HTPC/Gaming, $1200,

[anombre]

Hi all

I'm looking to build a HTPC/Gaming PC from scratch. I won't need a display, as I have a 46" 120Hz TV I plan to plug it into. The purpose of the PC will be to watch movies, rip/encode DVDs and BluRays, netflix, and play games (Portal 2, BF:BC2)

I am asking for advice because I don't know anything about component architectures. Processors, video cards, motherboards, the three most important parts, have become so varied I don't know what to pick. PCI Express is new to me. I prefer expandability since it's a desktop.

The three main things I'm looking for in its uses:

1. Used for watching BluRays, DVDs, AVIs, playing games at 1080p, ripping BluRays/DVDs
2. $1000, flexible
3. buying from Hawaii, USA
4. I hear intel is better performance and nV has better drivers, but i have no brand preference. Smooth stable experience preferred.
5. building from scratch, no prior parts
7. default speeds
8. gaming 1080p
9. I want a wireless mouse/keyboard that doesn't suck for games and is good for multimedia, maybe backlit. I don't mind if it plugs into an outlet as long as it doesn't have to be plugged into the PC. The TV does not have wireless capability so it will have to use an HDMI input.

So I'm asking for help with these components. The rest I can figure out.

1. Motherboard
2. CPU
3. Heatsink/fan for the CPU
4. Memory
5. Video card
6. Mouse/keyboard

 

[mnewsham]

1. Gigabyte p67 UD3 socket 1155 motherboard
2. Intel core i5-2500k
3. Cooler master hyper 212+ HSF
4. G.skill value RAM ddr3 1333mhz CL9
5. GTX 570 or HD 6950
6. Its preference


I would get a 550w PSU with this. And the HAF 932 case (or 922/912)

 

[BofRA]

One thing I dont see on your list is a case. Do you already have one? SInce this is an HTPC it could make a difference on MB choices

 

[Athadeus]

He probably wants at least mid tower for ATX support for expandability, and noise is more likely an issue. That Fractal R3 might be good choice, or a slightly cheaper Antec if noise doesn't matter at all.

 

[mfenn]

1. Gigabyte p67 UD3 socket 1155 motherboard
2. Intel core i5-2500k
3. Cooler master hyper 212+ HSF
4. G.skill value RAM ddr3 1333mhz CL9
5. GTX 570 or HD 6950
6. Its preference


I would get a 550w PSU with this. And the HAF 932 case (or 922/912)

:thumbsup:

 

[anombre]

Noise is definitely an issue. I plan on viewing about 10' from the TV, and I will be at about that distance from the PC. MidATX or full tower would be fine. As long as it's not a disco light show inside the case it's not going to affect movie watching in any way.

Should I get a better motherboard? About six models came up on the search.

Will this be able to put out 5.1 sound?

I might start bargain hunting here and there to save a few bucks, but here's what I have so far.

1

Antec SONATA IV Black 0.8 mm SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 620W Power Supply
$169.99$159.99 1

Western Digital Caviar Green WD30EZRSDTL 3TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

$189.99$184.99 1

ASUS ENGTX570 DCII/2DIS/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video ...

$349.99 1

G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT

$79.99 1

GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

$134.99$124.99 1

Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500

$209.99 1

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ...

$34.99 1

SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model SH-B123L/RSBP LightScribe Support (Retail)

$74.99 Subtotal: $1,219.92

 

[mnewsham]

I thought that PSU/case combo would come with a POS PSU, but zooming in it looks like it's 48A (or ~575w) on the +12v rail.

 

[wb182]

I'm far from an expert (have my own request for help thread here too), but that is a monster of a GPU with an obscene price to match. You listed gaming last on your list, with presumably HTPC being the main purpose. I don't see any reason that a $200 video card wouldn't be completely sufficient.

You can get a 6850 for $175 w/ a $15 rebate. Just hard to believe a $350 card is worth unless you're building an extreme gaming rig.

Aside from that, you probably want to step up from a i5-2500 to a i5-2500k, and I'm with Athadeus on his suggestion for a Fractal Designs R3 case.

Others can comment on the mobo selection far better than myself.

 

[anombre]

stupid question:

are all SATA cables the same? Do I need to look for a specific kind of SATA cable?

it's been a long time since i put something together, just making sure.

 

[BofRA]

stupid question:

are all SATA cables the same? Do I need to look for a specific kind of SATA cable?

it's been a long time since i put something together, just making sure.

For the most part, yes they are all the same.

 

[betasub]

Re: SATA cables, there should be several packaged with the motherboard to get you started.

If you are buying individual SATA cables, there are some variables (such as length, straight or right-angle connector) to consider along with your case layout (route from motherboard to HDD bay).

 

[Termie]

I'm far from an expert (have my own request for help thread here too), but that is a monster of a GPU with an obscene price to match. You listed gaming last on your list, with presumably HTPC being the main purpose. I don't see any reason that a $200 video card wouldn't be completely sufficient.

You can get a 6850 for $175 w/ a $15 rebate. Just hard to believe a $350 card is worth unless you're building an extreme gaming rig.

Aside from that, you probably want to step up from a i5-2500 to a i5-2500k, and I'm with Athadeus on his suggestion for a Fractal Designs R3 case.

Others can comment on the mobo selection far better than myself.

I would tend to agree that some of these GPU ideas are a bit overkill, unless the OP is really into pushing the limits on games. In an HTPC, I'd much prefer a smaller card that produces less heat and noise. A 6870 or 6850 would be sufficient. I'm going to go out on a limb, however, and say that while the 6950 is generally superior for the price, I'd recommend a 560Ti here, because I've found the nVidia drivers to work better with my HDTV (had a 4670 before my GTX460 - scaling never worked consistently and HDMI sound often didn't initialize if I turned the computer on before the TV). The 560Ti is also much shorter and quieter than the 6950 (although it uses more power than a 6950, it's way less than a 570).

