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[jellybeard999]

If it's not going to be used for gaming, you can cut it right down to £300ish. You'll need to decide if you'll do any gaming or none at all.

 

[markwilliams82]

ok it will do gaming but not hard core gaming. surely games like mass effect 2 dont need powerful graphic cards?

 

[danewesley]

i want to build something similar soon more for gaming not really for htpc but as small, this is a similar spec i came up with, tiny case too.

i dont know if you need an os, you can mix up the components a bit to fit it in, also if you change to the lian li Q07 and your own psu then you can fit a £50 blu ray drive in which may come in handy.

 

[Mr Krugga]

This should serve you well, mini-ITX thus a small factor format and a great looking case from Lian Li. It would all be powered by one of the most reliable budget PSUs ever, Corsair CX 400W.

Intel Core i3 will be the best choice as it is energy efficient, quick, overclockable, cool and new technology CPU. It is a dual core but with HyperThreading and should go well with everyday tasks (such as making coffee, sandwiches, etc.).

GeForce 460 768MB will do just fine with games you mentioned, it is not power hungry like other nVidia graphics card and is relatively cool and quiet.

I included a BlueRay drive in case you want to playback straight from your HTPC.

The total build cost comes to just over £580

 

[markwilliams82]

Looks good, I have got blu ray on the PS3 as well so should be able to cut that from the spec to save on some £££

I'm sure I'm probably going to open up the old debate, but would an AMD or Intel be better for a system which ideally needs to be quiet and energy efficient

 

[Mr Krugga]

I'd have to say Intel - have a look at the last charts

But there are some awesome AMD CPUs and they all have their place. For an HTPC with gaming needs I would go Intel Core i3 though. It overclocks to 4.2GHz easily and doesn't require and expensive cooler. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-035-AR&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395 - this would be fine.

 

[markwilliams82]

Cool, thanks.

Although I must admit overclocking wouldnt be high on my list of jobs to do. Never had much luck with doing it

 

[Mr Krugga]

Cool, thanks.

Although I must admit overclocking wouldnt be high on my list of jobs to do. Never had much luck with doing it

Mild overclocking will lead to 3.6GHz overclock perhaps, there's only a few settings you would need to change in BIOS really

 

[Si105]

Mass Effect 2 runs full on a 4850 so don't worry about that. Mass Effect 3 comes out soon though?

 

[markwilliams82]

Mild overclocking will lead to 3.6GHz overclock perhaps, there's only a few settings you would need to change in BIOS really

Might be tempted if its only a couple of settings, I think last time I dried to OC I had some dodgy memory and I could not get any stable OC's so gave up in the end as I Didnt want to replace my memory

 

[markwilliams82]

Mass Effect 2 runs full on a 4850 so don't worry about that. Mass Effect 3 comes out soon though?

So either of the new ati or nvidia cards I've been recommended should be more than enough to cope with the majority of games on the PC comfortably?

 

[Freddie1980]

I would avoid the Palit GTX460's if this is for the living room, don't get me wrong there a good quick card but the cooler is crap and runs loud and the card itself chucks out a lot of heat which isn't ideal for an HTPC case.

You should consider the Radeon HD5770's line with the Vapour X coolers, there not quite as fast as a GTX460 but runs a lot cooler and more importantly quieter which for me would be high up on the priority list for a HTPC.

 

[markwilliams82]

Thanks, will have to consider that as I'm worried about the heat given off if its going to be placed in a tv unit and in a small case

 

[PhoenixUK]

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5750 512MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £98.69
(£83.99) £98.69
(£83.99)
Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard £72.99
(£62.12) £72.99
(£62.12)
Patriot Viper 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-10666 1333MHz Dual Channel (PVS34G1333ELK) £70.49
(£59.99) £70.49
(£59.99)
OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply £56.99
(£48.50) £56.99
(£48.50)
AMD Athlon II X3 Tri Core 440 3.00GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £56.39
(£47.99) £56.39
(£47.99)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) £32.89
(£27.99) £32.89
(£27.99)
Coolermaster Elite 360 Mini Tower Case - Black £27.99
(£23.82) £27.99
(£23.82)
LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
(£12.76) £14.99
(£12.76)
Sub Total : £367.16
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £66.31
Total : £445.22

 

[Mr Krugga]

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18165485

 

[thingemajib]

in regards to the whole AMd intel thing, i think AMD are better value, particularly in the lower end, but intel generally performs better. I dont think theres really that much difference in efficiency nowadays, unless you pay extra for one of AMD's athlon II e series. Not really worth the premium imo.