Transform a HTPC to a low end Gaming PC

[SMOGZINN]

So, what I am wanting to do is transform my HTPC into a low end gaming PC.
I don't want to play anything very graphic intensive, Dead Island would be my max goal. I have a medium-high end gaming PC in my study, I would just like to be able to do some couch gaming in the Den.

First, here is what I currently have:

CPU: Pentium G620
MB: BIOSTAR TH61 ITX LGA 1155
Mem: 2X G.Skill DDR3 1333 4GB
Case: Fractal Design Array R2
HD: WD Green 3TB
SSD: Crucial M4 128GB
OS: Windows 8 Pro

I intend to keep it all in the Array R2 case, if I can't get a gaming PC to work in this case, I'll just keep it as a HTPC and live with the limitations of Steam Streaming.

So the main questions I have is what videocard can I fit into this case, and what is the best CPU to put on a LGA 1155 board? The Fractal Design website says it has circa 140mm length available for an expansion card. Here is a list of suppored CPU's from Biostar's website


So, on to the questions:
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
First and foremost HTPC duties, mostly playback of my 200+ ripped DVD and Blu-rays. AFter that some light gaming and web browsing. Right now I am playing The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth on it, and we are having a blast with it, but when I tried to play 'How to Survive' the game ran at like 15 FPS.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
I'm hoping that I can do this for under $300, but the budget is flexible. The larger the budget the longer it will take me to do.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA, I live near Microcenter and Fry's.

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
Nope, I use what ever tool is best for the job.

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I insist on keeping it all in the Fractal Design Array R2 case, my media center is kind of designed around it. Other then that, I would like to re-use as much as makes sense. The 3TB hard drive is less than a month old, and the SSD is in good shape, so I see no reason to replace either of those.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
I do not plan on overclocking anything.

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
This will be on a 1080p 60 inch HDTV. I would like to keep it at native resolution.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
That matters what all of you recomend, if it something in the $2-3 hundred dollar range I'll probably do it next week while I'm on vacation. More than that and I might have to piece meal it.

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
Nope, I have all the software licenses I need for this.

 

[Ken g6]

If Dead Island is your max goal, this shouldn't be hard. Just pick up a GTX 750 Ti at Micro Center ($130AR) and call it a day. That's the same card I have, and I think it's quite nice for the size and low power requirement.

Considering a Phenom II @3.1GHz can run Dead Island at 60FPS, I'd be very surprised if a Pentium G620 @2.6GHz couldn't. But, if it can't, we can start talking about escalation. A simple G2030 ($50) would be roughly 25% faster from the clock and Ivy Bridge improvements. Incidentally, an i5 3570k plus the above video card would be almost exactly $300, after rebate, before taxes.

If you wanted to go really nuts, you could get:
- One of these CPUs at Micro Center. ($170-$250)
- a new PSU ($100)
- And a GTX 970 ($333 AR with shipping)

But that would only be for if you wanted to play Battlefield 4 or something. 😉

 

[Essence_of_War]

2nd'ing 750Ti and call it a day.

Alternatively, you might be a reasonable candidate for an APU, but my quick look at the MC holiday catalogue indicates that they don't carry any FM2/2+ mitx boards, only AM1. Oh well.

750Ti seems like it will do everything you want it to do without stressing your thermal limits. What PSU are you using anyway?

 

[Charlie98]

Actually, I'm sort of doing the same thing with my G620-powered HTPC... I've got a Sandy i3 on the way to swap out into my B75 board. I thought of putting my G3258/H81 board in, but it has W8.1 on it... and I don't want that on my HTPC, so I just went with an upgraded CPU, keeping my very nice B75 board.

If you live near the Dallas MicroCenter, they still have 2 Pentium G2030's for $50! I was going to go there until I found that used i3.

I'll 3rd the GTX750Ti... if I ever decide to game the HTPC, that's where I will go.

What PSU are you using anyway?

Good question...

 

[SMOGZINN]

Thank you everyone for the replies.

If Dead Island is your max goal, this shouldn't be hard. Just pick up a GTX 750 Ti at Micro Center ($130AR) and call it a day. That's the same card I have, and I think it's quite nice for the size and low power requirement.

Thank you for the card recommendation. I think I'll give this a try, it if I still need more power I'll look into upgrading the CPU.

750Ti seems like it will do everything you want it to do without stressing your thermal limits. What PSU are you using anyway?

I'm using whatever came with my case, Newegg lists it as "80 PLUS rated SFX 300W PSU". I'll have to open the case tonight to see the rest of the info. The 750Ti on Microcenter's website says it wants a 500 watt PSU. Does it really need that much?

 

[SMOGZINN]

If Dead Island is your max goal, this shouldn't be hard. Just pick up a GTX 750 Ti at Micro Center ($130AR) and call it a day. That's the same card I have, and I think it's quite nice for the size and low power requirement.

Quick question, the website shows that this card is 6.70", which is about 170mm, I only have 140mm of space. Is there anywhere I can search for a videocard based on size?

 

[Ken g6]

The 750Ti on Microcenter's website says it wants a 500 watt PSU. Does it really need that much?

Probably not. They're just playing it safe. It's not supposed to draw more than 75W from the mobo, and it has no way of drawing any more power. But some cheap PSUs have multiple 12V rails, only one of which powers the mobo, and which often don't even add up to the rated wattage together. If yours doesn't have any 6-pin connectors I'd say it's unlikely to have the multiple-rails issue.

Quick question, the website shows that this card is 6.70", which is about 170mm, I only have 140mm of space. Is there anywhere I can search for a videocard based on size?

I don't know of any. But I think you'll have a hard time finding a shorter card anywhere. Here's a very similar card:

It stops just about where that notch used to hold any PCIe x16 card in stops. Though the heat sink overhangs slightly.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Yeah, 750Ti would do it. You could drop in, like, a 2xxx series i5 for cheap too, prolly.

 

[mfenn]

Agree that the GTX 750 Ti is the perfect card for this situation.

The GTX 750 Ti that Ken linked is the minimum possible length for a PCIe x16 card. If your case won't accept that, it won't accept any GPU.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Thanks, I'll pick up the GTX 750 Ti and see how it goes.

 

[inachu]

I did this already for a family friend and we created a cheap MA.M.E.

Made mame to run at boot time instead of explorer.exe so MAME becomes the GUI interface and nothing else.

The pc still runs like a champ.