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After yolks of deliberating I'm going ahead with a gaming HTPC build, the idea is to have a very quiet yet powerful machine that looks good in the living room, which will appeal to many of us. My planned build looks like this, any comments are welcome. Case Silverstone Grandia GD08 PSU Seasonic X-560 CPU i5 3570K Motherboard ASUS P8Z77-V Pro GPU Asus Direct CU GTX 660Ti RAM 8GM 1600MHz (Maybe Corsair?) CPU Cooler SCYTHE Grand Kama Cross HDD Samsung 830 (256GB) Case Fans Scythe Slip Stream 140mm or Thermalright X-Silent 140 |
Gaming HTPC
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Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
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Registered 10 years ago -
richardiox 10,097 posts
Seen 10 hours ago
Registered 17 years agoK series processor + CPU cooler means your planning on overclocking right? If not you could save yourself a few quid. Otherwise, get it built! -
Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years agorichardiox wrote:
I'm not initially planning
K series processor + CPU cooler means your planning on overclocking right? If not you could save yourself a few quid. Otherwise, get it built!
I was going to get the 3570S but the price difference is small and it gives more flexibility and shouldn't be much (if at all) louder but I'm not 100% sure.
The cooler has to fit in the case and do a great cooling job as quietly as possible, if there is a better option I'd like to hear about it.gif)
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Looks pretty good. The case is kind of Circa 90's hifi. I did have a mini gaming PC before my laptop which was awesome.
Believe it or not, I managed to cram a 5850 into one of these:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=276&area=en -
Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years agobitch_tits_zero_nine wrote:
Nice one
Looks pretty good. The case is kind of Circa 90's hifi. I did have a mini gaming PC before my laptop which was awesome.
Believe it or not, I managed to cram a 5850 into one of these:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=276&area=en
I haven't found any nicer looking cases which can take a decent GPU and be quiet... -
mrpon 37,366 posts
Seen 24 minutes ago
Registered 15 years agoYou haven't found any nice cases. -
C'mon ecosse - you're fussy about your HiFi stuff. Get a fancy case.
http://sixrevisions.com/design-showcase-inspiration/30-beautiful-custom-pc-case-designs/ -
Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years agoBremenacht wrote:
Fuck me, they're fugly!
C'mon ecosse - you're fussy about your HiFi stuff. Get a fancy case.
http://sixrevisions.com/design-showcase-inspiration/30-beautiful-custom-pc-case-designs/ -
DodgyPast 9,353 posts
Seen 3 hours ago
Registered 16 years agoa) Why not water cool it?
b) Solid choice on the drive, but you'll run out of space even if it's only for games.
c) I assume you have separate storage? -
Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years agoDodgyPast wrote:
a) I don't fancy all the space required for pumps, radiators etc.
a) Why not water cool it?
b) Solid choice on the drive, but you'll run out of space even if it's only for games.
c) I assume you have separate storage?
Won't it be noisy anyway unless you get the radiators and pump in a different room or cupboard( which isn't an option)?
b and c) No, I was thinking of just adding SSD drives as I go along as its only for gaming.
I may stick a 1TB HDD in at the beginning as well though. -
Fake_Blood 11,093 posts
Seen 17 hours ago
Registered 12 years agoHey ecosse, check out the Bitfenix Prodigy case. It's for a mini-ITX motherboard, and has room for even the longest GPUs. You can put a very slow 200mm fan in the front of the case, and there is even room for radiators or those closed loop watercooling thingies. -
Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years agoFake_Blood wrote:
Thanks, it looks really nice but I'm pretty sure it'll be too high for my equipment rack.
Hey ecosse, check out the Bitfenix Prodigy case. It's for a mini-ITX motherboard, and has room for even the longest GPUs. You can put a very slow 200mm fan in the front of the case, and there is even room for radiators or those closed loop watercooling thingies.
