Just doing final internals check:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £173.99
1 x ASRock H77 Pro4-M Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £67.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £35.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 Low Profile CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1155/1156/775) £11.99
Total : £301.36 (includes shipping : £9.50).
Any comments on parts ?
Now long story, if anyone is interested in reading it all.
(I want to thank all who helped me in my journey from Zotac AD04 to i5 2500k. Please don't think i'm an indecisive person. I just like to squeeze the last bit of value out of money i have to spend.)
Initially i thought i'd like something ultra small to replace my dying PS3, which i was using as a media player for some years. Which led me to nettops, ion being a bit rubbish i started researching E350-E450 platform. However, while researching i started to get this old as time nagging feeling about lack of upgradability (think buying rubbish laptop
). Which led me to start thinking small form factor PC's or HTPC's, but anything pre-built was a bit too pricey. I set my budget at £350, because that's how much Zotac AD04 with 8gb of ram and a 128gb SSD would set me back. And as we all know you cant get a decently expandable (internals wise, not form factor) prebuilt system for £350.
So i went to my garage (aka "i-may-need-it-later" dump). Fished out a nice HP Pavillion slimline pc (former model s5650uk). My friend left it here for dead (which it was, mobo exploded). This saved some money (but with some strings attached, later on that)
Tried to start a 775 build, which i have some parts for... Only to discover that motherboard (ATX) wont fit into uATX case (duh). Have a mobo and E8500 with Lo profile aftermarket cooler on it, but cant use it. And not keen on spending money on old "new" tech as well... No DDR2 as well...
So, on to cheap new-new tech. Enter i3 (2120). Again, the nagging feeling that i buy this time too low end... Yup, greed is bad... That didn't last long...
So, now i had a dilemma. Get an i3 and SSD or forgo SSD for some more of tasty tasty POWAH in the form of i5 2500k. Yeah, i know its a bit of an overkill for just HTPC. But expandability is there. I can always throw all insides into rubbish ATX tower, crank up OC, slap in dedicated graphics and off we go. Which wont be so easy when held back by i3. And its only about 60 quid difference for quite a lot more power...
The "strings attached" bit is i WILL have to break out a soldering iron, because HP are idiots and i'll have to rewire some of front panel and possibly extend 24pin power cable by about an inch. That's why this case was left with me in the first place - i couldn't properly connect standard uATX motherboard, case cables were either too short or proprietary wiring/connectors.
So there you go.
Also, yesterday, as if knowing it will be shelved, my PS3 kicked the bucket for good. YLOD. Easy decision on HDD over SSD, because now i have spare 750gb 7200rpm 2.5" drive kicking about...
Now after a long story some questions if i may.
1. PSU in the case is 220w TFX form factor (verified working under load). I know it will be enough to drive i5. However what if i add a low profile HD6670, which doesn't require supplemental power will it post ? The board is rated at 66w TDP. (I dont think so, but asking never hurt anyone...)
2. I'm thinking undervolting/underclocking for the time being. Will Asrock be decent in OC functions ? I'm not looking excellent overclocker, just something to open up 2500 "K" possibilities a bit.
3. Variation of question one. When undervolted/underclocked, can i run components above plus HD6670 ?
4. Any comment on the cooler ? I have Freezer 7 LP on the 775 board i wanted to fit, it was a bit better than stock. Also any other low profile ones to consider (mind the money) ? Scythe Shuriken is out of the question (performance is apparently rubbish, several reviews).....
Ahhh.. the end...
...or is it... ?
The journey: Zotac AD02 > Zotac AD04 > Foxconn nT-a3550 > Acer Revo RL70 > Thin Client i3 PC > HTPC slim form i3 > i5 internals in slim HP case > ???
Any comments/criticisms are welcome.
P.S. Ok, that was longer than i planned it...
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £173.99
1 x ASRock H77 Pro4-M Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £67.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £35.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 Low Profile CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1155/1156/775) £11.99
Total : £301.36 (includes shipping : £9.50).
Any comments on parts ?
Now long story, if anyone is interested in reading it all.
(I want to thank all who helped me in my journey from Zotac AD04 to i5 2500k. Please don't think i'm an indecisive person. I just like to squeeze the last bit of value out of money i have to spend.)
Initially i thought i'd like something ultra small to replace my dying PS3, which i was using as a media player for some years. Which led me to nettops, ion being a bit rubbish i started researching E350-E450 platform. However, while researching i started to get this old as time nagging feeling about lack of upgradability (think buying rubbish laptop
). Which led me to start thinking small form factor PC's or HTPC's, but anything pre-built was a bit too pricey. I set my budget at £350, because that's how much Zotac AD04 with 8gb of ram and a 128gb SSD would set me back. And as we all know you cant get a decently expandable (internals wise, not form factor) prebuilt system for £350.So i went to my garage (aka "i-may-need-it-later" dump). Fished out a nice HP Pavillion slimline pc (former model s5650uk). My friend left it here for dead (which it was, mobo exploded). This saved some money (but with some strings attached, later on that)
Tried to start a 775 build, which i have some parts for... Only to discover that motherboard (ATX) wont fit into uATX case (duh). Have a mobo and E8500 with Lo profile aftermarket cooler on it, but cant use it. And not keen on spending money on old "new" tech as well... No DDR2 as well...
So, on to cheap new-new tech. Enter i3 (2120). Again, the nagging feeling that i buy this time too low end... Yup, greed is bad... That didn't last long...
So, now i had a dilemma. Get an i3 and SSD or forgo SSD for some more of tasty tasty POWAH in the form of i5 2500k. Yeah, i know its a bit of an overkill for just HTPC. But expandability is there. I can always throw all insides into rubbish ATX tower, crank up OC, slap in dedicated graphics and off we go. Which wont be so easy when held back by i3. And its only about 60 quid difference for quite a lot more power...
The "strings attached" bit is i WILL have to break out a soldering iron, because HP are idiots and i'll have to rewire some of front panel and possibly extend 24pin power cable by about an inch. That's why this case was left with me in the first place - i couldn't properly connect standard uATX motherboard, case cables were either too short or proprietary wiring/connectors.
So there you go.
Also, yesterday, as if knowing it will be shelved, my PS3 kicked the bucket for good. YLOD. Easy decision on HDD over SSD, because now i have spare 750gb 7200rpm 2.5" drive kicking about...
Now after a long story some questions if i may.
1. PSU in the case is 220w TFX form factor (verified working under load). I know it will be enough to drive i5. However what if i add a low profile HD6670, which doesn't require supplemental power will it post ? The board is rated at 66w TDP. (I dont think so, but asking never hurt anyone...)
2. I'm thinking undervolting/underclocking for the time being. Will Asrock be decent in OC functions ? I'm not looking excellent overclocker, just something to open up 2500 "K" possibilities a bit.
3. Variation of question one. When undervolted/underclocked, can i run components above plus HD6670 ?
4. Any comment on the cooler ? I have Freezer 7 LP on the 775 board i wanted to fit, it was a bit better than stock. Also any other low profile ones to consider (mind the money
) ? Scythe Shuriken is out of the question (performance is apparently rubbish, several reviews).....Ahhh.. the end...
...or is it... ?
The journey: Zotac AD02 > Zotac AD04 > Foxconn nT-a3550 > Acer Revo RL70 > Thin Client i3 PC > HTPC slim form i3 > i5 internals in slim HP case > ???
Any comments/criticisms are welcome.
P.S. Ok, that was longer than i planned it...
