New HTPC time

[AS_Platinum]

Hi guys,

Looking at upgrading my HTPC.

Currently got a Q6600 @ 3ghz, 4gig ram, AMD 5670, 1x Blackgold HDTV tuner, 1x 60gig SSD (Solely for OS) & 1x 500gig mechanical drive for stuff.

Was looking at upgrading to the following, tell me what you think, and possibly any improvements please.
Would I need faster ram for the APU, even though I was going to x-fire with the 6670?
Could I stick the blackgold PCI-E HD tuner card into the lower PCI-E x4 slot? As the 6670 looks double slotted.

AMD A10-5800K Black Edition 3.80GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor **FREE SIMCITY PC GAME** (AD580KWOHJBOX)

Gigabyte F2A85XM-D3H AMD A85X Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 micro ATX Motherboard

MSI HD 6670 2048MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card

Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9)

 

[BAMBI]

I think your current spec is great for an HTPC. Is there anything that it is struggling to run?

Perhaps you game a little on it?

 

[enigmo]

My first thought is your current Q6600, although speedy enough, is a little power hungry for an HTPC box. Moving to the A10 is a good move. I moved from a E8600 to an i3 and love the reduction in noise and heat, and an A10 would do even better!
Second thought is the gfx card: Do you game on your HTPC at all? If not, that seems like an overspecced card for the job, with all the associated extra heat and noise. Unless it's absolutely needed, I'd go for a passively cooled job, or even do without a discreet GPU completely.

 

[AS_Platinum]

Thanks for the replies guys. The Q6600 has been great but showing its age now, it would also be nice to utilize sata3 for the ssd. I suppose I don't really need a new graphics card tbh, I don't game often enough on the big telly to justify it