HTPC + Gaming PC Under 500 Price/Perf Special

[macadami]

I've been studying 'The Egg' for the better part of the day, searching for the best of the best combo deals for what I'm attempting to do. Firstly I want to completely overhaul my current HTPC and need a few questions answered as to what is needed and what would be 'overkill'. I don't have the budget to completely refresh my gaming PC as I want, so during my HTPC overhaul I plan to search for the 'best combos' that combine items needed from both builds into one.

For example, this combo of a mATX board and a 550BE for 151.99. This is the CPU i want in my gaming PC, and a mATX board with what should be a sufficient onboard GPU for my HTPC.

And this is when the questions begin.....I'm thinking of a Sempron 140 for my HTPC, paired with a board that can unlock the extra processor.

Question 1: Will a 240 Regor with a 4200 IGU with 128 sideport memory, sufficiently power an HTPC who's main purpose is Dscaler, playing bluray movies, and perhaps streaming tv to a laptop? How many gigs of memory for Windows 7?

Question 2: I have an 8800GTS 320mb in my gaming pc that is paired with a AMD FX-60(939) and 2 gigs of DDR(not ddr2 or ddr3) I'm pretty sure my CPU is bottlenecking the GPU right now, but will an OC'd and unlocked 550BE paired with it, make it last until the 5850's drop in price? More of an opinion question than yes or no; considering just getting a 5770 if i can find a combo deal that makes it worth while.

Question 3: Will a 400watt power supply from 3-4 years ago run the proposed HTPC?

Question 4: Need a good AM3 cooler for my gaming system, recommendations?

So now that you understand my plan, I'll try to fill out the default form the best i can.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Before Christmas

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: HTPC then the gaming system

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Cases, PSU's, GPU's

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe for HTPC, Definitely for Gaming PC with the plan to unlock both

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

PARTS NEEDED: CPU/MB/Memory for 2 separate systems.


Here's what I've come up with so far....best packages i've paired, give me 4 gigs of DDR3, 2 gigs of DDR2(for htpc), both processors and 2 motherboards for 411.98

Sempron + 4 gigs DDR3 - 120.98
550 BE and a mATX with 4200 - 151.98
Asus ATX MB 770nb and 710sb - 89.99
2 gigs A-data 6400 DDR2 - 49.99

There may be better combos out there that I stumbled past, or the parts above may not be worth buying, or I could be looking at the whole thing wrong. So any advice is much appreciated.

I'm planning on putting the HTPC in a Lian Li V351R btw, I love teh red

 

[batuchka]

Hmm i would say get an entry level AM3 socket triple core and go DDR3 for a fresh build Nice choice of casing - love it! Also check out this MSI 785G
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/785g_preview/3.htm

To cool the 785GM-E65, MSI chose a heatsink and heatpipe combo. Of the three boards previewed today, MSI's offering is the only one to cover the voltage regulation area, which should be a must so that enthusiasts can get more performance while overclocking. The heatsink from the VRM area connects to the fin style heatsinK over the Northbridge to aid in transfering heat. There is a smaller heatsink over the Southbridge to help keep it cool as well. MSI also uses all solid capacitators for stability and employs an Active Phase Switching design to save on power loss and works with any operating system.

A suggested bundle:

Pure HTPC actually an entry level dual core is more than fine but for a game like GTA 4 it'll haunt u hehe

 

[macadami]

I've read a lot about the V350's hoping the 351's are of the same quality I just hope that Red really means Red and not Pink. I own 2 other lian li cases and in my opinion, the quality and finish is worthy of display and not just tucked under a desk like most other 'high end' cases.

I don't plan to game on my HTPC, but moving to a mATX that supports DDR3 is something I've been thinking about, also I'm not sure if 2 gigs will be enough.

 

[batuchka]

2Gb is fine for HTPC but at almost $50 for DDR2 i'd hit a single 2gb DDR3 stick really
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148311

 

[macadami]

hmm interesting, i was even debating going with one of the 6gb 3x2gb combos that are made for the i7 and putting 2 in my gaming and 1 in my htpc. Would that work? Also would performance be hampered any in running a single stick vs 2? I don't think i've ever seen an article that benchmarked 1 stick vs 2 sticks of equal size memory.

 

[batuchka]

Nope single channel does not hamper real world performance