Slow media build...

[Beren]

I finally got the go ahead to start building a light gaming/ media pc.

Will be displaying on an hd plasma panel so I think a gtx660 or R9 770 is going to be the graphics base. Popping that in an old dual core system as a start.

But... I am thinking longer term at what mb and chip it would make most sense to be pair with the graphics.

I am thinking that an fx8320 or fx6300 would be great bang for the buck, and with the lower end graphics,be a good fit. Especially as it will be running large numbers of apps most of the time. Would welcome a thought on it though

But if I go with the R9 chip would one of the new kaveri chips be ever able to cross fire with if? And if so would it give a bit more life to the 770...

Basically looking for a system that gives me great media ability and is always going to leave a ps4 in the shade.

 

[Doomedspeed]

Firstly, you have to establish form factor, if you want anything smaller than ATX, say goodbye to piledriver.

For a media build a 8320 or 6300 is massively over the top anyway.

A media PC will only need a APU.

I assume you're TV is 1080p?

Personally i'd save up a chunk and buy it all at once.

If you're starting off on a small budget:

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A10-5800K Black Edition 3.80GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD580KWOHJBOX) £89.99
1 x Silverstone Grandia GD05 Desktop HTPC Case - Black (SST-GD05B USB3.0) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte F2A88XM-DS2 AMD A88X (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £45.95
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020046-UK) £35.99
1 x Cooler Master GeminII M4 Low Profile CPU Cooler £22.99
Total : £289.01 (includes shipping : £11.75).



+ HDD's and OD if you need...

Or personally splash a bit more on this:

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 750Ti OC 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (N750Ti-2GD5/OC) £107.99
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £83.99
1 x Silverstone Grandia GD05 Desktop HTPC Case - Black (SST-GD05B USB3.0) £79.99
1 x Gigabyte H81M-S2PV Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £39.95
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020046-UK) £35.99
1 x Cooler Master GeminII M4 Low Profile CPU Cooler £22.99
Total : £385.00 (includes shipping : £11.75).



The 750ti will be a stunning HTPC gaming GPU.

 

[hawkhench]

If you're going the APU route you'd probably want to spec some high-speed memory as well (I'm guessing if you're upgrading an old dual core system you won't already have this).

Can't get on the store atm, but 2400MHz Team Group is a good choice.

 

[Beren]

Thanks, I have thought about going down the apu route, but even though i know i will have a disadvantage online the boy is going to want to play bf4, and i am going to want to play some games as well.

 

[ShivP]

Doomed's 750ti build looks better, that will much on media and get decent settings on BF4