Living room multimedia pc (Bitfenix Prodigy chassis)

[hgaronfolo]

Hi,

I want to build a new PC for use in the living room. It will serve all our music, photos etc and be used to watch movies with a projector. It will also be an office computer (Word, Excel etc) running apps like photoshop and indesign, small scale development projects in python / java etc.

It will not be used for gaming, but I still want a nice fluent experience in Windows 8. I do not plan to overclock.

It will be on quite a lot, so I am also trying to hit something that doesn't consume too much energy but still has the power I want.

Any comments on the build, I have drafted so far?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FFtE

Just a quick line up of some whys..

I choose the Intel Core i5-3570K because I think and i7 is overkill and the i3 is a bit too little power. I like the 3570k because it has HD 4000. I hope this is enough for my needs and that I do not need a dedicated GPU. If I should want to do gaming at some point, I can always add a GPU.

Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe was chosen for all the nice extras like bluetooth, wifi, USB 3.0 ports etc.
Do you think, it is overkill?

There is no particular reason that I chose Corsair Vengeance. It just seems like good quality used in many builds.

I chose the Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM because it has really good reviews. I am considering to go for 2tb, but I think, I would prefer 1tb now, and then I can always add more storage later? Right now, I am not planning to include an SDD. I don't want to spend the money on it, but I might consider it as an upgrade later on.. What do you think about this? Is this a stupid approach?

I think the Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80 PLUS Bronze is a good choice because it is low-powered but packs enough punch for my build. I just hope that it is not too noisy.

Asus MX279H 27.0" Monitor and Bitfenix Prodigy mainly because they look so amazingly cool! I want something nice to look at in my living room.

Thanks for your time.

 

[mikerockett]

I would go with something like this, reasoning below the build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($98.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (White) Mini ITX Tower Case ($104.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 360W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus MX279H 27.0" Monitor ($344.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $871.17
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-25 14:04 EST-0500)

CPU - You want low power draw so i doubt you will be over clocking, the 3470 is nigh on the same power as the 3570k but doesnt overclock.

Because you wont overclock you dont need a z77 board. Selected you a good h77 board with similar features.

Ram - You only selected one stick which means you lose the features of dual channel ram that two sticks bring, remedied that with Ram thats as good quality.

PSU - As weve saved some cash bumped up to a 80+ gold unit from seasonic, this is an excellent and efficient PSU so will hopefully keep power draw at the minimum needed.

Monitor and case i left the same as its mostly personal preference.