HTPC build with future potential....advice please

frys

frys

frys

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10 Jan 2010
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25
Hi,

So I'm setting up my home cinema at the moment along with all new media/networking equipment. I have decided to build a new HTPC, that will be linked to projector, TV, based on Mini ITX to keep the size down, to run XBMC linked to a NAS.

I had considered a NUC as many here suggest but for the price it seems that I may as well just build my own as space is not a key consideration and want to make sure it is still a moderately good spec so that later in the year I can put in a GPU such as the "Radeon R9 270" and use is as a semi good gaming PC as well in the lounge on the projector :)

I have the following components short listed, but am unsure on:

a) what PSU I would require to make sure I could run this GPU or similar in the future that fits in this case.
b) That the case i have selected is big enough for this GPU, and aftermarket CPU cooler (is this required, I am not planning to OC). Would I be better going for a slightly larger case for airflow etc such as:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-112-SV&groupid=2362&catid=1092

c) Real world difference between chosen CPU and say the 4670K? Manly I am opting for the i5 Haswell for the HD4600 graphics
d) Is 8 gig ram enough, my existing PC has 8 gig and I built this 4 years ago (not ddr3 thou).

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4430 3.00GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £131.99
1 x Samsung 120GB SSD 840 EVO SATA 6Gb/s Basic - (MZ-7TE120BW) £67.99
1 x Asus H81I-Plus Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £58.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan ORANGE 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLAD38G2400HC11CDC01) £55.99
1 x Silverstone SST-ML06B USB 3.0 Milo Slim HTPC, Mini-ITX - Black £41.99
1 x Akasa AK-CBSA05-30BK Super slim SATA rev 3.0 data cable with securing latches - 30cm, Black £3.29
Total : £369.84 (includes shipping : £8.00).





Bear in mind I'm not looking for top spec, just something that will do the job for a while to come!! :D I'm currently using my last custom build that i did 4 years ago and it just about manages to play recent games still!!......albeit not very good settings :)
Any feedback greatly appreciated.
 
 
Looks interesting. To be honest AMD CPU naming confuses me a lot! Have no idea what order of spec their ranges go from.

- Is the AMD HD 7660D gpu comparable to the Intel HD4600?

- Are you saying in this price bracket you get more bang for buck with AMD route?

cheers
 
Is the AMD HD 7660D gpu comparable to the Intel HD4600?
Click to expand...

Overall I would say the 7880D is better, especially gaming at 1920x1080. With the faster ram in the spec, the APU can be OC'ed for better performance. Plus, you can add a 6770 for hybrid xfire for higher game settings.

Are you saying in this price bracket you get more bang for buck with AMD route?
Click to expand...

I think you get a better all round HTPC with the FM2, especially if you want do a bit of gaming.

http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=1045&page=4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7RIcrqzgkg
 
So, it appears as always once i look further into things and think about future upgrades I decide to spend more and aim it more towards gaming!! :)

I am leaning towards the following setup now.


YOUR BASKET
1 x intel core i5-4430 3.00ghz (haswell) socket lga1150 processor - retail £131.99
1 x silverstone grandia gd08 home theatre server case - black (sst-gd08b usb 3.0) £105.95
1 x gigabyte z97p-d3 intel z97 (socket 1150) ddr3 atx motherboard £69.95
1 x samsung 120gb ssd 840 evo sata 6gb/s basic - (mz-7te120bw) £67.99
1 x teamgroup vulcan orange 8gb (2x4gb) ddr3 pc3-19200c11 2400mhz dual channel kit (tlad38g2400hc11cdc01) £55.99
1 x corsair builder series cx 430w modular '80 plus bronze' power supply (cp-9020058-uk) £37.99
1 x zalman cnps8900 quiet heatsink & fan £29.99
1 x aerocool f4xt 4-channel fan controller with usb ports £13.99
1 x arctic f12 pro tc case fan - 120mm £4.99
1 x arctic silver 5 thermal compound (3.5g) £4.99
1 x kingston datatraveler micro 8gb usb 2.0 pen drive - (dtmck/8gb) £4.39
2 x arctic f8 pro tc case fan - 80mm £3.49 (£6.98)
1 x akasa ak-cbsa05-30bk super slim sata rev 3.0 data cable with securing latches - 30cm, black £3.29
total : £553.49 (includes shipping : £12.50).





-an i5 chip because when i do get a gpu in future i believe this will be a much better combo/ powerful than the apu?
-a better / atx mobo because i need hdmi output and want 4 ddr3 slots for turning the 8gig ram into 16 in future,
- a larger case because i like its look next to my avr! and has more potential
- apparently the zalman cooler is pretty good and quiet - (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/low-profile-heat-sink-mini-itx,3639-16.html). I would have liked the deepcool lucifer but don't think it will fit in my case, or any of the other larger tower coolers. Am not going to massively over clock so more for silent factor.
-Cosair modular so I dont have to have a million cable everywhere - will 430w be sufficient for future GPU such as the R9 270?



Hopefully that makes sense, if anything screams out as stupid let me know :)
 
frys said:
I would have liked the deepcool lucifer but don't think it will fit in my case, or any of the other larger tower coolers. Am not going to massively over clock so more for silent factor.
Click to expand...

You won't be doing any overclocking at all with that chip. It's locked. Need a "K" version for OC.
 
 
 
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