Build Help: HTPC

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
This machine will be in my living room and will be attached to a 46 inch LCD television. This will serve as streaming video box for Hulu and Netflix, plus playing some games such as "Dark Souls" and "Killing Floor 2". I will also be doing some transcoding using FFmpeg and Handbrake.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
I am very flexible in this area, but let's try to keep it below 700 USD. If there is a valid reason to go above this amount, then I'd at least like to know why.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Saint Louis, Missouri

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
- MicroATX Motherboard
- 8 GB RAM
- CPU (Intel preferred, unless otherwise justified)
- A quiet heatsink fan for the CPU
- Bluray DVDROM drive

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
The current case is an Antec Fusion, and that will stay. Some other components that I could reuse or replace are:
- Gigabyte ATI 7850
- Crucial M4 SSD, 128 GB
- Antec Earthwatts 650 watt PSU (unsure of the age, but likely 3+ years old)

6) Will you be overclocking?
No

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
46 inch television, 1920x1080 resolution

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next few weeks

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
- Support for 16 GB RAM, 32 GB would be "nice to have"
- Micro ATX form factor
- PCIe x16 socket (for the GPU)
- Another PCIe socket (x4 or larger preferred)
- Gigabit ethernet
- 4 USB ports (USB 3.0 speed would be "nice to have")
- Onboard video with HDMI output on the motherboard would be "nice to have"
- SATA 3.0 support with AHCI
- RAID-1 support would be a "nice to have"

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit
Yes, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit

Other notes:
- I would like to keep this case as quiet as reasonably possible. The existing noise from 2x120mm fans (undervolted), the GPU, and the heatsink are only a quiet movement of air, which doesn't interfere with watching movies.
- I don't expect to upgrade to a 4K TV in the near future, so the resolution will be staying at 1920x1080 for quite a while.
- I don't plan on running dual GPUs.
- I am not against spending money for quality and reliability, as well as solid warranty/RMA policies.

You can easily afford a 6700k, 16GB ram, and a motherboard with four DDR4 slots (64GB capable). That would cost somewhere around $500.

We can also knock that price down to $400 if you'd rather go Core i5.

What I need to research for you is the cooler, since we have limited vertical clearance here. Do you have the EXACT model number of that Fusion, since Antec released so many? Or can you give me heatsink clearance numbers?

Would be nice to get you a shorty tower if it will fit, but otherwise we can find a top-down cooler.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($338.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z170M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($118.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $515.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-05-31 18:59 EDT-0400

and save $$ by getting a non-k cpu if you're not OCing.

pendragon1 said:

and save $$ by getting a non-k cpu if you're not OCing.

Click to expand...

The 6700k is only priced $30 more, and is clocked 600 MHz faster than the 6700. The locked core is the one with poor value

But if we go Core i5 I was planning 6600 or 6500.

I only got him a z170 because you can add faster-clocked ram, which makes Skylake quad-cores shine!

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

defaultluser said:

We can also knock that price down to $400 if you'd rather go Core i5.

Click to expand...

What would the power usage difference be between the i5 and the i7 processors that you are considering? Would my existing power supply be sufficient for either one?

defaultluser said:

What I need to research for you is the cooler, since we have limited vertical clearance here. Do you have the EXACT model number of that Fusion, since Antec released so many? Or can you give me heatsink clearance numbers?

Click to expand...

Here's my case: link
I can post some internal measurements of the case when I get home, if you think that would help you more.

You'll have to do the double-check yourself, but based on the picture I saw in the Anandtech review, it looks like we should just stick with a top-down cooler. We can start with thinking about this one:

Noctua NH-C14S C-Style CPU Cooler Review

You can probably fit that one if you mount the fan on the bottom of the heatsink (it can mount on either side). Or if that's too big we can go smaller.

And yes, we can save you power and money with the Core i5, but you will notice the difference when encoding video. So your call.

yeah if you have a board in it now, try and get a measurement from the top of the socket to the top panel to see how big a cooler you can get. it looks like the standard width of a video card plus 1/2". so around 5.5"ish(vid = 5.39"+ bit).

Yeah, I just used the fact that the case has side 120mm fans as a guesstimate. There should be plenty of height for a 115mm heatsink, but not sure about the width of that 140mm fan.

But worst case we can go slim 120mm fan, those fit in any old case.

Scythe SCBSK-2100 120mm Sleeve BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B CPU Cooler - Newegg.com

defaultluser said:

You'll have to do the double-check yourself, but based on the picture I saw in the Anandtech review, it looks like we should just stick with a top-down cooler. We can start with thinking about this one:
Noctua NH-C14S C-Style CPU Cooler Review

Click to expand...

defaultluser said:

But worst case we can go slim 120mm fan, those fit in any old case.
Scythe SCBSK-2100 120mm Sleeve BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B CPU Cooler - Newegg.com

Click to expand...

