Help me build a beast of a steambox... for cheap

So atm I'm trying to OC my i7 975, if it works, great, I can build my partner a PC, if it doesn't, I'll be building myself a new one, with all the new hardware coming out, I'll be holding off on either for a few months, that being said, its both our birthdays coming up, and with the usual influx of money I was hoping to spend it on PC related stuff, so the way I'm seeing it right now, best option is to build myself a solid but cheap steam machine that I can game on while my partner uses my PC, and slowly build whichever of the full PC builds I have to eventually build without one of us having to game on a laptop...

So, I want to build a steambox, cheap, I'm not looking for anything crazy, but I would like to get the most for my money, I'm thinking something around a PS3/Xbox 360 quality level, with upgrade potential.

So for now, mainly I wana hear opinions on CPUs for gaming, and small builds in general, would potentially OC if I can work the right cooling into a smaller build. (Would like to hear opinions on size here as well it will be sitting next to a TV) as well as GPU, whats the general best GPU for the money that will run most my games at 1080p on a TV... as well as cheap mobos that will be able to handle the potential upgrades.

So in short, thoughts/opinions on cheap hardware for a steambox focusing on:

CPU - Gaming
GPU - Gaming around 1080p on TV
Mobo - good for upgrading

once I get some thoughts I'll throw together a build and see what everyone thinks of the full components. Thanks guys hope that wasn't too much

I'd go mITX since it'll be by the TV.
The Hadron Air would let you use any GPU up to 10.5" long.

Check out this build, it'll do 1080p 60fps in most games at med-high settings:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RGPwmG

Wow, well, I changed the prices from US to Aus, the case is unavailable, and its nearly $1000!

That to me is not cheap

On the right track, I'll look at that as a base, but lets see where I can save some money

AMD vs Intel here, price for AMD is way cheaper obviously... Is that something to look at or is Intel the way to go for a smaller build?

AJTheGamer said:

Wow, well, I changed the prices from US to Aus, the case is unavailable, and its nearly $1000!

That to me is not cheap

On the right track, I'll look at that as a base, but lets see where I can save some money

AMD vs Intel here, price for AMD is way cheaper obviously... Is that something to look at or is Intel the way to go for a smaller build?

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The case is available there, just not shown on PCPartPicker.

You can drop to a locked i5 and H97 motherboard to cut costs some.
There's also other cheaper 750Ti GPUs there.

Ok so looking at what you've picked and to put it simply, I want a 4 core processor, probably the latest chipset mobo taht I can get, a good 8GBs RAM, and around the 750 Ti level GPU....

I like the case, its sleek, and with the effort I always like windowed boxes, thanks for the reply, look forward to hearing what others say, would like to know about cases, some out there ones maybe, just thinking if its sitting in front the TV might be nice for it to kinda look unique

What's your actual budget? "Cheap" is too subjective of a term

Well, anything as cheap as $300 (almost impossible ) up to 1k realistically, but I'd like to keep it somewhere in the middle, maybe $500-600

unlocked pentium dual core + decent ocing board + 750TI = awesome budget machine. not too far off your $300 mark and the pentium dual core keeps up pretty darn good when overclocked with the quads.

ATMINSIDE said:

There's also other cheaper 750Ti GPUs there.

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GTX 750 Ti is like a glorified GT 640! (Like a GT 640 with better speeds)

RJARRRPCGP said:

GTX 750 Ti is like a glorified GT 640! (Like a GT 640 with better speeds)

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Yes, four times the speed.....

The 750Ti actually puts out playable frame rates.

As a cheap college student I say a used AMD 7970 they are super cheap right now and with all the people getting out of mining its depressing the hell out of the prices. obliterates a 750ti as well

Scout said:

As a cheap college student I say a used AMD 7970 they are super cheap right now and with all the people getting out of mining its depressing the hell out of the prices. obliterates a 750ti as well

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Not a bad option. Great card and is selling for peanuts on Ebay.