Hi all,
Been using OCUK a while now for parts and the forums for searching for information. But I've spent the last few days researching a slight upgrade to my HTPC build, but there's so much good information on here it's hard to work out what fits my bill. So I thought I would open it up to the wealth of knowledge on here, what better way to start my first post than a build question.
Currently I'm running a very ugly boring HP DC7900 SFF and tbh it pretty much does the job, but is just ugly as sin in my media cabinet.
I've had a look at my cache of old PC bits and am trying to work out a cost-effective way of getting something aesthetically pleasing up and running to replace it. Will definitely need a new case as all I have abouts is a spare Gaming tower case.
The "sexiness" is the most important aspect for me as I have my gaming rig for performance, and I don't really play any console stuff nowadays. I've seen some lockable ones about (Silverstone GD07 and ML04B) which this feature is very high on the list for me, as my 1yo loves powercycling my current one!
I'm planning on using an i3-2100 and MicroATX mobo setup as the btx setup in the HP currently wont fit in any nice cases.
Here is the spare parts I have available to pull from where possible:
- i3-2100 and ASUS MicroATX mobo
- Corsair TX-850W PSU (not the new V2 one, and yes is pretty overkill!)
- Corsair Dominator 4GB RAM (2x2GB Sticks)
- Random 4GB RAM (4x1GB sticks? unknown in HTPC)
- Corsair A50 CPU cooler
- Slimline GFX card in HTPC at moment (can't remember what one now, but does the job)
- MSI HD6950 with 6970 Unlock (but the stock cooler is just too damn loud, also no HDMI IIRC)
- Few noisy-120mm fans (rather not use)
- 5.25" DVD drive (from HTPC)
Parts required:
- Case
- Extra fans not with case
- CPU Cooler to fit case (should the A50 not fit, needs to clear the dominator ram also)
- Anything from the stockpile that won't fit (PSU possibly)
Budget-wise, don't want to go too overboard (£100-£200), but open to suggestions. Mainly as have a lot of parts I want to try and make use of.
As mentioned earlier I've looked at the Silverstone ML04B and GD07, but I'm sure there are alternatives about. I don't need a lot of space for additonal HDD's as my NAS holds all that, just the OS SSD and a small local storage one, so a full-ATX (GD07) case seems a bit overkill for something just to send some media about.
Please help me as I just don't know the best route, just tired of having the constantly powercycled ugly box and think I've over-researched my options and confused myself further
Sorry for the WOT, just a lot of information to get down.
Many thanks,
Si
Been using OCUK a while now for parts and the forums for searching for information. But I've spent the last few days researching a slight upgrade to my HTPC build, but there's so much good information on here it's hard to work out what fits my bill. So I thought I would open it up to the wealth of knowledge on here, what better way to start my first post than a build question.
Currently I'm running a very ugly boring HP DC7900 SFF and tbh it pretty much does the job, but is just ugly as sin in my media cabinet.
I've had a look at my cache of old PC bits and am trying to work out a cost-effective way of getting something aesthetically pleasing up and running to replace it. Will definitely need a new case as all I have abouts is a spare Gaming tower case.
The "sexiness" is the most important aspect for me as I have my gaming rig for performance, and I don't really play any console stuff nowadays. I've seen some lockable ones about (Silverstone GD07 and ML04B) which this feature is very high on the list for me, as my 1yo loves powercycling my current one!
I'm planning on using an i3-2100 and MicroATX mobo setup as the btx setup in the HP currently wont fit in any nice cases.
Here is the spare parts I have available to pull from where possible:
- i3-2100 and ASUS MicroATX mobo
- Corsair TX-850W PSU (not the new V2 one, and yes is pretty overkill!)
- Corsair Dominator 4GB RAM (2x2GB Sticks)
- Random 4GB RAM (4x1GB sticks? unknown in HTPC)
- Corsair A50 CPU cooler
- Slimline GFX card in HTPC at moment (can't remember what one now, but does the job)
- MSI HD6950 with 6970 Unlock (but the stock cooler is just too damn loud, also no HDMI IIRC)
- Few noisy-120mm fans (rather not use)
- 5.25" DVD drive (from HTPC)
Parts required:
- Case
- Extra fans not with case
- CPU Cooler to fit case (should the A50 not fit, needs to clear the dominator ram also)
- Anything from the stockpile that won't fit (PSU possibly)
Budget-wise, don't want to go too overboard (£100-£200), but open to suggestions. Mainly as have a lot of parts I want to try and make use of.
As mentioned earlier I've looked at the Silverstone ML04B and GD07, but I'm sure there are alternatives about. I don't need a lot of space for additonal HDD's as my NAS holds all that, just the OS SSD and a small local storage one, so a full-ATX (GD07) case seems a bit overkill for something just to send some media about.
Please help me as I just don't know the best route, just tired of having the constantly powercycled ugly box and think I've over-researched my options and confused myself further
Sorry for the WOT, just a lot of information to get down.Many thanks,
Si
Last edited:
) as it's been a while since I touched the mobo/cpu.