Media PC build advice please

Comrade Paulski · 22 Mar 2014 at 19:05

Hi,

New to the forum, 1st post and I'm asking for advice from anyone who is:

a. Kind enough
b. More knowledgable than me (probably all of you!).

I am building (planning) a home/media pc to hopefully replace my DVD player and CD player, store our photos on, use with the children (educational games etc...) browse the internet, maybe hook up wifi security cameras, etc...

I don't want to spend a fortune, but equally I want it to be at least a little 'future-proof'.

My initial list of components is below, any advice or constructive criticism is more than welcome! Especially on processor and operating system choices.

Gigabyte GA-Z87N-Wifi Intel Z87 £104

Intel Core i5 4440 3.10GHz Socket 1150 6MB Cache £129
or
Intel Core i3 4330 3.50GHz Socket 1150 4MB Cache £96
or
Intel Core i3 4130 3.40GHz Socket 1150 3MB Cache £83

Coolermaster Elite 130 Mini ITX case £40

Power supply £50

HDD 1TB £50
SSD 120GB £60

RAM DDR3 240 pin 4GB £30 x2

Blueray Drive £65

Windows 7 or 8? £70

Wireless Keyboard £35

Total £663 (approx)

Steveocee · 22 Mar 2014 at 20:38

If you arent getting a K model CPU you can shave a few pounds off by getting the H87 motherboard.
Power supply could be the corsair builder series which is around 38 quid
For OS you could look at something Linux based as if you aren't gaming?

Comrade Paulski · 22 Mar 2014 at 21:15

Thank you.

Is the i5 processor worth the extra money? I have read a few things that say the i3s are better value, are more energy efficient and their performance is pretty close the the 5 in most respects.

Sorry to be a pain, but could explain what a K model CPU is and what advantages that would have - if any?

Fulax · 22 Mar 2014 at 22:13

The only advantage of a K chip is that it can be overclocked. For a media centre build that presumably isn't relevant, and you can quite happily stick with an i3.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte H87N-WIFI Intel H87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £89.99
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £83.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £74.99
1 x Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive (SH103S3/120G) £67.99
1 x OcUK Value Blu-ray / DVDRW combi SATA - OEM £59.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £59.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYD38G1600HC9DC01) £55.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced Mini-ITX Case - Black £39.95
1 x BeQuiet Pure Power L8 400W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply - With 120mm Silent Wing Fan Built in £39.95
1 x Gigabyte KM7580 Wireless 2.4GHz Keyboard & Mouse Set £19.99
Total : £602.41 (includes shipping : £8.00).

Comrade Paulski · 22 Mar 2014 at 23:55

Fantastic, thank you very much.