It looks like either of those would fit just fine. I will post some measurements when I can for everyone to review and decide for certain about fitting in the case.

defaultluser said:

And yes, we can save you power and money with the Core i5, but you will notice the difference when encoding video. So your call.

Click to expand...

Thanks for this. Your comment has me thinking more critically about my usage patterns. Handbrake and FFmpeg are used very infrequently, and I typically kick jobs off overnight or when I don't need to do anything else with the machine. So let's go with an i5 proc instead of the i7. The money saved can easily go toward a CPU cooler instead.

Okay then, here's your revised build:

You'll have to decide which of the two coolers I suggested above you go with. Worst case you can use the stock i5 cooler.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z170M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($118.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $371.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-01 16:12 EDT-0400

Thanks for the updated parts list!

PTNL said:

I will post some measurements when I can for everyone to review and decide for certain about fitting in the case.

Click to expand...

The interior height between the top of the existing mobo socket and the underside of the case lid is approximately 4.5 inches. For comparison, the height difference between the screw hole for expansion cards and the underside of the lid is 0.5 inches. Based on this, it seems like the Noctua fan may be right at the edge of fitting, but the idea of it being that close to the top lid has me worried. The Scythe model, or perhaps some other heatsink fan, would provide more clearance. Thoughts on this?

You should be fine with the Scythe. I was more leaning toward the Noctua with that 6700k, but the Core i5 uses substantially less power.

And the Scythe can handle both chips, it just would have been a little hot running for the i7 (or possibly louder).

defaultluser said:

And the Scythe can handle both chips, it just would have been a little hot running for the i7 (or possibly louder).

Click to expand...

Fantastic.

I just pulled the trigger on the mobo, i5 cpu, ram, and that Scythe cooler. Thanks so much for the help, everyone!

euphoricd00m said:

would you consider a mac mini? I found mac mini's to be nice, simple, and useful for what you're looking to do.

Click to expand...

I would put that in the same category of an Intel NUC or some other very small form factor device. And if my needs were strictly with simple browsing, streaming video, and encoding files, then those devices would certainly be a solid option. However, the games I want to play extend beyond what those devices are capable and intended for.

just plop that nuc into you case run cables threw the psu opening. Done! lol no a nuc wont help with what he wants to do.

Mac Mini and Nuc are also overpriced for what you get. You can get Core 3.7 GHz Core i3 plus motherboard plus case plus PSU for under $300.

The Nuc starts at $330, and that's with 2.7 GHz max turbo speed Core i5.

The Mac Miin has the same problem: $500 for a castrated 2.7 GHz processor, and you'll be waiting forever on that 5400 rpm spinner. And you'd better upgrade the paltry 4GB ram WHEN YOU PURCHASE, since it's soldered tot he motherboard.

So Apple thinks 4GB ram + a 5400 rpm hdd = $170 of value

At least the Nuc has more easily upgradable ram and hard drive. You'd have to be high on oxy to consider the mac mini good value.

defaultluser said:

Mac Mini and Nuc are also overpriced for what you get. You can get Core 3.7 GHz Core i3 plus motherboard plus case plus PSU for under $300.

Click to expand...

Absolutely overpriced for the specs, but part of the price difference is for having the extremely small profile. ... which has its merits in certain cases, but certainly not in the scope of this thread.

defaultluser said:

So Apple thinks 4GB ram + a 5400 rpm hdd = $170 of value

Click to expand...

QFT

I have this cooler in my HTPC.

$60 - Noctua NH-L12 Low-profile Quiet CPU Cooler with 120/90mm Dual PWM Fan

I can't even tell it's on sometimes. Even with both fans installed.

Plus I have a 980 Ti Hybrid GPU in the HTPC case as well. I can barely hear if it's on even when I am running the GPU at 100% load folding with F@H and a custom fan profile set to 100%.

I didn't connect any of the annoying LED lights on my case so if I am not folding I have to look in the back to see if the fan is spinning to make sure it is still on. If it's folding I can just hold my hand on the side where the radiator dumps the heat out to tell. It's a little warm.

Skillz said:

I have this cooler in my HTPC.

$60 - Noctua NH-L12 Low-profile Quiet CPU Cooler with 120/90mm Dual PWM Fan

Click to expand...

Thanks for this. There's a chance I may be putting together another HTPC in the future, so I'll keep this in mind.

Progress update: The parts arrived this week, and I ran Memtest overnight for a simple burn-in check .... so far, so good.

All of the new parts are running great. It's a nice upgrade from the E7400 processor that I had been using since 2008. Thanks again for all of the help!