Spec me a SteamBox

Bluecube

Bluecube

Bluecube

Soldato
Joined
20 Feb 2011
Posts
4,248
I'm looking to build a small SteamBox to stick in my lounge next to my TV. I've been looking at a MATX Intel build, low end i5 and a nVidia 660 GTX which comes to about £470. Can anyone come up with anything better and cheaper?
 
I've completely loved my Micro ATX build, I switched the GPU (570) and PSU (HX620W) but kept the rest the same.

trentlad said:
So I've been given £250 and managed to pick out this system but wanted to seek any other suggestions or better options:

Motherboard - ASRock H77M-ITX
CPU - i5 3570K
VGA - GTS 450 512MB
RAM - XMS3 8GB
PSU - Corsair CX500W
Case - BitFenix Prodigy

Motherboard - ASRock H77M-ITX[$55]
25u0jl4.jpg

CPU - i5 3570K[$160]
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VGA - GTS 450 512MB[$65]
2rr9w0w.jpg

RAM - XMS3 8GB[spares]
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PSU - Corsair CX500W[$30]
2vdp35y.png

Case - BitFenix Prodigy[$75]
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I'm hoping it'll play the latest games at 30FPS+ with low settings. Any suggested changes?
Click to expand...
 
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Very similar to what I've been looking at. However, and I could be wrong here, the CPU and mobo are previous generation and it's difficult to source them.
 
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Well it turned out that the build was so powerful that I made it my main rig! Instead of streaming I just bought 50' of HDMI/LAN/USB cables to my main TV for joypad gaming fun.

Ah well I built this last year so I'd be surprised if you still can't find the parts.
 
Look at this guy, very sharp indeed mate!

That specific motherboard was the only micro ATX on the market with 5 SATA ports which took a higher priority than potential to OC for my build. I already had the i5 from another rig.

Thanks for pointing this out for the OP. If you do intend to build an identical micro rig, the H77 northbridge on this mobo is built for a previous generation (this gen i5 requires Z77) and hence will not allow you to overclock.
 
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Cheers all. Quite interesting to see no one recommend an AMD option! I thought a few pounds would saved but still have decent gaming performance.
 
trentlad said:
Look at this guy, very sharp indeed mate!

That specific motherboard was the only micro ATX on the market with 5 SATA ports which took a higher priority than potential to OC for my build. I already had the i5 from another rig.

Thanks for pointing this out for the OP. If you do intend to build an identical micro rig, the H77 northbridge on this mobo is built for a previous generation (this gen i5 requires Z77) and hence will not allow you to overclock.
Click to expand...

Actually, its not the generation thats the problem, its that its using the H series chipset and not the Z (like Z68 or Z77).
 
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