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Overkill for HTPC?

J

jwimsett

Gawd
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
638
So I recently listed my PC for sale in the for sale forum, but was wondering if I could use it as a HTPC.

I've read through some of the other threads in this sub forum, but am still unsure of what hardware is best. If anyone could point me toward some up to date information afor a first time HTPC builder/user I'd appreciate it.

Case: Fractal Design Node 304
MB: Asrock Z87-ITX
CPU: Intel 4770K
GPU: EVGA GTX 780
Cooler: Stock
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB
PSU: Silverstone Strider Series 550W
(Short cable kit installed)
SSD: 2x Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB
 
Depends on what you are planning to do with it. Games and madVR will be happy to use the available power.
 
i might change out the gpu if you arent going to be playing games. 780ti is a bit of a hog for a htpc.
 
It may be on the strong side for an htpc, but it depends on what you are going to use it for. And really, is there such a thing as too much power?
I wanted my htpc to have a low power footprint, since I don't use it very often. So I went with some lower power components. But to each, his own. If I would have had some higher end parts laying around, I would have used them before I would have bought new parts.
 
Overkill for use only as a HTPC? Yes, very much so.

If you're only interested in playing videos and such than a high end AM1 CPU will be enough.

If you're interested in playing games on a large screen (via steam big picture or something like that) than that'll work a treat.
 
I'll probably use it for both media and gaming.

I'm really digging into it now to try to see what else I would need to complete the setup. I'm looking at a couple 4tb hdd for storage and I guess I'll need an external ODD to rip my existing dvd's since the node 304 doesn't have a odd slot.

I'm still digging to try to find the best way to store mt blu ray discs on the htpc though
 
You could always setup a Plex server in there and rip your movies to a mkv or some other container and serve up to the rest of the house with Roku's or something similar. In general I have a similar HTPC with a 290 and it is pretty much wasted, unless some buddies come over and want to game on the TV. It is cool to fire up some steam games like Batman Arkaham on the big tv and get a better experience than the PS3 sitting next to it ;)
 
I'm still digging to try to find the best way to store mt blu ray discs on the htpc though

Makemkv!
 
For an HTPC, the hardware you list might be overkill.

But from an economic standpoint, selling your existing PC used, and then buying new components, even with lower specs, is probably a losing proposition.

In the end, you're probably better off keeping what you have. Better performance, and already paid for.
 
valve1138 said:
No such thing as overkill :D
Click to expand...

There is if you consider things like power consumption, heat generation, cooling noise, and hardware cost.

I guess I'm in the minority, but I prefer my HTPC to run low-power. Video streaming, BluRay movies, and even DVD up-conversion do not require much horsepower, and I can't stand to hear a screaming fan inside a HTPC...
 
Overkill as an HTPC.

Since you mentioned gaming, then it depends on the game.

My HTPC is an i5-3570k, 8GB, 120GB, with integrated graphics, and I still feel that is far to much power for my HTPC. But it was a good deal and things launch quickly.
 
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