Spec me the other bits

Xelene

Xelene

Xelene

Soldato
Joined
27 Sep 2005
Posts
4,673
Location
London innit
So I'm building a little gaming PC / Media PC to replace the PS3 for mainly streaming video / gaming and recording. The display is 720p and I'm mainly after something small, unassuming and cheap without the nasty.

So far I've picked up 8GB Corsair Vengeance and an OCUK (Palit) 560 1GB. After a smallish case, small mobo and CPU to fit it. It will use wired networking and whatever decent 500W modular PSU available. Don't need a optical disk, and have a spare 1.5 TB sitting around. For case Arc Mini looks okay - small and unassuming is ideal.

Not Anal about brands / manufacturers.

Suggestions? Budget is flexible.
 
my suggestion would be a mini-itx build.
something like the i3 2100 with a mini-itx H61 board inside a mini-itx lian-li case :)
 
 
Thanks Stulid, I can spend a bit more if needed - your suggestions helped me focus a bit more on what I want.

I think i'd prefer some kind of quad so 955 / i5. I'll overclock it a bit, but not going for high end overclocks - basically keep it in range of recommended clocks / temps.

I don't like that case, want something with a smooth front panel I think not mesh. Purely aesthetics.

Modular PSU - ideally something energy efficient as it will be always on - but not paying loads of money to get 10% extra efficiency.

Reasonable onboard sound is fine as I don't have any kind of DTS - TV accepts 2.1 basically.

I don't care about HD capacity as my desktop can fit like 20TB and local network speeds are good enough to stream 1080p without hiccups.

OS is kind of free but a bit dodge as I have a Technet subscription.
 
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Ok then:) keeping the case you suggested.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE TrackMania 2 Canyon PC Game £167.99
(£139.99) £167.99
(£139.99)
Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £104.98
(£87.48) £104.98
(£87.48)
Fractal Design Arc Mini Tower Case - Black £66.98
(£55.82) £66.98
(£55.82)
BeQuiet Efficient Power 600W '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply £64.99
(£54.16) £64.99
(£54.16)
Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
(£21.66) £25.99
(£21.66)
Sub Total : £359.11
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £74.17
Total : £445.03

The Z68 board does the Lucid/Quicksync/SSD cacahing.

A Gold rated PSU to save the £££ on the electricity bill.
 
That's looking good I think, all in with the bits i've got already will be £600 or so for a decent media PC that can play everything game wise at a good framerate and be quietish.

I like the features on the Z68.
 
sldsmkd said:
That's looking good I think, all in with the bits i've got already will be £600 or so for a decent media PC that can play everything game wise at a good framerate and be quietish.

I like the features on the Z68.
Click to expand...

So i've got the core bits of the system ordered, have to wait for next payday to finish it. I'm using the Z68 features heavily as they are good for low power idle usage (hopefully).

Here's the specs:

Motherboard: ???? (Edging towards Rampage Gene mainly for onboard sound)
CPU: i5 2500K
RAM: Kingston HyperX (2*4GB) PC12800
GPU: Gainward 560 GTX 1GB (not Ti, will try Virtu)
SSD: 64GB Crucial M4 (for SRT)
HD: 2TB something green 5400RPM
Case: Fractal Design Design Define Mini Black Mini-ITX Case
PSU: ???? (BeQuiet or perhaps the Seasonic one that got a good review recently, like both brands)
Tuner: Black&Gold FreeviewHD Twin Tuner PCIE
Display: 37" Panasonic Vierra Plasma
Optical: None, install Windows from USB
Network: Wired to 100MB NetGear switch.
Keyboard & Mouse: Logitech DiNovo
Pad: 360 Wireless
OS: W7 Ultimate

Overall cost should be roughly £700, and will be used mainly for 1080p video and 720p gaming. Build log next month.
 
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