I'll check though, cheers. -
mikew1985 15,598 posts
Seen 2 weeks ago
Registered 14 years agoIf you're looking for silence I think the MSI 660Ti is the quietist of the various manfucturers 660ti's.
mine is certainly nigh on inaudible. -
roz123 7,104 posts
Seen 4 years ago
Registered 13 years agoThe Gainward Phantom 660ti is probably quieter -
Got 5 slots to spare?. -
Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
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Registered 10 years ago -
Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years ago@Fake_Blood
23cm high is my max.
That case looks cracking though. -
mikew1985 15,598 posts
Seen 2 weeks ago
Registered 14 years agoArmoured_Bear wrote:
I did say I think, it was certainly the case in all the reviews I had read pre purchase. Either way, its a great card and in my practical experience it has been totally silent.
mikew1985 wrote:
Quietest and
If you're looking for silence I think the MSI 660Ti is the quietist of the various manfucturers 660ti's.
mine is certainly nigh on inaudible.
here disagree
/shrugs -
pinebear 8,571 posts
Seen 5 months ago
Registered 16 years ago@Fake_Blood
Fake_Blood wrote:
Thanks loads! A pleasant price too.
Hey ecosse, check out the Bitfenix Prodigy case. It's for a mini-ITX motherboard, and has room for even the longest GPUs. You can put a very slow 200mm fan in the front of the case, and there is even room for radiators or those closed loop watercooling thingies. -
Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years agomikew1985 wrote:
Of course, I'm sure it's a great card and very quiet and there seems very little to choose between them but the Asus seems to be deemed the quietest from my investigation.
Armoured_Bear wrote:
I did say I think, it was certainly the case in all the reviews I had read pre purchase. Either way, its a great card and in my practical experience it has been totally silent.
mikew1985 wrote:
Quietest and
If you're looking for silence I think the MSI 660Ti is the quietist of the various manfucturers 660ti's.
mine is certainly nigh on inaudible.
here disagree
/shrugs -
Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years agoCrispyXUK wrote:
They look nice.
http://www.asrock.com/nettop/Intel/VisionX%20Series/
/Scouts for benchmarks -
Armoured_Bear 31,233 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 10 years agoHmm, looks like the Be Quiet Silent Wings 2 might be a great option for the case... -
Dougs 100,414 posts
Seen 12 hours ago
Registered 18 years agoJust buy it already! -
@Armoured_Bear
What type of price is that little lot going to set you back?
I'm currently in the market to buy a new computer, and toying with the idea of powerful, quiet, reliable and aesthetically pleasing, and am leaning more towards a Dell Precision Workstation T3600 around £1,400(with a Quadro 2000, Xeon 3.6 quad core, 8GB 1600Mhz) and being prepared to stay one GPU generation behind until the power consumption and price of the next Quadro edition card becomes viable within the 660watt PSU it uses.
Dell T3600
What tempted me, was getting one of these custom configured for a friend's business, and it was very well built, near silent(even with RAID10) and with memory performance that exceeded Windows 7's index. Also the OEM install of Windows 7 64, and a real OS reinstall disk all included in the price is the touches that a self build always feels amateurish, and Xeon based systems typically have longer upgrade shelf life. -
Not trying to build a 'Gaming' rig but a mate asked me to go about specing a HTPC for him for around £250 - £300. Anyone have any advice or links they could help with? He's gonna use it for video and music only I think. Probably web browsing too. -
vizzini wrote:
I bet that thing will be a dream to use. My only experience with Dell is a server we had where I worked, ten years ago now. Really good.
@Armoured_Bear
What type of price is that little lot going to set you back?
I'm currently in the market to buy a new computer, and toying with the idea of powerful, quiet, reliable and aesthetically pleasing, and am leaning more towards a Dell Precision Workstation T3600 around £1,400(with a Quadro 2000, Xeon 3.6 quad core, 8GB 1600Mhz) and being prepared to stay one GPU generation behind until the power consumption and price of the next Quadro edition card becomes viable within the 660watt PSU it uses.
