HTPC/NAS Build suggestions and opinion needed

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pabarstukai

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Apr 30, 2014
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I am looking forward to build HTPC/NAS machine

Uses:

1. Watching downloaded/streamed/dvd/blueray movies @ 120hz(is a must) on my 1080p sony bravia TV via HDMI cable
2. Use as a regular PC for browsing web/personal documents.
3. Storing files in RAID setup.
4. Editing pictures taken with higher end camera by my wife.\
5. Listening music on 2.0 setup
Requirments:

1. Have to be QUIET because it is going to be in my living room.
2. Low TDP parts, for lower temperatures.
3. Needs to be as a media player/receiver for my 2.0 stereo system (2x floor standing speakers + amplifier)
4. Running 24/7
5. Optional: might be used to play racing/sports games with controller.

Thoughts and questions:

Is APU is viable option? Do they support 120hz refresh rate?

MOBO should have descent onboard audio to keep up with polk a9's speakers. Or I should get separate sound card? I prefer ASrock MOBO's. I also need 6 SATA ports on it.

Do I need SSD? Machine going to run 24/7 and most of the files going to be stored on HDD's.

How good fractal design node 605 case is? I love the design, but I need quiet case. Anyone own this case?

_____________

Looking for advice with buying parts and your experience with HTPC/NAS
 
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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You are going to have to give on some of your requirements. You cant have a gaming machine with lots of hard drives be quite, especially not in any semi small of a form factor which will not allow you to run 140mm fans that can mov a good amount of air quality.

No an APU is not that viable as they are awful low end cpus that wont handle the photoediting or the gaming that well, nor will they have low tdp.

How much storage space are you needing and are you wanting to run raid as that will greatly effect the parameters of your build.


I might suggest to you to look at KODI (formally XBMC) for windows for a front end for your movies.
 
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pabarstukai

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Apr 30, 2014
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Its not gaming machine for sure, It might be used for playing let's say fifa or something like that, which is not demanding at all. But If I won't be able to do that - I'm fine

PRIMARY it is for watching tv and listening that 2.0 stereo system. And I believe editing pictures should be fine, if I was able to do that with 2.2ghz Intel duo with 6 gigs of memory and intel hd 4000 on our old laptop.

I think there is going to be 2x3gb wd blacks. And I would like to have RAID, because right now I have 1tb wd blue, and if it ever fails, I am going to lose everything. My wife will kill me if this happens LOL.
 
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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Ok here is what I would do then:

Core i3 cpu will be adequate but for future-proofing an i5 would be better
H97 mATX board
GTX 750 ti gpu
Fractial does make good cases so if you want to get that case then go for it.
A 450w quality psu.
SSD drive for boot drive, Samsung 850 Pro or EVO, or crucial mx100 if budget is a factor
If you only need 3tb of storage then putting the 2x3tb drives in RAID 1 will be fine.


FYI, there is no real worry about the 120hz thing. The video file itself is your "bottleneck" as it only has 24 frames, even on blu ray. The TV is just refreshing the pixel 120 times per second so there is no "support" issues.
 
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pabarstukai

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Apr 30, 2014
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Any thoughts about APU's? going with i3, 750ti pushes me to pay 300~350$ for cpu, mobo and gpu. If I go with a8 7600 - 200$ for mobo and CPU. now how much of an improvement I get for 150$? I think even 1.8ghz single core thing would give me enough for listening music/watching movies? well maybe 1080p might be little too much for 1.8.

Right now I am looking at this build.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Xk99P6) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Xk99P6/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD A8-7600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-ad7600ybjabox) | $89.99 @ SuperBiiz
**CPU Cooler** | [Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhl12) | $66.98 @ OutletPC
**Motherboard** | [ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+ ATX FM2+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-fm2a88xextreme6) | $80.98 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f317000cl9d8gbxm) | $73.98 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e120bam) | $69.99 @ Micro Center
**Case** | [Fractal Design Node 605 HTPC Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcanode605bl) | $124.99 @ NCIX US
**Power Supply** | [SeaSonic X Series 400W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-ss400fl2) | $114.99 @ Amazon
**Optical Drive** | [LG CU20N Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-cu20n) | $69.99 @ Amazon
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $706.89
| Mail-in rebates | -$15.00
| **Total** | **$691.89**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](http://pcpartpicker.com) 2015-02-25 12:52 EST-0500 |

It is going to be little bit over my wannabe budget if I put 2x 3gb WD blacks Which goes for 150$ each. I am thinking about changing them to something else. Need advise on that . I would love to go down to 500s $. I could cut down price on PSU, but the problem is that I know that seasonic/xfx is reliable. I could get slower memory and maybe only 4gb bone or 2x2.
 
