Home Theater Build Help

[bbkingwithaj]

Approximate Purchase Date: This week
Budget Range: Would like to keep it under 600$, but have room to wiggle
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Watching HD videos, playing fairly recent computer games(I'd like to run Civ 5 half decently and still multitask)
Parts Not Required: This is just the box so no monitor, mouse, etc.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.ca
Country: Canada
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe
Monitor Resolution: 1080p Sony television

Additional Comments: This is a home theater build so I want it to hook into my home theater receiver, how I would do that I don't know exactly. If a video card has a HDMI port will the sound be routed through that too? Would the sound need an additional hook up? Do motherboards come with HDMI outs? Would I need a sound card? Is there some kind of configuring I would need to do to take advantage of the 5.1 surround? This is the template I want to work off of, it's the buyers guide Home Theater PC from Tom's just want to make a few adjustments.

Processor : AMD Phenom II X3 720 Heka-based 2.8 GHz CPU $75
Cooling system : Xigmatek Loki SD963 92 mm CPU Cooler $25
Cooling system : Scythe Slip Stream Kaze Maru2 Case Fan $13
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-880GMA-USB3 Socket AM3+ Motherboard $105
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 4 GB DDR3-1066 Kit (2 x 2 GB) $40
Graphics Card: XFX Radeon HD 6670 1 GB $85
Hard Drive: Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F120GBGT-BK 2.5" 120GB SATA III $169
Case: nMediaPC Red Wood Wood/Steel HTPC 8000 ATX HTPC Case $90
Power Supply: XFX Core Edition PRO450W 450 W Power Supply $55
DVD Player: LG 12x WH12LS30 Blu-ray Burner $80

Notes: I want to replace the hard drive with a solid state drive to speed it up, and I want to switch up the case for something a little more modern/sleek. I also don't know if the graphics card\motherboard\cpu will support some light gaming. I'd be willing to upgrade if it will give me alot more bang for my buck. Also curious about sound cards, are they even worth it these days?

Thanks for reading my wall of text! Any help would be appreciated!

Edit 1: Ok, just read the suggestions, good stuff, I'm adding a SSD to the hard drive, which is now the most expensive item in my build, might pare that down later, but I'm getting an SSD for speed anyways.

 

[redeemer]

Why not build a Llano based system, A75+A6 or even an A8 should give you plenty of speed and moe graphical power using less power than your current selection.

A Lian Li case mini should look really good.


check out

http://www.newegg.ca/Special/Combo.aspx?SubCategory=0&Brand=0&SaveCompare=0&SaveAmount=0&kwd=llano&listType=Combo&action=search&Page=1

 

[ali2837]

use the A8-3870K
with this mobo :GIGABYTE GA-A55M-S2V FM1 AMD A55 (Hudson D2) Micro ATX
its good for civ 5 on lowish settings

 

[bbkingwithaj]

Why not build a Llano based system, A75+A6 or even an A8 should give you plenty of speed and moe graphical power using less power than your current selection.

I'm intrigued, I've never really seen a processor with integrated graphics like that before, what does having integrated graphics sacrifice? Can I not add new graphics cards or upgrade the integrated one? (Sorry if the question is stupid I don't do this often)

 

[Wolfshadw]

The integrated graphics processor on the AMD Llano APUs or Intel CPUs cannot be upgraded. However, if you go this route and later decide you need more graphics processing power, you can forgo using the on-CPU graphics and add a discrete card later (assuming the motherboard you opt for has an available PCI-Ex16 slot).

Also, in the case of the AMD APUs, certain cards can be added to the system to enable a hybrid-crossfire set up; where both the discrete card and on-CPU graphics card are utilized for more processing power than either alone.

However, since you mention wanting to play recent games, I'd probably look into an Intel CoreI3 processor and a discrete graphics card.

-Wolf sends