Deciding between 2 HTPC builds... Advice needed

[abone89]

I'm trying to decide on a new HTPC build, and I've come up with 2 possible builds. One is Intel, the other AMD. I am favoring the AMD build a little more, just for the shear amount of SATA ports on the MOBO. My plan is to digitize my current movie collection (approx. 80 blu-rays and 200 DVD's). I already have a few 2TB hard drives, so those aren't needed, as well as an external USB blu ray player. At some point, I'd like to do some couch gaming on this rig as well, so future proofing (as best you can with a ~$350 budget) would be nice too.

HTPC 1


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WTdK
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WTdK/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WTdK/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A6-5400K 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Biostar Hi-Fi A85W ATX FM2 Motherboard ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: A-Data XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $374.93


HTPC 2

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WTmj
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WTmj/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WTmj/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($67.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $282.94


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ksham]

Neither. Both builds cannot handle your entire media collection. 64GB is low. It may work with Raspberry Pi or openelec. But it still won't handle your media collection.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

Neither. Both builds cannot handle your entire media collection. 64GB is low. It may work with Raspberry Pi or openelec. But it still won't handle your media collection.

the OP stated he has multiple 2TB HDDs already.

I'd suggest a 128 GB SSD instead, just for the extra room. of the two builds, I like the A6 a little better, but would suggest an A8 or A10 instead

 

[ScrewySqrl]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-3870K 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($81.00 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Biostar A75MG Micro ATX FM1 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Value 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1066 Memory ($29.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: nMEDIAPC HTPC 1080P HTPC Case ($59.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $360.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-12 23:47 EDT-0400)
my $350 suggestion

 

[abone89]

Sqrl-

I noticed the case only has 3 internal hdd spaces. What would you recommend for expanding that storage in the future? Also, what led you to an AMD based system? For pure price/performance ratio?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

the 3 HDDs should be enough for most builds nMedia does make similar cases that hold a few more hard drives.

AMD gives much better bang for the buck, especially in graphics

 

[manofchalk]

For expanding on internal drive bays, you could always use a 5.25" to 3.5" adapter. From the sound of it your optical is going to be external anyway, so that bay should be free.
You dont even need to put your SSD in one. Use some double sided tape to stick it to any available surface. SSD's don't vibrate like HDD's do or have spinning platters, so even if it drops it would be fine.

In terms of gaming performance, if you go with the case Screwy is recommending than getting an A10 APU is about the best you can do. If you go with your original Source 210, then you can throw on a graphics card quite easily. Though due to the PSU, you will be limited to a 7850 at most.