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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APUs will be bad for any photo editing or multi-taking.

They are very weak inefficient cpus. Thus the best cpu they make for the FM2 platform is like a Pentium or a fx-4300.
The ONLY advantage these APUs have besides price is that the graphics chip in them is above intels integrated graphics, Its ability is about that of a r7-240 graphics card.

If you are dong light photo editing in photoshop and not doing 600dpi files that are 1gb+ in size and not using a bunch of filters then you could be fine with just the integrated graphics on the intel cpu.

Honestly if cost is a concern you can get a case for half the cost of that fractial which retailed for like $150.

Let me see what I can build up.
The blacks are only better due to warranty, blue will perform just fine in RAID 1

Seasonic is very good but you don't need a platinum power supply for a 400w, that is a massive premium.
 
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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Here is as cheap of a build as possible I can do without sacrificing quality, you can always add a 750ti card in the future if your needs require it.
The intel becomes cheaper because you do not need a $60 air cooler to overclock it nor are you going to have to pay for high speed memory in order to compensate for its low performance.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($105.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($58.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Silverstone GD05B-USB3.0 (Black) HTPC Case ($96.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($39.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $473.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-25 13:38 EST-0500
 
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pabarstukai

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Apr 30, 2014
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I end up with this build, more likely it is in my range, 600$ w/ SSD and w/o storage.

I couldn't find any reason why I should pay ~150$ to have little bit better "paper performance" over a8. I (more likely my wife) will not feel that performance difference on this machine.

I see this build as a ok or maybe even overkill for a HTPC I need (watching TV/listening to music). My wife should be fine with its performance as a everyday PC. I still feel that she should be fine with editing pictures with it. Since we had way more worse machine back in 2013.

Right now we have:

i7-4770k @ stock speeds with h100i - 27C idle/65C load prime95.
ASrock z87 fatal1ty killer
ASUS GTX 770 2gb in SLI
4x4GB of cl 9 memory
120GB Samsung EVO 840 - OS
250GB Samsung EVO 840 - Games
1 TB WD Blue storage

This gaming machine/workhorse can cover our HTPC if she needs some raw processing power, which I doubt.

_____________________
BUILD:

Went down with the memory from 2133 2x4gb to 1866 2x2gb since there is only 1% performance difference in everyday use, and 5% difference in gaming.
Changed PSU to 430 semi modular corsair one.
I can't change case to any other, because I just love it as well as the MOBO - need some of the features it gives.

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NtNG6h) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NtNG6h/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD A8-7600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-ad7600ybjabox) | $99.98 @ Newegg
**CPU Cooler** | [Noctua NH-L12 37.8 CFM CPU Cooler](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/noctua-cpu-cooler-nhl12) | $69.99 @ Newegg
**Motherboard** | [ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+ ATX FM2+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-fm2a88xextreme6) | $80.98 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1866 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f314900cl9d4gbxm) | $45.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e120bam) | $69.99 @ Micro Center
**Storage** | [Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd30efrx) | $119.99 @ Micro Center
**Storage** | [Western Digital Red 3TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd30efrx) | $114.00 @ B&H
**Case** | [Fractal Design Node 605 HTPC Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/fractal-design-case-fdcanode605bl) | $124.99 @ NCIX US
**Power Supply** | [Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx430m) | $49.99 @ Micro Center
**Optical Drive** | [LG CU20N Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-cu20n) | $69.99 @ Amazon
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $870.89
| Mail-in rebates | -$25.00
| **Total** | **$845.89**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](http://pcpartpicker.com) 2015-02-25 14:36 EST-0500 |

Still open for any corrrections.

Thx boosted1g for suggestions.
 
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