Help Upgrade HTPC to High Spec Gaming Machine Ready for Oculus Rift!

Killer Nads

Killer Nads

Killer Nads

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Joined
17 Apr 2013
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225
Hi Guys,

Need some help in choosing the best parts to install in my current HTPC that i use for streaming movies to my 121" projector with XBMC and Blurays.

I am wanting to upgrade the system to a High-End Gaming machine, ready to play with my VR Kit (Oculus Rift) once it arrives in the next few weeks.

I want to be able to play all high end games such as Skyrim, Crysis 3, Bioshock Infinite on the best settings possible. Don't forget with the Oculus Rift, you are in sense displaying the game twice for 3D, so frame-rate needs to be try and remain high.

I dont in sense have a budget, can spend a few hundred if needed. But would like to spend as little as possible if i can.

Now my HTPC is a Assassins HTPC.

The only things i feel that i need to upgrade are the RAM and GRAPHICS CARD.

As i am in a small shoebox case, i am quite restricted to the size of the graphics card. Hence, looking for the best one i can get in this case with this motherboard i have.

As the HTPC is in a Home Cinema Room, it needs to be reasonably quite operation and stay pretty cool! My current HTPC is really good at doing this currently, hardly makes noise and doesn't get very hot.

The cabinet it is in has some holes in the back for some air flow and also i try to leave the front half open (sliding door) when the HTPC is on.

Here is what my current spec is:

Shoebox Case
AsRock H77m-ITX motherboard
Intel i5 3570k
64GB Crucial SSD
1TB Secondary WD HDD (Used for installing games)
4GB G Skill Ares RAM


I tried to play a few games on my current machine, such as Dear Esther, Slender Arrival, Amnesia. But putting any of these games on a high setting really made the game chug and hardly playable.

For the RAM, I'm not sure if i should just get one more 4GB card to make it 8GB or if i should go for a brand new 16gb (2x8gb) Ram Kit.
From what ive seen across the net, people are saying that 8gb is enough and having 16gb would hardly make any difference?!?

Thanks for all your help guys!
 
wow that is a nice case, unfortunately due to the size i wont be able to fit it inside the home cinema cabinet. Theres actually no space on the sides of the cabinet either cause of speakers and subwoofer.

There must be some card that can fit inside my current case?!?

thanks
 
Thanks mate, the Radeon HD 7850 looks good. But how are they? You said they aren't that great?

Is that my best option to go for? Will they play all games on ultra settings?

Also any idea on my RAM and what i should do with that?

thanks
 
ok thanks mate, ill be playing mostly on my projector. Hence, 1080p.

Two questions:

Is that the best gfx card that will fit with my case and motherboard? or can i get a better one such as 7870 or a nvidia equivalent that is better?

As for the RAM, is 8gb enough? or i would like to go for 16gb if this will make a difference to gaming?
Lastly, if 8gb is enough i already have 4gb inside machine with one more slot. Can i just get a single 4gb card?

Thanks, really appreciate your help and information.
 
Leprechaun312 said:
ram wise 8gb is enough so i suppose you could get another 4gb stick but it would need to be the same ram which is the problem

g-card wise: there is a 7870 http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/video/pitcairn-3-p1.html

nvidia: i can't find any 1 slot cards sorry
Click to expand...

Oh you mean the RAM make and model have to match on both RAM slots? or can you have different RAM models in each slot?

The 7870 seems like the perfect choice for me.

Thanks a lot mate youve been a big help in such a short time!
 
Ah i see thanks. So i need a AFOX card basically for it to be one slot? and im guessing they don't do 7870 ones?

Ive just been looking at the AFOX Radeon HD 7850 card, they are going for about £200. Where as without the AFOX name attached, they can be had for about £140.

Now the only thing I'm thinking about is if its worth spending £200 on such a old card, the games that have been used to test them on in reviews online seem to be a bit old and not the recent releases like Tomb Raider, Crysis 3, Far Cry 3. etc..

Im wondering if i was to go for a case change, and get a latest model better higher quality gfx card - what sort of price range would i be looking at? Would it still fall into the £200 mark or go way up into the £500 mark?

