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Suggestions for full spec HTPC build using FT03-Mini ITX Case

Schadenfreude

Schadenfreude

Lifer
USE: Gaming (Torchlight II, Civ V, possibly Guild Wars 2), 3d-Modeling, Graphic Design on a 720P TV for now, I may possibly upgrade to a 1080p+ monitor in the near future; hopefully the desktop setup is something I can keep/use for the next 3+ years or so.

WHAT I HAVE:
-Intel i5-3570k
-ASRock H77m-ITX
-Silverstone FT03-Mini ITX Case
-Silverstone ST45SF 450W SFX12V PSU - Dead, pending RMA
-Wireless KB + Mouse
-Windows 8
-RAM 8Gigs x1
- 256GB SSD
- MSI GeForce GTX 650 1GB Video Card - I may return this one and get the 650 Ti instead - the Black Friday rebate offer was supposed to be postmarked no later than 11/27 - I ordered on 11/23 and received the card on 11/28.
A crock of @#*$, not really interested in keeping the card for $100.
-500GB HDD pulled from laptop
-720P TV

WHAT I WANT:
-ODD (DVD/Blu-Ray): Has to be a mobile/slot drive to fit into the case (optional)

BRAND PREFERENCE/BUDGET/LOCATION:
Looking at potentially trading in the GTX 650 I got for a Radeon HD 7770 or even the GTX 650 Ti - the 650 Ti may be overkill for gaming on 720p, but you never know . . ..

UPDATE
ODD is the only part pending
- Desktop powered on last week no problem, will not power on now.
- No voltmeter handy, I believe the PSU is shot; I will be taking it in to check what's going on . . ..
 
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Schadenfreude said:
I am budgeting around $250 at most for that portion.
Click to expand...
For the GPU or for the rest? If it's for the rest, I think you've underestimated the prices of some of these things.

-SSD : Samsung 830 128GB, ~$100
-HDD : probably ~$80 minimum for 1GB. How much space do you need?
-DVD Drive: Has to be a mobile/slot drive: Samsung, $24 + $5 shipping. :\
-RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 CL9, $75 AP. I figure you want lots of RAM for 3D modeling/graphic design.
-Wifi Dongle - really not sure. I've heard some have bad drivers.
-Win7/Win8 OS - ~$100 OEM
Close to $400 total for this alone, before WiFi.

Schadenfreude said:
-GPU: I'm thinking the 650Ti
Click to expand...
Well, you can go that way, $170 for a 2GB version.
Or you could get a $230 EVGA 660.
 
Ken g6 said:
For the GPU or for the rest? If it's for the rest, I think you've underestimated the prices of some of these things.

-SSD : Samsung 830 128GB, ~$100
-HDD : probably ~$80 minimum for 1GB. How much space do you need?
-DVD Drive: Has to be a mobile/slot drive: Samsung, $24 + $5 shipping. :\
-RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 CL9, $75 AP. I figure you want lots of RAM for 3D modeling/graphic design.
-Wifi Dongle - really not sure. I've heard some have bad drivers.
-Win7/Win8 OS - ~$100 OEM
Close to $400 total for this alone, before WiFi.


Well, you can go that way, $170 for a 2GB version.
Or you could get a $230 EVGA 660.
Click to expand...

Well, I was thinking $250 not including the GPU:
- I've seen 128GB SSD's and 1TB HDD go for $80 each; I was thinking that we can do a 750GB HDD if the price is low enough.
- The DVD Drive cost seems about right.
- I'm not sure if I'll go to 16GB - I should be okay w/ 8 (haven't maxed it out yet on my laptop so far!).
- The dongle would be convenient, but optional.

I'm somewhat struggling with the OS: I was hoping that there'd be some sort of promotion with Win8 being released, but if need be I can pay regular price for that (I'm assuming it'll be around $100); I agree, what you and I've posted brings it over the $250 budget, I was hoping if there were any suggestions that would bring the costs down. 🙁
 
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T_Yamamoto said:
First off, you could have bought a cheaper case. 😛
Click to expand...

Definitely true; but i really liked the design of the case and i figured that i can hold onto the case for several more builds. Besides, I bought it + PSU from the AT forums for less; and it's going to be something that's fairly prominent as it'll be hooked up to the TV in the living room, so I figured that I might as well get something I like + keep for several builds to come.

That's my justification, at least. 😛
 
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I think $100 is the promotional price for Win8 OEM. :\ $40 is for Win8 upgrade online, which only works if you have an extra copy of Win7, Vista, or XP available.

Yes, there are cheaper SSDs, but you said you'd pay a little extra for quality. Here's where to do that.

Looks like current HDD deals are:
- $70 for 1TB
- $50 for 500GB

8GB RAM? I'd suggest a single stick so you can double up later. $33 - $40.

Wireless: $9 I guess.
 
Windows 8 full verson $70 shipped with promo EMCJNJA83 (expires 10/25)

Regarding WiFi dongle, I would recommend something that has these attributes:
1) Not super expensive (probably no more than $20, unless you need 5GHz).
2) Supports 300Mb/s with at least 1T2R antenna setup.
3) Supports 5Ghz frequencies if your wireless router supports it (will probably cost $30+)
4) Is "stand alone" in that it has some sort of stand/cable so it can be physically separate from your PC, and can stand on its own.
5) Has a detachable high gain antenna (unless it is one of those cheap Cisco units).

