general htpc

colin563

colin563

colin563

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Joined
4 Aug 2013
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35
I'm at last just about ready to order my bits for a new build it's for general computing duties with htpc duties as we'll

Hoping to get a few good ideas budget £700 - £1000 less is better

So it must be able to output 1080p films & 3d films do I need a addon graphics card

I will be using my tv for the monitor so it must output sound over hdmi

I want it fast booting so must have a small ssd drive just for os

Not decided on win 8 or 7 yet

This is how far I've got

Not sure on difference between the 2 i5 processors

Intel Core i5-4690 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £158.99
(£132.49) £158.99
(£132.49)
Intel Core i5-4670 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £157.99
(£131.66) £157.99
(£131.66)
Asus Z87I PROFESSIONAL Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini-ITX £124.99
(£104.16) £124.99
(£104.16)
BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £64.99
(£54.16) £64.99
(£54.16)
Pioneer BDR-209EBK 16x BDRW Multilayer 128GB retail

Thanks Colin
 
What sort of general suties are you planning? The i5s are massively overspecced for an HTPC so if all you're doing is HTPC + web browsing you could save yourself a some money on the CPU.
 
Yes, what Baboonanza said.

Been speccing an alternative for you, but including everything you want/need. I've had the pleasure to build with BitFenix Phenoms and recommend them over the Prodigy. The former look so much classier, with the sleek design and powder coating. I never got tired of watching the cases. The interior is the same as the Prodigy.


YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI H97I AC Intel H97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £89.99
1 x Intel Core i3-4150 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x BitFenix Phenom Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £69.95
1 x Pioneer BDR-209EBK 16x BDRW Multilayer 128GB retail £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
1 x Kingston 60GB SSDNow V300 Drive SATA 6Gb/s 3 2.5" (7mm height) Solid State Hard Drive - (SV300S37A/60G) £39.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 350W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £37.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TED34GM1600HC11DC01) £31.99
1 x BitFenix Spectre PRO 230mm White LED - Black £16.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Molex to 3pin x3 Fan adaptor 12V 20cm - Black £4.99
1 x Akasa AK-CBSA05-30BK Super slim SATA rev 3.0 data cable with securing latches - 30cm, Black £3.29
Total : £578.20 (includes shipping : £11.75).




No need for graphics card. Onboard outputs 1080p and 3D.

Sound over HDMI will work too (find a HDMI 1.4 or better, of the right length for your needs. I didn't spec one for this reason.)

Small SSD for fast booting. Added a 1TB storage HDD, not sure if you needed one or not.

Added other bits and bobs that will come in handy. LED fan to help a bit with cooling but primarily to light the interior of the case when you're tinkering inside it (the light won't spill out when case is closed). Sata cable for your BluRay, and fan adaptor to power the case's 2 x 120mm fans (they are silent on 12v). The 230mm fan comes with a 7v adaptor. You'd want to use that if you purchase it, as it's a bit noisy on 12v.

You can even reduce costs more by going for a H81 mobo and Pentium, but I tried to keep it "quality" as I saw you're willing to spend quite a bit.
 
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I do a bit of photo editing my own pictures & video editing my holiday videos

The rest is mostly general computing also I sometimes leave it on overnight

I do like buying the best I can afford

I want a computer that will last me a few years & be stable

Don't want to be upgrading every year or 2 I'm want 5 years

The reason I picked Bitfenix prodigy is it's got to go in my cupboard & it sits high upon its handles thought it might help ventilation

I have got a couple of hard drives a 1tb wd green & a samsung 2tb I've had them a while

Thanks colin
 
colin563 said:
I do a bit of photo editing my own pictures & video editing my holiday videos

The rest is mostly general computing also I sometimes leave it on overnight

I do like buying the best I can afford

I want a computer that will last me a few years & be stable

Don't want to be upgrading every year or 2 I'm want 5 years

The reason I picked Bitfenix prodigy is it's got to go in my cupboard & it sits high upon its handles thought it might help ventilation

I have got a couple of hard drives a 1tb wd green & a samsung 2tb I've had them a while

Thanks colin
Click to expand...


Cool.

The same stuff will work in the Prodigy, no probs.

If it's only a bit of photo and video editing now and then, the i3 is fine. But you can go for an i5 if you're willing to. These are the new ones that have just come in stock today:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4690 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £158.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4590 3.30GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £145.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4460 3.20GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £134.99




The other thing is RAM. If you're willing to spend more for 8GB (I think 16GB would be overkill unless you did editing very often) it will help speed things up.

