I was hoping to get some information from those who have built systems and had experience with different hardware.
I am attempting to build a HTPC. Throw my dvds, music, photos on there, and use it to surf the web and just play online games (no intense graphics), e-mail and maybe photo editing.
I have a Intel DH57DD motherboard, and an Intel i5-670 CPU. I had a few questions about other hardware.
-What kind of power do you think I need for this systems? From what I've read and gathered, a 350-400 watt power supply should be just fine
-Any particular type of case? There are so many out there, and its hard for me to choose. I'd like to keep it under $80.
-RAM. I'm trying to stick with Kingston, from what I've read it is a good brand, reliable, and relatively cheap for what you get.
I have two models that I'd like to use. Part number (KVR1066D3n7/2G, and KVR1333D3N9/2G) I'd get two sticks (4 gigs) My confusion is with the 1066, and 1333. Will my motherboard accept either piece of memory? Or do I need to use one or the other?
I plan on using the on board graphics card since I don't play any games that have a need for a better graphics card.
-Hard Drives-Was told either Seagate or Western Digital, but after comparing both it looks like it is a hit or miss. I'd like to get 3-4 1TB drives, and try to make a raid array for backup. If I rip 250 DVDs, I don't want to lose my info because of a bad drive. If it can be backed up then awesome.
-Optical Drive-Looking to find a good drive. Blu-ray read, dvd-rw combo, and possibly lightscribe if I want to back my music up to disc. I know there are a lot of OEM drives that do not come with any software, but I'm open to using them, as long as I can find some good cheap software to use for ripping and playing the blu-rays.
I'll also install a wireless card, and other minor peripherals. Just wanted some advice on the above, and I'm open to other options as well.
Let me know if there is any other information you need.
Thanks in advance,
John
I am attempting to build a HTPC. Throw my dvds, music, photos on there, and use it to surf the web and just play online games (no intense graphics), e-mail and maybe photo editing.
I have a Intel DH57DD motherboard, and an Intel i5-670 CPU. I had a few questions about other hardware.
-What kind of power do you think I need for this systems? From what I've read and gathered, a 350-400 watt power supply should be just fine
-Any particular type of case? There are so many out there, and its hard for me to choose. I'd like to keep it under $80.
-RAM. I'm trying to stick with Kingston, from what I've read it is a good brand, reliable, and relatively cheap for what you get.
I have two models that I'd like to use. Part number (KVR1066D3n7/2G, and KVR1333D3N9/2G) I'd get two sticks (4 gigs) My confusion is with the 1066, and 1333. Will my motherboard accept either piece of memory? Or do I need to use one or the other?
I plan on using the on board graphics card since I don't play any games that have a need for a better graphics card.
-Hard Drives-Was told either Seagate or Western Digital, but after comparing both it looks like it is a hit or miss. I'd like to get 3-4 1TB drives, and try to make a raid array for backup. If I rip 250 DVDs, I don't want to lose my info because of a bad drive. If it can be backed up then awesome.
-Optical Drive-Looking to find a good drive. Blu-ray read, dvd-rw combo, and possibly lightscribe if I want to back my music up to disc. I know there are a lot of OEM drives that do not come with any software, but I'm open to using them, as long as I can find some good cheap software to use for ripping and playing the blu-rays.
I'll also install a wireless card, and other minor peripherals. Just wanted some advice on the above, and I'm open to other options as well.
Let me know if there is any other information you need.
Thanks in advance,
John