Hi gurus. Building cheap efficent HTPC i already have a HD 6870 would like mini atx

Politicaleft · Jan 14, 2015

Building a HTPC i was going to get a APU but i already have a HD 6870 (Would the apu give me better performance than a HD 6870?) So i am looking for a cheap CPU/Mobo/Ram to go with this i would like as little bottleneck as possible i already have hard drives and a non modular PSU.

I would like this small as i can get it with mini atx and my gpu

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: this week

Budget Range: £100-120

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Movies FHD, light gaming
Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade:

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: none

Location: UK

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire:no

Your Monitor Resolution: 1080

Additional Comments: Quiet is possible

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Just want a htpc. I have a gaming rig already.

Thanks guys.

ykki · Jan 14, 2015

These are the parts you need?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor (£38.34 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£31.98 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.40 @ Kustom PCs)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£18.49 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £121.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-14 13:08 GMT+0000

Politicaleft · Jan 14, 2015

Could i save money anywhere? Also would the cpu bottleneck the card? Also how much better is that cpu than the G1620.

Thanks for your help, i will be buying soon.

Politicaleft · Jan 14, 2015

ykki :

Hi i forgot to quote, check also i was after a desktop case.

bootcher · Jan 14, 2015

This is the cheapest matx dasktop listed on pcpartpicker, you might find something cheaper elsewhere:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Celeron G1820 2.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (£27.71 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£31.98 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£28.19 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Silverstone SG02W-F-USB3.0 MicroATX Desktop Case (£56.42 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £144.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-14 13:42 GMT+0000

Also changed the ram and cpu for a bit cheaper, on a htpc system dual channel ram won't make a difference.

edit: forgot to mention, the A10 APU in general will be slightly slower compared to the HD 6870, though some games might be faster because of newer technology in the chips.

The cpu won't make difference either since it is for htpc use only.

Politicaleft · Jan 14, 2015

bootcher :

Great build but i was after a mini atx sorry. Also will the cpu bottleneck? Could it run a htpc without the gpu and finally sorry for all the questions would a A6 beat this build a 10 is slightly over budget

maddogfargo · Jan 14, 2015

It's going to depend on what you use it for. If strictly for home theater, music and movies, pretty much any budget build will do it, provided you have decent on-board audio and hardware accellerated HD playback.

If you do any gaming, I would use your existing HD 6870 + good CPU and 8GB of DDR3 1600 RAM. High end i3 or low end i5 or FX 6300 or better.

bootcher · Jan 14, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Celeron G1820 2.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (£27.71 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£47.13 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£28.19 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Silverstone SG06BB-LITE Mini ITX Desktop Case (£40.97 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Total: £144.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-14 13:56 GMT+0000

The celeron is a weak cpu but it should be able to run a htpc, also it has the intel integrated graphics so you don't need a separate gpu.

Here is an A6 build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A6-6400K 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor (£34.71 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI A88XI AC Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard (£65.64 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£28.19 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Silverstone SG06BB-LITE Mini ITX Desktop Case (£40.97 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Total: £169.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-14 14:00 GMT+0000

The A6 cpu would be about the same as the celeron, but the gpu performs much better than the intel integrated graphics. Unfortunately the cheapest motherboard for it is a bit more than the intel.

Politicaleft · Jan 14, 2015

bootcher :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Celeron G1820 2.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (£27.71 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard (£47.13 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£28.19 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Silverstone SG06BB-LITE Mini ITX Desktop Case (£40.97 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Total: £144.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-14 13:56 GMT+0000

The celeron is a weak cpu but it should be able to run a htpc, also it has the intel integrated graphics so you don't need a separate gpu.

Here is an A6 build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A6-6400K 3.9GHz Dual-Core Processor (£34.71 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI A88XI AC Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard (£65.64 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£28.19 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Silverstone SG06BB-LITE Mini ITX Desktop Case (£40.97 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Total: £169.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-14 14:00 GMT+0000

The A6 cpu would be about the same as the celeron, but the gpu performs much better than the intel integrated graphics. Unfortunately the cheapest motherboard for it is a bit more than the intel.

Would the HD 6870 be bottlenecked?

bootcher · Jan 14, 2015

For htpc use definitely not. If you try some CPU-intensive (multi-core) games the cpu might be a bottleneck since it is a weak/dual core cpu.

Politicaleft · Jan 14, 2015

bootcher :

Thanks. Could the CPU playback 1080p video by itself. I have decided to use the gpu in another build. Is this still the best cpu?

bootcher · Jan 14, 2015

Yes, it can decode up to 4k video.

Politicaleft · Jan 14, 2015

bootcher :

Thanks, just to clarify the G1820 will be fine for 1080p playback. Is there anything in that price range (maybe 10£ more) what is much better?

bootcher · Jan 14, 2015

The already mentioned g3220 is a better performer, but you won't notice much difference in the higher 300 mhz clock.

logainofhades · Jan 14, 2015

For pure 1080p HTPC use, an AMD Kabini setup would be sufficient.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor (£40.74 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI AM1I Mini ITX AM1 Motherboard (£22.15 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£30.14 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case (£37.20 @ Aria PC)
Total: £130.23
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-14 16:31 GMT+0000

Politicaleft · Jan 14, 2015

bootcher :

Ok thanks. Do you think this cpu could run Svp player?

bootcher · Jan 14, 2015

I don't know svp player so i can't comment on it. I don't see why not though if it's just software.

That AMD built is also very nice, should work very well in a htpc.

Hi gurus. Building cheap efficent HTPC i already have a HD 6870 would like mini atx

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