Upgrading HTPC to a gaming machine. Need advice.

bucsman1

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Jun 3, 2014
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Hello all,

I want to upgrade my living room HTPC to a gaming machine that is capable of playing modern games at 1080p on high settings. Current the HTPC cannot handle this task. I want to continue to use this as my HTPC so would like to keep power usage at a minimum and as quiet as possible when not gaming.

I would like to know which GPU would best suit my current setup without bottlenecking. I understand I may have to replace my PSU and case to accommodate the GPU but would like to keep cost below $300 if possible.

Here is my current setup:

CPU - AMD A10-5700 3.4GHz
Motherboard - ASRock FM2A75 Pro4-M
RAM - 8GB DDR3 1600
PSU - Silverstone ST45SF 450 Watts SFX
Storage - WD Green 2TB + 128GB SSD
Case - Silverstone ML03B Micro ATX

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as the choices of GPUs are far greater than my knowledge of getting the most bang for my buck.

Thanks,
Scott
 
Solution
It looks like that case will only take low profile cards which seriously limits what you can get. You might be able to get away with something like this.

http://

It should be able to handle 1080p but some games you may have to turn down the settings.
You can add an R9 270 to the build. You have to change the case really to fit a a ATX psu and a gpu with good airflow.

Here is a suggestion: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $264.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-03 12:28 EDT-0400)
 

bucsman1

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Jun 3, 2014
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My only concern is the case. It needs to be an HTPC form factor as it will be sitting in the living room home theater unit. Is there a case you can suggest for this?

Thanks,
Scott
 

triley

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Jul 19, 2013
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It looks like that case will only take low profile cards which seriously limits what you can get. You might be able to get away with something like this.

http://

It should be able to handle 1080p but some games you may have to turn down the settings.
 
Solution

bucsman1

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Jun 3, 2014
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I don't mind replacing the case. I assumed I would need to do that anyway. I like this case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163205 and it seems would fit most GPU cards. I also don't mind spending more than $300. I just want to know what GPU would give me the most bang for my buck and work well with my CPU. Should I stick with AMD to compliment the AMD CPU or would Nvidia be the better option?

Sorry for the questions but I don't have a lot of experience in this field and am fearful I will buy a GPU that will not give me the best price/performance ratio or will over spend on a GPU that will be bottlenecked by my CPU.

Thanks again for the replies.
 
That case is fine. Your cpu is fine as it it. You don;t have to follow brands and is pointless really. You may experience bottleneck with your cpu with a R9 270. I would consider going Intel for micro ATX or mini-ITX motherboards. There aren't really any good mini-iTX or microatx motherboards for AMD FX cpus. i5 4440 should be enough or even an i3 if you don't plan to game a lot.