Hence, the question really is: Is a latest 2 slot card at £200 of much better quality then a 1 slot card at the same price?
 
Hmm...ok the problem is the size. My current case is: 220 x 130 x 330 (WxHxD)

Now with this i have some more space for its height and width only, the problem with the cooler master elite is its much bigger in height and depth: 240 x 207.4 x 401.4

I just measured the space i have and the max is:

500 x 180 x 360


I have been looking for a case online that might fit, problem is sometimes its difficult to make out if there is space for a 2 slot gfx card.

Heres cases that would fit in my cabinet (but im not sure if they are good or not):
CIT MTX001B, Black, mini-ITX Case with 300W PSU
Thermaltake Element Q Black mini-ITX HTPC Case with 220W SFX PSU

or this one if not for the slim drive bay :(
Silverstone SG05B USB 3.0 Sugo Black Mini ITX Case with 300W PSU
 
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Also one question about the RAM, im having trouble finding a single channel

4GB G Skill Ares 1600 RAM. I can find 8GB single channel sticks though from GSkill, is it ok to mix 4GB stick in one slot and 8GB in other slot? or do they have to be same size across slots?
 
scotsdragon said:
You are always going to have issues with that comp/case being so small and since you dont want/cant go bigger because of the size restraints.
you wont be able to get the results you want have you thought of buying a bigger DVI or HDMI cable and a wireless keyboard and mouse and stashing you comp somewhere esle so you can get a bigger case.
Click to expand...

Yeah i know, im sure there must be a case though that fits in my max allowance and allows for 2 slot gpu.

I am already using a wireless mouse/keyboard, length of the HDMI is not a problem also. What is an issue however is that the only place i can stash the htpc is behind the cabinet, however, then i run into other issues such as noise level increasing due to it being outside cabinet and also my USB peripherals such as xbox pad and other remotes not reaching the machine (although i guess i can get a usb splitter/extender for this problem).
 
Thanks for your advice, yeah i understand what your trying to say. Its such a difficult decision, but yeh i think to get one to fit my cabinet is still the best choice i have.

The problem is trying to find one within those max measurements. Also most of them dont even say if they are a 1 or 2 slot pci bay.

The last option that i am looking at is to just go with the single slot radeon 7850, however i guess that would need upgrading again by next year to play games such as gta5 and watch dogs. Also if i do this, then theres no guarantee that i would even be able to get a single slot card better then this one in the future!

:(
 
Thanks mate, you've been a big help!

Ive just taken pics of the motherboard and case, it looks like the motherboard only has one slot and not 2 ??!?

photo1pd.jpg


photo2zv.jpg


photo2zv.jpg


Heres the motherboard spec:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H77M-ITX/
 
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Oh man, the cost is ok i wouldnt drop the card model just for £50.

The problem is the case still, unfortunately the case you found still would have its issues with my specs, as my current bluray drive would not fit in there as its full size and not a slim version. :(

Hahah we were almost there as well!

PS:- the power supply i currently have, will it work with the one slot 7850?
 
ok i think ive sort of shortlisted that i want to go for this case:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-127-SV

It does mean that i will have to sell my bluray drive and buy a slim one though :(

But i dont really see any other sensible choice.

Then i can atleast have the best GPU card which will be future proof also for atleast sometime. This case also comes with the 450w PSU, is this going to be enough to run all top end cards such as 7950 or do i need a 500w PSU?

thanks
 
Leprechaun312 said:
emm well i dont know about the fans, i suppose you could get the case and if the fans are too loud then you could order some quieter ones although the graphics card cause some more noise when gaming but when your gaming you shouldn't hear it. cooling wise if you need an new cpu cooler http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-105-TR it will give you just about enough room with the pci slot being so close to the cpu and also will fit into the case aswell
Click to expand...

OK cool, whats your take on this? Do i need this cooler? or would i be fine without it? Cause of the new case im already having to stretch towards the £500 mark, where as earlier i only wanted around the £300 range.

But if i need it then i guess i dont have a choice. The only thing is im not so sure if i definetly need this or not? The htpc is in a somewhat closed off cabinet with some open spaces around for air flow.
 
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