output. Only video.

Not true. Like I said above, DisplayPort does carry audio signals just like HDMI. My OptiPlex 790 USFF's DisplayPort (through an HDMI adapter) is sending audio as well as video to my LG 1080p HDTV. And my OptiPlex 9010 SFF's DisplayPort is also sending both sound and video to my Dell 4k monitor.

However, since I don't have a 780, I can't verify whether its DisplayPort transmits audio.

rkawakami wrote:Some DisplayPort interfaces support audio; it's an optional feature. In fact, according to the formal spec, video is optional as well.

ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort

You might also investigate if DP++ (Dual-Mode DisplayPort) will work for your usage. Using a simple passive adapter, DP++ can output single link DVI or HDMI signals.

pianowizard wrote:Not true. Like I said above, DisplayPort does carry audio signals just like HDMI. My OptiPlex 790 USFF's DisplayPort (through an HDMI adapter) is sending audio as well as video to my LG 1080p HDTV. And my OptiPlex 9010 SFF's DisplayPort is also sending both sound and video to my Dell 4k monitor.

However, since I don't have a 780, I can't verify whether its DisplayPort transmits audio.

Never got to play with DisplayPort stuff before, so my limited knowledge was based on word-of-mouth. Never looked into it up until now.

As for whether the 780 supports DisplayPort audio, I can't seem to find any concrete evidence suggesting so either. But at $12 for a DisplayPort to HDMI cable, I'd be willing to gamble on it. If it does, sweet. Otherwise, I'll be popping in one of my spare video cards.

that1nerd wrote:As for whether the 780 supports DisplayPort audio, I can't seem to find any concrete evidence suggesting so either.

I spent a minute or so on Google but couldn't find anything definitive either. One person on a forum claimed that the 780's DisplayPort doesn't pass audio signals, but that doesn't mean much considering that the internet is full of misinformation.

that1nerd wrote:But at $12 for a DisplayPort to HDMI cable, I'd be willing to gamble on it. If it does, sweet. Otherwise, I'll be popping in one of my spare video cards.

I would save that $12. First of all, you already have spare video cards. Second, why would you pay $12 when the DP-to-HDMI adapter I linked to above costs only $4 shipped. If you do get this adapter, you will need an HDMI cable, but you probably already have some lying around. If not, the cheapest ones are only like $2 apiece.

After being burned by my DP to HDMI adapter (it didn't carry audio), I always choose to get a DP to HDMI cable. It also takes up less space than having two intermediate connections, and is not a delicate connection like an adapter.