- Joined
- Jul 11, 2011
G’day there,
I am presently undertaking my very first HTPC build, and would greatly appreciate input from the community on my thoughts, choices, and the rationale behind them.
Despite being a HTPC I want to be able to game with it, and didn’t want it to wave a white flag at the first sign of a modern FPS with graphic settings set above those of the late 80’s. I appreciate with the ‘Jack of all trades… master of none’ approach to the build I will have to forgo something from each camp.
Of course I will also have the requisite Blu-ray drive, HDD (maybe SSD), and T.V. Tuner card or sound card. I’m not too fussed with those, and the options are all much the same. Please see those components listed below and provide some feedback.
The case is an Amuro/Karma TF5, and has been shipped from China.
http://www.karmadigital.com/tf5_htpc_home_theatre_pc_case.html
The unit stands a little over 2-inches tall without the feet, so space will be tight........ but it looks so cool.
Motherboard
ASUS P8H67-M Pro (http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8H67M_PRO/)
I will always go with ASUS motherboards. My last one was, and has served me well. I’m tossing up between this or the Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z. I don’t intend on overclocking this system (i.e. the H67 chipset), so the Z68 chipset is all but lost, but I do like the look of the onboard SupremeFX X-Fi 2. I’m just not sure whether this alone justifies the price tag.
That being said, it may just be a better option to stick with the P8H67 and have a dedicated sound card and forego the T.V tuner card.
GPU
Sapphire Ultimate HD5670 (http://www.sapphiretech.com/present...gid=3&sgid=915&pid=352&psn=000101&lid=1&leg=0)
I had hoped to avoid a discrete GPU, and may just see how the onboard GPU performs before I purchase one. However if I do find I need one, Sapphire’s passively cooled HD5670 tickles my fancy. Particularly the noise, or lack thereof. Are there any other single bay GPU’s that will give this a run for its money (it has to be a single bay, no room for a larger piece of kit).
CPU
Intel i5-2500K (http://www.intel.com/consumer/products/processors/specifications.htm?proc=52210)
I tossed about the option of either the 2500K and its “limited unlocked” brother, but settled on the K largely because of the Intel HD Graphics 3000 vs. 2000. Again (naively some might say) in the hope to avoid a discrete GPU, and the price premium really isn’t large enough to worry about.
One concern I have is cooling. I have read that the stock heatsink is sufficient at stock voltages but would like options around 3rd party coolers. Unfortunately low-profile units in the order of <45mm are few and far between (even more-so in New Zealand), and have read that these aren’t a lot better than the stock unit.
Memory
Kingston 8GB DDR3-1333MHz (http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR1333D3N9K2_8G.pdf)
I can’t imagine a need for more than two sticks of 4GB ram. Besides I can always double up later if I find I need more.
Please let me know your thoughts
Cheers,
I am presently undertaking my very first HTPC build, and would greatly appreciate input from the community on my thoughts, choices, and the rationale behind them.
Despite being a HTPC I want to be able to game with it, and didn’t want it to wave a white flag at the first sign of a modern FPS with graphic settings set above those of the late 80’s. I appreciate with the ‘Jack of all trades… master of none’ approach to the build I will have to forgo something from each camp.
Of course I will also have the requisite Blu-ray drive, HDD (maybe SSD), and T.V. Tuner card or sound card. I’m not too fussed with those, and the options are all much the same. Please see those components listed below and provide some feedback.
The case is an Amuro/Karma TF5, and has been shipped from China.
http://www.karmadigital.com/tf5_htpc_home_theatre_pc_case.html
The unit stands a little over 2-inches tall without the feet, so space will be tight........ but it looks so cool.
Motherboard
ASUS P8H67-M Pro (http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8H67M_PRO/)
I will always go with ASUS motherboards. My last one was, and has served me well. I’m tossing up between this or the Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z. I don’t intend on overclocking this system (i.e. the H67 chipset), so the Z68 chipset is all but lost, but I do like the look of the onboard SupremeFX X-Fi 2. I’m just not sure whether this alone justifies the price tag.
That being said, it may just be a better option to stick with the P8H67 and have a dedicated sound card and forego the T.V tuner card.
GPU
Sapphire Ultimate HD5670 (http://www.sapphiretech.com/present...gid=3&sgid=915&pid=352&psn=000101&lid=1&leg=0)
I had hoped to avoid a discrete GPU, and may just see how the onboard GPU performs before I purchase one. However if I do find I need one, Sapphire’s passively cooled HD5670 tickles my fancy. Particularly the noise, or lack thereof. Are there any other single bay GPU’s that will give this a run for its money (it has to be a single bay, no room for a larger piece of kit).
CPU
Intel i5-2500K (http://www.intel.com/consumer/products/processors/specifications.htm?proc=52210)
I tossed about the option of either the 2500K and its “limited unlocked” brother, but settled on the K largely because of the Intel HD Graphics 3000 vs. 2000. Again (naively some might say) in the hope to avoid a discrete GPU, and the price premium really isn’t large enough to worry about.
One concern I have is cooling. I have read that the stock heatsink is sufficient at stock voltages but would like options around 3rd party coolers. Unfortunately low-profile units in the order of <45mm are few and far between (even more-so in New Zealand), and have read that these aren’t a lot better than the stock unit.
Memory
Kingston 8GB DDR3-1333MHz (http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR1333D3N9K2_8G.pdf)
I can’t imagine a need for more than two sticks of 4GB ram. Besides I can always double up later if I find I need more.
Please let me know your thoughts
Cheers,
