First HTPC build please check parts

zer0net

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Hello Everyone,
I'm building an HTPC for the little home entertainment system.

It will be connected to the projector, which is 3D capable,

Purchase date: 1 week.

Use: blue ray, HD movies, Youtube HD, other online streams ie netflix, light gaming like WoW, COD,

Budget: $600 +/- $100

CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I52400
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

MOBO: I dont know which one, please help

Case: LIAN LI PC-V351B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Computer Case
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112222

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (damn they are expensive now)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148701

GPU: MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone OC GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127573

PSU: XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

CD/DVD: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

So far without mobo its $763 shipped.
So any suggestions?
 

Wolfshadw

Titan
Moderator
Well, you're already over budget, and you don't have a motherboard or blu-ray drive. Also, given the size of the cooler on the graphics card, I'm not sure if you have the necessary clearance in your case. I'd probably recommend going with an AMD Llano build.

Here's what I've come up with:

Case: LIAN LI PC-V351B - $100
Power Supply: PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III PPCMK3S500 500W - $85
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-A75M-D2H FM1 AMD A75 - $90
CPU: AMD A6-3500 Llano 2.1GHz - $90
RAM: G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 - $22
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 - $100
Optical Drive: LG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X - $65
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - $110

Total Cost: $662 + Shipping
Mail in Rebates: $30
Final Cost: $632 + Shipping

The Llano processor has an embedded HD6530 graphics unit. That may be enough for your games, but I don't know about HD3D playback. This EVGA Geforce 550TI is comparable to the card you originally listed (no clearance issues), but at $140, it kills your budget.

-Wolf sends

 
Wolfshadow....a $85 psu? Really?

A i3-2120 at $120 is more than enough for your build. Pair it with a $50 H61 motherboard and a Antec 380w or Corsair 430w psu and your good to go with a fast, green, low power system.

The Corsair 430 is $16.99 right now after $8 promo code and $20 rebate.

 

deadjon

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+1 for the 3870k

Go for a SFF PSU and a MiniITX mobo - stick it in the smallest case you can find and off you go with the HD Playback :D - You wont even be able to find the thing it'll be that tiny.
 

Wolfshadw

Titan
Moderator
@ Everyone - Please remember the OP is in Canada (inferred by the use of Newegg.ca)

@ GeekApproved - I wanted to go modular, but if that's not an issue for the OP, then the Corsair CX430 - $50 would also be a good choice.

-Wolf sends

Edit: Also, @GeekApproved - With the case the OP selected (I assume that's the preferred choice), the power supply is top mounted over the motherboard. I'd rather not have spare cables dangling above the CPU. Yes, some zip ties and good cable management could resolve that. So could another case.
 

zer0net

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Thanx everyone for their replies.
The reason I selected the i5 was because its powerful and i could do some gaming on it occasionally.
If I go with A8-3870K + either 6770 or 550ti GPU would that be a decent combo for gaming?

I dont have to buy the GPU now, I can always add that in later if I feel the need.

would A8-3870K (as suggested by ScrewySqrl) or A6-33500(by wolfshadw) be able to handle Blue-ray/3D without additional GPU?

@Wolfshadw-- as for the blue-ray drive, I have a 5.1 home theater system, the receiver has a blue-ray drive, So i'm thinking i wont need the blue-ray drive in this build.
 

deadjon

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The A8-3870K will handle Blu-Ray/3D playback fine as far as I know.

One of the main features of the Chip is "Blu-Ray 3D"

Avoid the 3870K if your going for a Discrete GPU Higher than a 6670 though.

If you have a 6670 + the 3870k you get HybridXfire - Bringing you 6770 Performance for a lower price.

However, the benefit of the integrated GPU dissapears entirely once you bring anything higher than a 6670 in - it gets disabled by default and you end up with a CPU that costs the same as an i3 with much lower performance and no forseeable benefit over its competition.
 

zer0net

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So i3 dual-core out performs A8-3870K quad?

Which way would be best, i3+6770 (or 550ti) or A8-3870K + 6670?
 

zer0net

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Well I was thinking of ripping my Blue-ray to computer.......... :eek: ... I need a blue ray drive.... Touche Wolfshadw.....touche.....

EDIT: @Wolfshadw -- The FM1 mobo you suggested earlier, it seems to have horrible reviews on newegg, people seems to be having video issues with it. Is there any reason you chose that board over another? thanx..
 
i3/6770 would be better by a mile and a half.

The i3 would destroy the quad. It destroys the X4 965 in gaming, which is much faster than the 3870K.

The only thing about the Llano chips is they have better on-chip grahpics than the i3, but your not going to use that anyways.

The i3 also is only 65w, and without graphics will likely use around 30w.

i3-2120/H61/8GB ram for under $200. Corsair 430w for $16.99. That's a cheap, fast and green setup. The H61 is also upgradable to Ivy Bridge.
 
the chief advantage of teh 3870 is that it's all-in-one CPU/GPU. its slower than the i3, but better at multitasking, and has much, much stronger graphics compared to the i3's HD2000/3000.

once you start getting discrete cards over a 6670, the LLano's advantage in grapics disappears.

WITH NO GRAPHICS CARD, the llano is vastly superior on-board graphics (able to do decent 720p gaming at medium settings as is) and advertises being able to decode 3D Blu Ray just fine (something the i3 will need a discrete GPU for)
 

zer0net

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Alrighty, i think i'm gonna go with i3 2120 + 550 ti GPU

cpu: Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32120
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077

mobo: ASRock H61ICAFE LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157246

HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767

RAM: G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422

GPU: MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone OC GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127573

PSU: COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS500-PCARD3-US 500W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031

Case: SILVERSTONE Black Aluminum / Steel Lascala Series LC13B-E ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163117

Blue-Ray: SAMSUNG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151222

$772 shipped...

What do you guys think?
 

zer0net

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Where do you see this combo?
 


I didn't even look at combo's.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241 $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077 (Price went up, was $119 a few day's ago) $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220557&Tpk=N82E16820220557 $25 ar

$210 (2120 price went up)

Why would you choose a CM power supply for $50 +$8 shipping when I suggested one to you that's way better for $17 after rebate and promo code with FREE shipping???

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=corsair%20430
 


The poster never mentioned Canadian dollars and no I didn't bother looking at the .ca links. I'm not a mindreader.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026 $30AR
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220557 $25AR
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130603 $55
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077 $130

$240 CD