zeyuanfu said:
You REALLY don't need a EE CPU for a HTPC, a Core i5-4690 is more than enough, saves you 300$.
This is one thing that I looked at closely. I strongly considered a i7-4790K Processor, 4.00GHz w/ 8MB Cache which is almost $300 cheaper. It would modify a lot of my choices down the line if I switched to that processor.
Part of the reason I went with the 6 core processor is that I "might" end up using the computer for Petrel 3D modeling as part of my work and if/when that happens the extra cores will suddenly become nice to have. But, I am definitely not completely stuck on getting the 6 core yet and will think about this advice more now.
zeyuanfu said:
RAM clock speeds don't really affect performance, and neither does CAS latency. Also, Dominator is a waste of money. Get G.SKILL or Corsair Vengeance.
Yeah, it is G-Skill I have in there atm and at $209 for each 16GB (Canadian) for the 2400OC speed it is actually cheaper then a lot of the slower clocked RAM out there. That is kind of why I threw that in there. Many of the 1866 RAM is actually more expensive.
zeyuanfu said:
You also don't need a 500$ mobo for a HTPC, the Gigabyte GA-Z97 Gaming 7 or GT is more than enough. If you get a K CPU it can also be OCed, thus yielding more performance for your money.
The MOBO was a tough choice. I tried to do a lot of reading of reviews on MOBO's and that is one computer component that seems to have little consensus. There does not seem to be that one awesome MOBO that stands out from the rest. The one thing I like about the one on there is that it makes overclocking easier and I can watch temps on my components a little closer.
zeyuanfu said:
With 1500$ for a GPU, you might be better off with a R9 295x2, which also costs 1500$. it has about 4-6 ports for monitors, and it probably has Eyefinity support. if you can afford it, I'd get one or two nVidia Titan Blacks or a Titan Z..
From what I have heard/read from almost everyone and most all benchmarks out there the Titan is a step behind the overclocked 780 Ti's due to their anemic clock speeds. I am pretty sure the Titan Black Superclocked would be a good step up mostly due to the extra RAM on the card, but to SLI those is $2400 worth of cards vs the $1600 I am currently at... I would do that "IF" I knew I was getting a big jump in performance there, but it would have to be significant and about the same as spending the $2400 on a 3-way SLI on those 780's at the least.
I have read that the Titan's might prove to be a little more "future proof" and that they will likely outperform the 780's over the long haul, but for the money they cost in 2 years that money I save now can just be spent on the next gen cards to replace the ones I currently have chosen.
zeyuanfu said:
You can use a HDD for storage, the 1 TB counterpart of the SSD is 55$, much cheaper.
This is one thing I know I am sticking with. My last computer had the OS running off a SSD and had a 1TB spin drive for storage and I could not stand every time I clicked on the spin disk hearing that thing kick in and start up and the lag time associated with it as it woke itself up. Plus I really like not having a big spin drive in there taking up space and leaving more airflow.
Thanks for the post and thoughts, I am definitely going to have to think about the chip and MOBO more. I am also going to try and find some benchmarks between the Titan Black and the cards I have in there atm and see how they actually compare.