HTPC: Home Theater + Gaming + Usenet

[bongobleh]

Hello guys,

I'd like to know your opinions about my configuration I'm planning for my first HTPC.

This is what it looks like at the moment:

Case: SilverStone Milo ML04 black
CPU: Intel Core i3-4130T, 2x 2.90GHz, boxed
Mainboard: ASRock B85M-ITX
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport VLP DIMM Kit 8GB, DDR3L-1600, CL9-9-9-24, very low
profile
HDD: Kingston SSDNow V300 60GB, 2.5", SATA 6Gb/s
Western Digital WD Green 3TB, SATA 6Gb/s (1x initial, 2x if necessary)
Devices: LiteOn iHOS104 black, SATA, bulk
Power supply: Cougar A300 300W ATX 2.3

And this is what the system should be capable of...

- Usenet client (SABnzbd)
- Media Server (1080p content, connected to TV via HDMI)
- DVD/Blue-Ray Player
- Gaming (SNES Roms, no high-end)

Worst case would be parallel downloading/extracting from usenet + one of the other three
requirements. A low power consumption is also very important, since it won't be powered off that
often. This setup will cost me about 550€.

So what do you think? Will the performance meet the requirements without an extra GPU?

 

[Bassim Ansari]

You don't need a GPU if you aren't going to game at all.

The CPU will handle your Blu Ray movies perfectly fine and all HD stuff.

Usenet service will run fine too.

So no, if you plan to not play any games at all whatsoever, and just watch movies, and play SNES ROMS, your system is good to go.