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Help building htpc

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I am looking to build a Htpc for my living room so i can finally stop hooking my laptop up to the TV all the time. I have researched a lot of different setups and i am looking for some final help from anyone reading. I have assembled a parts list and would like to hear what you think. Or maybe i'm going about it completely wrong and you can build something better for around the same price.

-Max price $400 (+ $10-$15 maybe depending or performance gain)
-Used for media storage over network (will be wired to modem/router)/ flawless high quality 1080p/bluray playing(only played from HDD no need for Bluray player)/light to sub medium gaming (emulating SNES/N64 mostly but higher up if i can ,Halo if high enough quality)
-Youtube watching
-Light web surfing
-Will be hooked to a Toshiba 46" 1080p TV
-Needs to have digital audio port to connect to Samsung 5.1 1000w surround sound (on-board or sound card)
-Need at least 2 PCI slots for IDE raid cards that aren't counting towards the price of the build
-The case isn't really important to me as long as it will hold at least 7 HDDs, has no leds, and has a 120mm fan on the top and side


I already have a corsair CX430V2 laying around but that is about so the rest i will have to buy.

This what i have been thinking of:
CPU: AMD A6-5400K FM2 $74.99

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master GeminII M4 $33.94

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4 ATX FM2 Motherboard $86.97

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory $48.99

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM

Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case $54.98

Total: $389.86 shipped

I guess i just wanna squeeze every little bit of performance out of my money. Any thoughts, concerns or alternative build ideas will be greatly appreciated.....

Thanks
- Jeff

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I don't think there's any need for that CPU cooler - if you're not overclocking, the stock one will be just fine. You may want to repurpose that $34 towards a decent sound card - if you're only using two PCI slots for RAID cards, this ASUS Xonar DS should work great. It's got SPDIF out and is $48.70 shipped, before a $10 rebate. That's just over your target price, but I think it'd be worth it in your case.

Alternatively, you could use the savings to grab an A8 instead, as Someone suggested.

Edit: Also, if the 1866MHz RAM he's got picked out are CAS9, they're even (if not faster) speed-wise with the GSkill Ares; though, low-profile memory is always preferable.
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mousseng said:
I don't think there's any need for that CPU cooler - if you're not overclocking, the stock one will be just fine. You may want to repurpose that $34 towards a decent sound card - if you're only using two PCI slots for RAID cards, this ASUS Xonar DS should work great. It's got SPDIF out and is $48.70 shipped, before a $10 rebate. That's just over your target price, but I think it'd be worth it in your case.

Alternatively, you could use the savings to grab an A8 instead, as Someone suggested.

Edit: Also, if the 1866MHz RAM he's got picked out are CAS9, they're even (if not faster) speed-wise with the GSkill Ares; though, low-profile memory is always preferable.

I was thinking about doing that but from what i have read the stock cooler can be quite loud.

J3TW4V3 said:
I was thinking about doing that but from what i have read the stock cooler can be quite loud.

Ah, that it can; I was assuming the 1000W surround sound system would drown it out whenever it'd be working hard, but I can imagine it being a nuisance at other times. Perhaps in the future you could replace the Gemini's and the case's fans with some ultra-quiets, as well, for a whisper-quiet HTPC. Alas, that A8 took up the last bit of your budget (very much worth it, though) - looking through the rest of your parts, I can't really come up with anything that would benefit you or save money (unless this is a better deal on the HDD).

I'm thinking about a similar build but have been going back and forth between the A6 and the A8 mostly because the A6 draws less power, and should generate less heat. I'm planning an mATX build and was told the first step to a quieter build is limiting the heat.
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