I've been thinking about building one for the past few weeks but I can't really get around the cost. I'm basically looking at right around $1400 for everything, but I'm not entirely sure if it's overkill or not. I plan to use it primarily as a media device (DVR, DVD/Blue ray player, music, casual web browsing) but would also like to use it for a bit of light gaming. Here are the specs so far... Antec Black Aluminum Steel Fusion OR SilverStone GD05B ASUS P8H67-M EVO Intel Core i5-2500K Noctua NH-C14 OR Scythe SCSK-1100 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333 EVGA GeForce GT 520 Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 64GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB Ceton Infinitv4 Digital Cable Quad-tuner Card Samsung Blu-Ray SH-B083L/BSBP Logitech Harmony 300i Windows 7 HP If you guys know of any other components I can swap out for something with equal/better performance to cost ratio I'd love to hear it. TIA.
The CPU is overpowered, save some money on there. If you are not gaming on this you could drop the price considerably. If you re gaming, dont bother with the GTS 250, its barely a step up from IGP. Better off going with a more beefy GPU (offset by a cheaper CPU) to balance things out. Also, why do you need an SSD in there, next to a HDD? Just use the HDD for everything (get a bigger one as well, on that budget you might as well, 500GB doesnt go far when you start using HDTV and record from it). also, on the motherboard, look at getting an H61. They are the cheapest Sandybridge supporting boards, and the features missing from H67 are only things you dont need in such a setup. You can cut quite alot out of it and still maintain a perfectly usable HTPC. It might boot up a second or 2 slower but thats about it.
This is a HTPC under steroid ... I'm looking for one but I was more into - MSI H61I-E35 (62€) - Intel Pentium G620T (67€) - Kingston 2x 2Go (22€) - Scythe Kozuki (34€) - Western Digital Scorpio Black S-ATA II - 500 Go (59€) - Pico PSU + diy case ... Total 244€ without the case/psu ... but I'll maybe go for an Intel post-ville 40Go SSD (80€) for the OS (Linux + XBMC) and use a NAS over a gigabyte ethernet for data)
I would still go for the H67 mATX but pair it with an i3 2100 instead: nice fast dual-core will still game well. Use the stock cooler for now and just set the BIOS to 'silent' profile and it'll sit at a low hum when you're watching movies. As for the graphics card, the Silverstone case is full height so you can maybe look at passive options? I wouldn't bother with the 520 though
Would you be storing any movies on the HTPC itself? If you are, might want to swap out to a larger hdd. I'm nearly busting a 1TB hdd with just about a dozen tv series.
Agree: 1-2TB Green/Eco drives are not expensive these days. I fill most of my 2TB (with pics and games too though).
Alright, so say I sub the i5 for an i3-550, which GPU should I look at? I need something relatively small to fit comfortably in the case. As for the SSD, I was thinking it would be smaller, generate zero heat and it would be more reliable, though it's not a must have. In regards to the board, I'm pretty sure I want to keep the Asus I've got listed--I like the idea of USB 3.0 and the UEFI BIOS. I won't be storing many movies on it, either, so 500GB should be good for a few plus some music. BTW, is anyone using the ceton card?
i3-550? That's an LGA1156 CPU, not 1155 - it won't fit in the H67 board You need a 4-digit i3 CPU. The SSD is a good idea - that way your hard drives will turn off when they are not using used so you get less noise and heat. I did the same in mine, but I pull all my media over the network instead And you won't be disappointed with the board
Woops! That was my fault--the i3-2100 is listed right above the i3-550 on newegg. Re. the SSD: that was the idea I was thinking about using my network to pull video/music/pictures but I'll definitely need another drive to use for DVR purposes...unless I get a larger SSD and use it for everything, which I kinda want to avoid since I still think they're overpriced.
What about the HIS H467QR1GH Radeon HD 4670? Adding that and making the above changes brings the rig to right around $1200...
Even a 4670 isn't that great :/ Aim for 5770/6850/550 Ti range imo. Depends what games you play. It really comes to $1200? :O Seems.. expensive. Definitely use the hard drive for recording. An SSD will accept it just fine but you risk running out of space at the wrong moment A cheaper/slower green drive will still be fast enough for recording.
why use a discrete gpu on an HTPC? on-board graphics options draw a fraction of the power and have more than enough umph for pushing HD to your monitor. less power, heat, and cost.
Like I said, I'm just looking for some light gaming--MW2 and the like, nothing super intensive. I'd really like to keep it at or under $150, but if I've gotta spend money here I will. That said, shouldn't that card or a Radeon 6750 do fine?
I understand that, but an on-board gpu isn't going to float when it comes to gaming, will it? I hate consoles, so I'd really like to use the HTPC as an 'all-in-one' unit.
The i3 only has HD2000 graphics so it won't cut it. I'd push you towards a 5770, 6770, 550 Ti or GTS 450 spec: $125is with aftermarket cooler. Under idle a good aftermarket cooler will be very quiet. What PSU are you using? That's another source of noise.
I was thinking about an APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 500W, which is really cheap ($20) and relatively quite. I'm open to suggestions though.
Absolutely not. Go for a Corsair 430 w builder series. Under NO circumstances buy the PSU you suggested.
the 6770 is about perfect for this.. I bought one for mining- it runs cool and pulls around 110 watts loaded.. should be able to handle anything you can throw at the tv.. even games
If your struggling on the igp area then go llanlo as it is slightly slower in the CPU department but has a much better igp. Also if paired up with a cheap discrete gpu such as the 6670 then the graphics will be powerful enough for mw2 etc.
