El Cheapo HTPC

joebingo · 19 Jul 2013 at 02:38

Hi guys, I've got a 7870 and 8GB DDR3 kicking about, how do I best go about turning this into a cheap, quiet, gaming capable HTPC, I haven't any desire to overclock. I can salvage a 1TB drive from another machine too. but will need everything else. Excluding the telly.

Cheers :cool:

DaleTheWhale · 19 Jul 2013 at 08:26

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £92.99
1 x Gigabyte H77N-WIFI Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £89.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Yang' Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black/White £69.95
1 x Toshiba SSD HG5D Series THNSNH 7mm 60GB Solid State Hard Drive - (THNSNH060GCST) £59.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x Corsair Hydro H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler *Manufacturer Refurbished Unit - 90 Day Guarantee £35.99
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £418.44 (includes shipping : £10.50).

Idleman · 19 Jul 2013 at 09:12

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £92.99
1 x Silverstone Grandia GD05 Desktop HTPC Case - Black (SST-GD05B USB3.0) £79.99
1 x Toshiba SSD HG5D Series THNSNH 7mm 60GB Solid State Hard Drive - (THNSNH060GCST) £59.99
1 x ASRock B75 Pro3-M Intel B75 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £55.99
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £39.95
1 x Thermalright AXP-100 ITX & HTPC CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1150 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £39.95
1 x OcUK 20x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £399.95 (includes shipping : £11.75).

joebingo · 19 Jul 2013 at 11:07

Cheers guys, love that Silverstone case in the second build!

I think I'll leave out the SSD until I upgrade the one in my main rig Does the i3 draw a lot less power than a phenom II x2? I only ask because I had this card in a machine with an x2 545 and a 500w PSU which couldn't cope.

Thanks again

Idleman · 19 Jul 2013 at 11:23

joebingo said:
Cheers guys, love that Silverstone case in the second build!

I think I'll leave out the SSD until I upgrade the one in my main rig Does the i3 draw a lot less power than a phenom II x2? I only ask because I had this card in a machine with an x2 545 and a 500w PSU which couldn't cope.

Thanks again

The XFX should cope with the spec and a 7870. The i3 only uses 77W.
What 500W Psu were you using?

joebingo · 19 Jul 2013 at 12:05

God knows, not the cheapest but not a name brand, think it was about £25. Probably a pretty glaring reason, eh? Chugs along fine with the 5770 in there at the moment though. Still complete overkill for what that PC is being used for!

Idleman · 19 Jul 2013 at 12:22

joebingo said:
God knows, not the cheapest but not a name brand, think it was about £25. Probably a pretty glaring reason, eh? Chugs along fine with the 5770 in there at the moment though. Still complete overkill for what that PC is being used for!

You could up grade the Psu. You could also get a Z77 mobo, if you want to get an i5 at a later date.
Did you need a network card?

joebingo · 19 Jul 2013 at 12:35

Nah, that PC is just an office machine - 545, 4GB RAM. I only used a discreet GPU in there as the mobo doesn't have onboard gfx.

For the HTPC, is there a benefit other than O/Cing with the z77 chipset?

I don't need a network card, I've got a surplus of wifi dongles at the moment since buying a card for my main rig.