HTPC/light gaming

cApNhOwDy

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 15, 2007
Messages
90
eVGA P55V Motherboard
Intel Core-i3 CPU
eVGA GT 240 1GB GDDR5 Videocard
Intel X25-V 40GB SSD
4GB Mushkin DDR3 1600 RAM
SeaSonic X650 Gold-certified PSU

I typically don't play with maxed out settings anyways, and I think that with these parts I'll be able to still have a pretty good framerate when playing at a high resolution.

Maximum performance isn't the most important thing to me, see below.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Primarily HTPC, but I also want to be able to play CoD4/WaW, Black Ops when it comes out.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $900, tax/shipping not included
3) Where do you live? Southeast Michigan
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? Maximum silence, minimal heat, maximum energy efficiency
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? 2TB harddrive, case.
6) Will you be overclocking? Potentially in the future
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? Already have a 24"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Within the next month
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Legit Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

Thoughts?
 
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I'll be blunt. Normally I'm not but those selections are terrible. Price/Performance ratio is awful.
 
Then what parts would you suggest for a quieter, cooler, more energy efficient HTPC capable of some light gaming?
 
Then what parts would you suggest for a quieter, cooler, more energy efficient HTPC capable of some light gaming?

For this build I would go with:
Phenom II X4 945 + Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4
XFX HD5770
4GB G.Skill DDR3-1333
Corsair 400CX + Samsung DVDRW
Samsung F3 500GB
Total: $650
All you need is an HTPC Case of your choice and possibly an aftermarket cooler like the CM Hyper 212+.

Also, this whole energy efficient crap is stupid. Modern processors and gpu's clock down when not in use so you save power. You can either have a really light system for HTPC or you can have a moderate system that can game, you can't have it both ways. Also I don't get how this is an HTPC when you are running this on a 24" monitor? Do you have a TV you plan on hooking this all up too?
 
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I agree with Shadowssong. OP, the parts you chose are indeed energy efficient. But, the price/performance I feel is not a good deal. You must be real tight on the electricity bill. As far as the HTPC being quiet, most power supplies with 120mm exhaust fans are quiet. I'm not sure how quiet you must have this HTPC computer to be but, if you're gaming, watching movies, you'll have audio sound playing from the movie or game anyways. If the fans from the computer sounds like a Delta fan spinning at 6,000rpm then.. I can see why anyone would want it to be quieter. I know you want light gaming on this pc but, an Nvidia Geforce GT 240 performance is like an 8800GT/9800GT video card. Performance in COD and other games will not be that enjoyable especially when you have a 24" with a resolution of either 1920x1080/1920x1200.
 
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