HTPC / Gaming Build Help

Duggy747

Hey, this might belong more on the HTPC forum but I haven't gotten a response there as well as on other forums on the web asking the same question so I thought I'd try you guys for help.

I use my main laptop as a media center for HD playback and gaming, which it handles both perfectly, but I want to free it up for other uses and have a dedicated rig by the TV.

Anywho, in terms of gaming I'm not looking for maxing out, just for playing some latest games at an acceptable and smooth level. The build will be moreso to house all my arcade / retro games as well as TV / Film media. (Frontends like Hyperspin for gaming and XBMC for all other media, not decided on that but that's not important yet)

Checked out PC Specialist and built a machine, some aspects I haven't settled on are subject to change like CPU & GPU.

Anyways:

Case
Zalman HD501 HTPC Case + 450W PSU

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i3-2130 Dual Core (3.40GHz, 3MB Cache) + HD Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® P8H61-M LE/USB3 (NEW REV 3.0): M-ATX, USB 3.0, SATA 3.0Gb/s

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)

Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6770 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE

2nd Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Sound Card
ONBOARD 10 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)

USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD

This comes out to just under €800 and I'm just looking for second opinions / reccomendations as nothing is final, just doing my research

Thanks for any advice.

EDIT: Should also add I'd like to keep the budget in or around the €800 mark

deano546

Here is a build I threw together on hardwareversand:
Item|Price
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€32.50
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse DEFINE R3 Black Pearl|€91.59
Intel Core i3-2120 Box, LGA1155|€104.97
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€52.03
WD Caviar Green 2TB Sata 6Gb/s|€108.14
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€80.84
HIS HD 7850 GDDR5 2048MB DVI/HDMI/2xMini DP|€220.17
ASRock H61M/U3S3 (B3), Sockel 1155, mATX|€54.03
LG GH22NS50/70/90 bare schwarz|€17.48
LogiLink Wireless LAN 300 Mbps PCI Karte 802.11n 2T2R|€16.42
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€797.16
The graphics card may be overkill, you could replace it with this: http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=52730&agid=1004 and it would still be capable of running almost anything very well with settings turned down a bit.
Also, I'm a bit clueless when it comes to HTPC cases so maybe someone else could recommend one. The case in the build is very good and is quiet, but you may want something smaller.

Duggy747

deano546 wrote: »

Here is a build I threw together on hardwareversand:
Item|Price
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€32.50
FRACTAL DESIGN Gehäuse DEFINE R3 Black Pearl|€91.59
Intel Core i3-2120 Box, LGA1155|€104.97
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 550W|€52.03
WD Caviar Green 2TB Sata 6Gb/s|€108.14
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€80.84
HIS HD 7850 GDDR5 2048MB DVI/HDMI/2xMini DP|€220.17
ASRock H61M/U3S3 (B3), Sockel 1155, mATX|€54.03
LG GH22NS50/70/90 bare schwarz|€17.48
LogiLink Wireless LAN 300 Mbps PCI Karte 802.11n 2T2R|€16.42
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€797.16

The graphics card may be overkill, you could replace it with this: http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=52730&agid=1004 and it would still be capable of running almost anything very well with settings turned down a bit.
Also, I'm a bit clueless when it comes to HTPC cases so maybe someone else could recommend one. The case in the build is very good and is quiet, but you may want something smaller.

Cheers for replying and scratching that up. I don't care about maxing out or overclocking so mid-high range GPU and CPU would keep me satisfied. I'm quite happy with getting the 6770 but any GPU suggestions like yours are appreciated, I usually run games at 1280x720 on the 42'' TV which the laptop performs perfectly with it's 4650.

I'm in 2 minds with an SSD, I could use it for the OS (Windows) and keep the rest on the 2TB HDD. I already have 3TB in external storage which I use for backups which, being anal, I wouldn't care if said 2TB HDD decided to pack in one day and lose the data.

I'm choosing a HTPC case for space, quiteness (doesn't need to be ninja-quiet), and for visual aesthetic so I can look like a smarmy git to my friends :pac:

Only dodgy thing about this is delivery, nobody does be at my house during the day and getting it sent to work might be risky (considering some couriers have trouble locating my place)

Craig B

Well if you can back up a bit in the HDD I'd recommend a i5 2500k processor, as it can handle anything being thrown at it, if you wanna downgrade the GPU from that overkill one then get this and for a PSU get this, didnt do the math but it should be budget friendly.

Tij da feen

The delivery gets handed over to An Post when it gets to Ireland. If you aren't there they will hold the package at your local sorting office and you can collect it from there.

Duggy747

Tij da feen wrote: »

The delivery gets handed over to An Post when it gets to Ireland. If you aren't there they will hold the package at your local sorting office and you can collect it from there.

That's the problem, the sorting office in Galway is on the complete opposite side of where I live and I have no means of a ride :pac:

Getting it sent to work might be the best suggestion since I deal with IT anyways.