Dell T3600
What tempted me, was getting one of these custom configured for a friend's business, and it was very well built, near silent(even with RAID10) and with memory performance that exceeded Windows 7's index. Also the OEM install of Windows 7 64, and a real OS reinstall disk all included in the price is the touches that a self build always feels amateurish, and Xeon based systems typically have longer upgrade shelf life. -
Said mate just emailed me a list. Quick things I've noticed are that the case he's picked won't house the 1TB samsung spinpoint he already has, and it doesn't come with a psu but has a power brick whatever that is? Obviously there's no RAM either.
[link url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004FA8NXM/?tag=hydra0b-21&hvadid=9556678269&ref=asc_df_B004FA8NXM]Intel Core i3 2120 3.3GHz Socket 1155 3MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor
BX80623I32120[/link]
£90
[link url=http://www.ebuyer.com/341236-zotac-h61-itx-wifi-socket-1155-onboard-graphics-cpu-required-8-channel-audio-h61itx-a-e]Zotac H61-ITX WiFi Socket 1155 onboard graphics (CPU required) 8 Channel Audio mITX Motherboard
H61ITX-A-E[/link]
£75
[link url=http://www.scan.co.uk/products/akasa-low-profile-low-noise-copper-core-heat-sink-fan-for-micro-mini-itx-htpc-intel-s775-1155-1156]Akasa AK-CCE-7106HP Intel Aluminium/Copper CPU Cooler for S775/1155/1156 Low Profile
AK-CCE-7106HP[/link]
£10
[link url=http://www.scan.co.uk/products/akasa-cypher-ak-itx-04bk-ultra-compact-case-for-thin-mini-itx-systems]Cypher AK-ITX-04BK Mini-ITX from Akasa
AK-ITX-04BK[/link]
£55
Is this a good starting point? IMO I think he's gone a bit over kill with the cpu for what he wants and a mobo with onboard processor would be a better option. -
FutileResistor 1,243 posts
Seen 4 years ago
Registered 12 years agoI wouldn't go for an Atom (onboard CPU) for an HTPC, even with an Nvidia ion GPU doing the grunt-work for video, the CPU is really underpowered and struggles to do anything.
Good spot, none of those DVD player style cases take a 3.5" hard disk.
The square ones are fine though.
The Streacom mini-itx cases can accommodate a 3.5" drive.
150w to 200w PSU would be fine for either of the intel or AMD based systems below.
The The i3-2120 is fine for an HTPC. £75 is a lot for a H61 board. The H61 is supposed to be a budget chipset, you can get one for £35-£40. There's no point paying more.
You can get a Z77, which is the latest Ivy Bridge boards for £75.
Alternatively you can get an AMD A6 3500 for about £53 or an AMD APU A6 - 3670K Black Edition for £65 and pair it with an FM1 motherboard for about £35 to £40.
Get 4GB of Corsair Vengeance 1600 MHz RAM for about £18 and you should have a decent HTPC for under or around £200.
Edit. Forgot to mention the stock cooler would be fine for those CPUs.
Edited by FutileResistor at 13:56:38 12-09-2012 -
vizzini wrote:
Err... That's a professional graphics workstation.
@Armoured_Bear
What type of price is that little lot going to set you back?
I'm currently in the market to buy a new computer, and toying with the idea of powerful, quiet, reliable and aesthetically pleasing, and am leaning more towards a Dell Precision Workstation T3600 around £1,400(with a Quadro 2000, Xeon 3.6 quad core, 8GB 1600Mhz) and being prepared to stay one GPU generation behind until the power consumption and price of the next Quadro edition card becomes viable within the 660watt PSU it uses.
Dell T3600
What tempted me, was getting one of these custom configured for a friend's business, and it was very well built, near silent(even with RAID10) and with memory performance that exceeded Windows 7's index. Also the OEM install of Windows 7 64, and a real OS reinstall disk all included in the price is the touches that a self build always feels amateurish, and Xeon based systems typically have longer upgrade shelf life.
Armoured Bear is building a gaming HTPC.
It would be crazy to spec that build for a gaming HTPC.
.gif)
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