YOUR BASKET
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G1600HC9DC01) £55.99

 
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What's the difference between the i5 CPUs the 4690 & 4670

Also I was thinking of a modular psu making the build a bit easier @ tidy

But not many of them seem to have dimensions of them




Thanks Colin
 
colin563 said:
What's the difference between the i5 CPUs the 4690 & 4670

Also I was thinking of a modular psu making the build a bit easier @ tidy

But not many of them seem to have dimensions of them




Thanks Colin
Click to expand...

100MHz speed increase per model, and the new ones run cooler apparently.

No need for modular with the Phenom/Prodigy. Easy as pie. Here's the method I used: once you have the motherboard in place, just tuck all the PSU cables between the back of the PSU and the PSU cage, and start slowly pulling out only the exact length you'll require. That way the only cables in view are the ones you need, and the exact length you need. Didn't even require zip-ties or anything.
 
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Intel Core i5-4690 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail

Asus Z87I PROFESSIONAL Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini-ITX

Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW)

BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black

Pioneer BDR-209EBK 16x BDRW Multilayer 128GB retail

TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G1600HC9DC01)

SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black

Total £649
The motherboard is not in stock I also upgraded psu
Would this be a good spec machine

And give me a good few years

Thanks colin
 
colin563 said:
Intel Core i5-4690 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail

Asus Z87I PROFESSIONAL Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini-ITX

Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW)

BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black

Pioneer BDR-209EBK 16x BDRW Multilayer 128GB retail

TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G1600HC9DC01)

SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black

Total £649
The motherboard is not in stock I also upgraded psu
Would this be a good spec machine

And give me a good few years

Thanks colin
Click to expand...



Okay, if you want bigger SSD and bigger PSU (unnecessary unless you add a powerful graphics card at some point), cool.

I see you like the Asus mobos. Swapped it to the newest Z97 chipset.

Added some of the other bits from earlier, to the basket. Discard as you see fit. :)

Mobo brings 4 SATA ports, and 4 SATA cables. That enough?


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4690 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £158.99
1 x Samsung 250GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE250BW) £119.98
1 x Asus Z97I-Plus Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £114.95
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £64.99
1 x Pioneer BDR-209EBK 16x BDRW Multilayer 128GB retail £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G1600HC9DC01) £55.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £49.99
1 x BitFenix Spectre PRO 230mm White LED - Black £16.99
1 x BitFenix Alchemy Molex to 3pin x3 Fan adaptor 12V 20cm - Black £4.99
Total : £735.95 (includes shipping : £11.75).




Should give you plenty of years, all going well.
 
Thanks for that I think that's the build I'm going with

I used to build computers years ago back in windows 3.1 dos upto windows 98

So things have changed a bit just had good luck with supermicro & asus boards

In the past

Thanks Colin :)
 
Just read that the motherboard only allows upto 512mb shared mem

If I were to install a graphics card into this system which way would you go

I'm not a gamer

But I do like a quick system


Thanks Colin
 
Thanks for that

I will order the faster ram

Would it be worth the extra £20 & get the

Msi GeForce gtx 750ti 2048mb

And will these fit in the small case


Thanks Colin
 
colin563 said:
Thanks for that

I will order the faster ram

Would it be worth the extra £20 & get the

Msi GeForce gtx 750ti 2048mb

And will these fit in the small case


Thanks Colin
Click to expand...


Only if you think you might game on it after all. And then, you'd be better off getting the R7 265/R9270.

They'll fit easily. :)
 
I'm just about to place my order could someone tell me if they think the

Gigabyte z97n gaming would be a better choice motherboard

I'm in no rush to order so the wait for a pre order would be no problem

And the price difference is only a few quid

Thanks Colin
 
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Theres not much point in getting a z97 board with a locked CPU, you might as well get a H97. Personaly I'd wait for the 4690k when it comes out as it will be about the same price as the 4670k and meant to run cooler, that way you can overclock it at a later date if you wanted to for extra performance.
 
We'll while I've been waiting for the new devils canyon chip

My build has changed somewhat

I'm going to get rid of my ps3 and build a gaming pc & htpc in one

I've got these bits already

Pre ordered devils canyon 4790k

My friend has just left the uk he got a couple of bits together for a rebuild of his pc

A kraken x60
Evga g2 850w psu
Western digital 4tb red drive
2 noctua Pwm fans
3 corsair af 140mm quiet

I want the corsair air 540 case

I was thinking of the asus Maximus hero 7
16gb ram unsure of speed ???
Powercolor R9 290 pcs+ as I want to be able to uefi fast boot

What do you think

Thanks colin
 
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