Building an HTPC. First time with the form factor

[MentalIlness]

So, in a few weeks, I will be building a HTPC. So trying to get a good base going now so I am prepared. "Usually takes me a month to choose one piece of hardware"

Micro ATX Case
CPU
Motherboard
Power Supply

Please help me decide on the parts listed above. I dont care if it is AMD / Intel.

Would like to be able to overclock "maybe" but its not required.

Mostly movie watching, and "big maybe" slight gaming at 1080P. As is older games, mostly overhead strategy that doesn't require much GPU.

This is the case I have been looking at. Or is there a better option ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112300&cm_re=pc-v354-_-11-112-300-_-Product

 

[sactoking]

What's you overall budget?

 

[MentalIlness]

I would say max $700

 

[mfenn]

I'm not sure if blue LED fans are something that I'd want in my entertainment center, but hey if that works for you.

Is the $700 only for those 4 parts? You really shouldn't need to spend even that much,

Athlon II X4 640 + MSI 880GMA-E45 $183
Freezer 7 Pro $30 - for quietness
Seasonic 400FL $130
Lian-li case $150
Total: $493

That even with a ridiculously quiet PSU. You could drop the total price down to about $420 if you drop the PSU down to a normal S12II.

 

[MentalIlness]

I'm not sure if blue LED fans are something that I'd want in my entertainment center, but hey if that works for you.

Is the $700 only for those 4 parts? You really shouldn't need to spend even that much,

Athlon II X4 640 + MSI 880GMA-E45 $183
Freezer 7 Pro $30 - for quietness
Seasonic 400FL $130
Lian-li case $150
Total: $493

That even with a ridiculously quiet PSU. You could drop the total price down to about $420 if you drop the PSU down to a normal S12II.

Nah, it is $700 for the total. Not including LCD though. The four parts listed above are the "main" parts and those are the ones I need recommendations for.

 

[sactoking]

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 210e Regor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103908
This is a dual core, 45W processor. It's plenty powerful for HTPC and light gaming use and the 45W draw is lower than an i3 or Celeron; even standard boxed Regors are 65W. This is an OEM item so you will need to purchase a separate fan.
$48.99

MB: ASUS M4A785TD-M
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131406
4 DDR3 slots if you decide to play more robust games in the future. Onboard Radeon 4200 video plus 1 PCIe x16 2.0 for discrete video. Up to 5 SATA drives for potentially 10TB of internal storage. Gigabit ethernet for plenty of headroom.
$69.99

Memory: GSkill 4GB (2x2) DDR3-1333
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231180
You really only need 2GB for HTPC use but if you're going to be gaming (even light) 4GB is practically the same price.
$63.99

Video: Sapphire HD5450
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102882
Passive cooling. HDMI bitstreaming. 1GB DDR3. Lowest power draw available. Can game at low/medium settings and will save you money. Is silent b/c it's passive.
$54.99 ($39.99 after MIR)

Case: nMEDIAPC 5000B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811204035
Standard, solid HTPC case. Look fits in well in an AV cabinet.
$69.99

PSU: SeaSonic S12II
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151074
Plenty of power for an HTPC and a few internal drives. Will need to be upgraded if you end up plopping in 4 or 5 2TB HDDs eventually.
$59.99

Grand Total: $387.81 after MIR

 

[Jhatfie]

How much gaming you plan on doing? I built my HTPC out conservative with a Athlon II X2 and a HD 5650 the first time for "light gaming" and regretted it as I found out to be playing more than I thought. I've since upgraded to get the gaming details and performance I desire at 1080p.

I personally love the Silverstone GD04B case. It has 3 120mm fans, integrates with my home theater equipment and is pretty quiet, plus it looks stealth and slick with the hidden dvd tray.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163158

sactoking's build suggestion looks good, however I'd maybe look at a Athlon II X3 and HD 5770 for gaming flexibility if you potentially you might game more than originally planned like I did (adds about $70) and I do like the Silverstone GD04B over the nMedia case, but it is $30 more.