Also, when I was building an HTPC, I wanted as small a case as possible. I was stuck with an old ATX motherboard, so I just got the smallest case that would fit that board, the CoolerMaster Elite 360. But if I were building from scratch, I would never buy a full ATX board for an HTPC. You just don't need the slots, and you can get a significantly smaller case if you use a micro ATX board.

 

[biostud]

I have a Silverstone TJ08 mATX case which is very nice, I use it for HTPC too.

 

[mfenn]

Noise is definitely an issue. I plan on viewing about 10' from the TV, and I will be at about that distance from the PC. MidATX or full tower would be fine. As long as it's not a disco light show inside the case it's not going to affect movie watching in any way.

Should I get a better motherboard? About six models came up on the search.

Will this be able to put out 5.1 sound?

I might start bargain hunting here and there to save a few bucks, but here's what I have so far.

1

Antec SONATA IV Black 0.8 mm SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 620W Power Supply
$169.99$159.99 1

Western Digital Caviar Green WD30EZRSDTL 3TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

$189.99$184.99 1

ASUS ENGTX570 DCII/2DIS/1280MD5 GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video ...

$349.99 1

G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT

$79.99 1

GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

$134.99$124.99 1

Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500

$209.99 1

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ...

$34.99 1

SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model SH-B123L/RSBP LightScribe Support (Retail)

$74.99 Subtotal: $1,219.92

The only real problem I see with that build is the HDD. 3TB drives are not a good choice in general because they are terrible cost per gig. Additionally, using the 3TB Green drive as a boot drive is not a good idea because (a) the random access performance of a Green drive sucks and (b) >2TB drives are much more likely to run into compatibility problems because you have to move away from the traditional MBR partition table and use GPT.

For those two reasons, I suggest that you get a 1TB Samsung F3 for your boot drive and a 2TB F4 for your storage drive. That setup give you the same total storage space, no potential compatibility issues, and is cheaper to boot.

To answer your other questions:

• The UD3 is a very good motherboard, though I actually recommend buying it in combo with the i5 2500K because you'll get the CPU for $200 instead of $210.
• You'll be able to output 5.1 sound in 3 different ways with that setup: analog out from the motherboard, S/PDIF out from the motherboard, and/or HDMI out from the GPU.

I'm far from an expert (have my own request for help thread here too), but that is a monster of a GPU with an obscene price to match. You listed gaming last on your list, with presumably HTPC being the main purpose. I don't see any reason that a $200 video card wouldn't be completely sufficient.

The OP wants to play fairly intensive intensive games on a 120Hz 1080P screen. He needs pretty beefy GPU. Of course, there will always be a trade off between maximum performance and minimum sound level.

 

[anombre]

thanks for your input, everyone. it will help me round things out. i didn't know where to start looking last week. will revise options and update with choices a little later.

 

[anombre]

Core
Antec SONATA IV Black 0.8 mm SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 620W Power Supply
SAPPHIRE 100312-1GSR Radeon HD 6950 1GB
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67
Intel Core i5-2500K
1 x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX80G 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Adjustables
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack
LG Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model UH12LS28
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

Perks
Logitech K800 Black USB RF Wireless Slim Illuminated Keyboard
Logitech G700 Black 13 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB RF Wireless Gaming Mouse


Other
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Link Depot 10 ft. HDMI TO HDMI A/V Cable

About $1400 total. Went with solid state drive, going to use a 1TB external and take it out of its case, use it as internal. Have additional 3TB USB3.0 external that I can use for extra storage.

Went with slightly faster RAM for overclocking. I'm reading it's very easy.

 

[Termie]

Core
Antec SONATA IV Black 0.8 mm SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 620W Power Supply
SAPPHIRE 100312-1GSR Radeon HD 6950 1GB
GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67
Intel Core i5-2500K
1 x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX80G 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Adjustables
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack
LG Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model UH12LS28
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

Perks
Logitech K800 Black USB RF Wireless Slim Illuminated Keyboard
Logitech G700 Black 13 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB RF Wireless Gaming Mouse


Other
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Link Depot 10 ft. HDMI TO HDMI A/V Cable

About $1400 total. Went with solid state drive, going to use a 1TB external and take it out of its case, use it as internal. Have additional 3TB USB3.0 external that I can use for extra storage.

Went with slightly faster RAM for overclocking. I'm reading it's very easy.

Edit: Nevermind!

Overall looks good.

 

[BofRA]

The RAM speed is independent of the overclocking with SB. So you would be fine with 1333 RAM. Also you might run into clearance issues with HSF/RAM due to the spikes on the Ripjaws

 

[Termie]

The RAM speed is independent of the overclocking with SB. So you would be fine with 1333 RAM. Also you might run into clearance issues with HSF/RAM due to the spikes on the Ripjaws

He's fine on clearance, since he doesn't have to use the first slot.

 

[BofRA]

Core

1 x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

Sure looks like two sticks to me

 

[Termie]

Sure looks like two sticks to me

Sorry - I was reading the 1x incorrectly. Thanks.

 

[mfenn]

The RAM speed is independent of the overclocking with SB. So you would be fine with 1333 RAM. Also you might run into clearance issues with HSF/RAM due to the spikes on the Ripjaws

Agree.

OP, I would also not get an OCZ SSD right now. The botched the transition to 2Xnm NAND and the currently selling drives are much slower that was was originally reviewed. It's worth it to pony up for the Intel 80GB 320 drive.