Home media server/ Workstation Combo Build

[bigmix]

Approximate Purchase Date: Next 2 months

Budget Range: 1,000 – 1,200 Before / After Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Photoshop, Media Storage/streaming encoding, surfing the internet, gaming, DVR/PVR functionality

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, Tiger Direct, suggestions

Country of Origin: USA

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: No / Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No / Maybe

Monitor Resolution: Best for editing pictures. Current choice is 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Want to build a Desktop PC that will double as a media server. Is this possible?
The desktop will be mainly for Photoshop, web browsing, light gaming, running Media Browser/XBMC/Windows Media Center.

(And I would like to get into some DVR/PVR at some point. I have Direct TV now, so suggestions on that end would be helpful.)

I hope to follow this up with building at least 2 more HD HTPCs.

Parts for desktop/server.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz $119.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808 or Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) $209.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 $129.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502 or ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 $89.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198

Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX $69.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V $94.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $69.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

Boot Disk: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $116.49 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

Storage Drive: SAMSUNG EcoGreen F4 HD204UI 2TB SATA 3.0Gb $79.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152245

Monitor: ASUS VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers $189.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117

GPU: XFX HD-667X-ZHF3 Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 $83.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150542

Printer: Canon PIXMA MG8120 4504B002 ESAT Approx. 12.5 ipm 9600 x 2400 $189.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828102582

OS: Windows Home Premium 7 OEM -$99.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Optical Drive: LG Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 10X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Super Multi WH12LS30 - $79.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136226

 

[bigmix]

Anyone?

 

[jerreddredd]

if you are not going to get the i5-2500K cpu, then save yourself some money and get a i5-2400 and a H67/H61 MB. this will be plenty powerful to do what you need it to and is better than the AMD processor.

if you have it in your budget I would get at least HD 6770/5770 or GTX 460 for a GPU if you plan on playing any type of game at 1080p. if you do any first person shooters you should get a HD 6850/70 or GTX 560.

 

[bigmix]

Thank you for the information. I think the i5-2500k is the route I will go unless some one says otherwise. Any idea on the GPU I chose, or the motherboard.

 

[jerreddredd]

Thank you for the information. I think the i5-2500k is the route I will go unless some one says otherwise. Any idea on the GPU I chose, or the motherboard.

I wouldn't get less than a HD 5770/6770 or GTX 460 for doing moderate gaming on medium settings at 1080p. If you want a good experience I would get a HD 6850/70 or a GTX 560.

the GPU you picked is good for HD video and very light gaming at 1080p with most eye candy on low or medium settings.

Benchmarks:
HD 6670
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6570-radeon-hd-6670-turks,2925-5.html
GTX 560,560ti,460, HD 6850,6870
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-amp-edition-gtx-560-directcu-ii-top,2944-6.html
compare the 1920x1080 (1080p) resolutions. I selected Crysis2 a it is atypical of FPS's. average of 30fps is what you need for smooth gaming.

 

[bigmix]

Best answer selected by bigmix.