 

[MentalIlness]

How much gaming you plan on doing? I built my HTPC out conservative with a Athlon II X2 and a HD 5650 the first time for "light gaming" and regretted it as I found out to be playing more than I thought. I've since upgraded to get the gaming details and performance I desire at 1080p.

I personally love the Silverstone GD04B case. It has 3 120mm fans, integrates with my home theater equipment and is pretty quiet, plus it looks stealth and slick with the hidden dvd tray.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163158

sactoking's build suggestion looks good, however I'd maybe look at a Athlon II X3 and HD 5770 for gaming flexibility if you potentially you might game more than originally planned like I did (adds about $70) and I do like the Silverstone GD04B over the nMedia case, but it is $30 more.

Gaming ? Older games such as Age Of Empires 1/2....Generals. That kind of stuff. For all the other games I play...I have other PC's for that.

Probably game on it couple times a week.

The only cases I have found so far that would "possibly" fit a larger high end GPU is an Aerocool M40 "I think" and the Silverstone that I have linked to in the OP.

But yea, if possible, would like to have a quad in this HTPC as well.

 

[MentalIlness]

I should also mention...That I do have a ATI X1800XL lying around here doing nothing. And I also should mention, I will not be playing anything over DX9 on the HTPC.

All older games. All DX9

 

[sactoking]

But yea, if possible, would like to have a quad in this HTPC as well.

That OEM Regor I mentioned has the potential to be unlocked to quad core. That's another plus- 45W, quad core for $50.

 

[MentalIlness]

That OEM Regor I mentioned has the potential to be unlocked to quad core. That's another plus- 45W, quad core for $50.

Thanks for the advice. Ill be researching this CPU now.

 

[MentalIlness]

Thanks for the advice. Ill be researching this CPU now.

What about this ? Twice as much cache, 200 Mhz faster. And only $2 more ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103714

EDIT: Or maybe this one ? Few dollars more, but has L3, and a 400Mhz clock enhancement ?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103817

 

[sactoking]

What about this ? Twice as much cache, 200 Mhz faster. And only $2 more ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103714

EDIT: Or maybe this one ? Few dollars more, but has L3, and a 400Mhz clock enhancement ?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103817

It's my understanding that the Regor 240 cannot be unlocked to quad core, the Callisto 545 can along with the Regor 210e I mentioned earlier. If you really want a QC I think that eliminates the 240 (although technically you can't count on the 210e or the 545 unlocking, so if you really want QC you need to get an X4).

IMO, based on the usage you've described, the HTPC capabilities are going to be used much more than the light old-school gaming. The 210e has plenty of oomph for HTPC use. If you go with the 240 or 545 you'll be getting more performance per $ but the tradeoff is higher power draw, higher heat, and possibly higher fan noise. I don't think that the L2 or L3 cache is that important for HTPC use and neither is the 200mHz in clock speed. If you have a CPU intensive task (transcoding blu ray to .mkv container, for example) you said you have a more robust desktop that you use for higher-end gaming that will suffice.

In my world an HTPC for the use you've described would be just powerful enough to push 1080p24 without stutter with as little power draw as possible. If you didn't have a dedicated PC for gaming (which I assume is more robust) and you planned on using the HTPC as your primary means of transcoding video and other intensive tasks then I might think the 240 or 545 was worth it but for pushing video all you'd be doing is wasting electricity.

 

[MentalIlness]

Well I can pretty much say that there will be some level of video editing/transcoding to compression done on the HTPC as well.

What GPU would work for this build well ? I do have a X1800 XL lying around here.

 

[mfenn]

Well I can pretty much say that there will be some level of video editing/transcoding to compression done on the HTPC as well.

What GPU would work for this build well ? I do have a X1800 XL lying around here.

You'll want a full-on quad for transcoding. I would NOT use an X1800XL due to heat and noise concerns. The IGP should be fine for the games that you mentioned.

 

[MentalIlness]

I may need a little more than the IGP can provide to be on the safe side.

What about something like a 5670 ?

 

[betasub]

^ Maybe consider 5450 or 5570 for a low-power passive-cooled add-in card?

 

[mfenn]

I may need a little more than the IGP can provide to be on the safe side.

What about something like a 5670 ?

5670 would be fine as well.