For example, I've used these Rosewill RNX-N180UBE Wireless Adapters, $19.99 with free shipping. I've even seen them on sale for $15.
 
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In an ITX case with GPU, you don't have much option besides USB for wireless.

Anyway, the SSD, 1TB HDD, RAM ($33 one), and ODD that Ken recommended get you to $238. That leaves $112 for the GPU which will get you a 6770 with budget to spare. Yeah, Silverstone would like you to use a card with a blower design, but lets face it, a 6770 isn't putting out a lot of heat in the first place. Its also more than enough horsepower for 720p and you don't have the budget for a 1080p card anyway.
 
Just got some RAM, updated OP - it as $17.99 after rebate - I think I will apply the rebate to the SSD and I should be one step closer in getting it completed! 😀

On a side note: Other than the ITX case that this build is going into, what other obvious bottlenecks do you guys see if this was hooked up to a 1080 display?
 
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Build is coming along, I'm hoping to purchase the rest of the parts (HDD, SSD, ODD, GPU) this Friday and have it over with.
Just to be sure - is there any part that I could upgrade before I finalize the build? I want to - in the words of late-night infomercials - set it and forget it for at least 3+ years, so I want to avoid any potential bottlenecks.
 
Schadenfreude said:
Build is coming along, I'm hoping to purchase the rest of the parts (HDD, SSD, ODD, GPU) this Friday and have it over with.
Just to be sure - is there any part that I could upgrade before I finalize the build? I want to - in the words of late-night infomercials - set it and forget it for at least 3+ years, so I want to avoid any potential bottlenecks.
Click to expand...

That optical drive won't work, the FT03 Mini only has the slot load.

I have been looking into building in one of these myself in a couple months.
 
TheStu said:
That optical drive won't work, the FT03 Mini only has the slot load.

I have been looking into building in one of these myself in a couple months.
Click to expand...

Nice catch! I didn't even realize that it wasn't a slot load ODD! Any suggestions as to which brand/model to use?
 
It takes a 12.7mm SATA slot load, and this one should probably work. They say that it is compatible with Dell systems, so Windows should pick it right up.
 
I dont think it makes much sense to use any kind of Mini ITX motherboard with a powerful video card. The main problem is the extra heat may be too much for a small case.
 
gus6464 said:
Why do you need a dvd drive? In fact who really NEEDS a dvd drive nowadays?
Click to expand...

Oh, I dont know. People who watch dvd movies or blue ray movies on their machine? He mentions 3D modeling so maybe he needs to load software via dvd or wants to burn finished projects onto dvd to show people.
 
piasabird said:
I dont think it makes much sense to use any kind of Mini ITX motherboard with a powerful video card. The main problem is the extra heat may be too much for a small case.
Click to expand...

"[The FT03 Mini provides] thermal performance that actually meets and sometimes exceeds that of a much larger case." I think it'd be okay - I guess we'll see! 😛

gus6464 said:
Why do you need a dvd drive? In fact who really NEEDS a dvd drive nowadays?
Click to expand...

We're using this build as a HTPC setup for now, so we're looking at actually putting our DVD collection to good use.
 
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Scored a 256 GB SSD; I got an additional one, which I will swap out with my laptop HDD and use; I will hold off on the GPU and DVD drive until later and put together what I have now, will update with pics when complete!
 
Schadenfreude said:
Scored a 256 GB SSD; I got an additional one, which I will swap out with my laptop HDD and use; I will hold off on the GPU and DVD drive until later and put together what I have now, will update with pics when complete!
Click to expand...

I'd really like to see photos of that when you are done... 😱
 
Sorry about the delay; I've realized that I've got to pick up SATA cables for the HDD/SSD connections and I've been working 6 10-hour days. I guess I will stay on track and may wait for the DVD/GPU to arrive.

Edit: I don't know what the heck's going on, but one of the screws for the motherboard setting is inserted wrong and just plain refuses to come out. Headaches abound!
 
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Schadenfreude said:
Edit: I don't know what the heck's going on, but one of the screws for the motherboard setting is inserted wrong and just plain refuses to come out. Headaches abound!
Click to expand...

Ouch. Does the FT03 have removable standoffs? If so, you can probably unscrew the whole standoff with some pliers.
 
mfenn said:
Ouch. Does the FT03 have removable standoffs? If so, you can probably unscrew the whole standoff with some pliers.
Click to expand...

Nope, no removable standoffs - I was looking at the standoffs, and realized that the standoffs themselves are rotaing with the screw but not coming out - I can take out most of the screws, but there is 1 that I just can't get to; I made sure that the mobo is secure as it can, and I'm okay with that for now.

A quick update on the rest of the system - I am still waiting for an ODD to install Win8, but I plugged it in last weekto make sure it worked - it turned on, and I was really excited!

Then I bought a GPU during black friday; it arrived and installed yesterday, plugged the PC back in, and nothing. I am thinking that the PSU may have blown for some reason when I plugged it in as there is no response, beeps, whirring, etc. I am hoping that no other components are damaged.

In retropect, I'm now thinking I may have pried a cable loose when installing the GPU (highly likely, I didn't feel anything sticking or coming loose when I took it off) but I will have to recheck that once I get home! Checked, no loose cabling. PSU RMA here I come!
 
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