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Steam box/HTPC build

P

PG37

n00b
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
46
Looking for a good Steambox/HTpC to join my gaming systs in my media room. I'd like a case that's as small and tidy as the official steam cases and that are nearly as powerful. (Gtx670/770) I won't watch a ton of movies on it, but that functionality would be nice. I definitely would like to stay under $1500, preferably $1200. Here are my answers :

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming, watching movies
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? ~$1200, tax/shipping..not included
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible. Seattle, WA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. I have a gaz77x-d3h, 8GB ram, pentium d850 CPU (weak), 350w psu, ssd, and HDD's. I'm thinking I'd like a new CPU (3770k?) and I need a new small case that will fit a gtx670/770 or better gpu. I need the gpu and probably a power supply that will fit. Not sure of the mobo fits in a small case.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? See (4)Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it? 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Next 3 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. raid, usb3, SAtA 6, esata
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? Yes win 8.1 pro 64bit
 
Which games do you plan on playing? How much eye candy?

What are the brands and models of the hard drives you have? How old are they?

Do you plan on watching movies on DVDs and Blu-ray discs?

Why do you need eSATA?
 
I basically like shooters and racing games. I'd like a GTX 670 or equivalent. I work in video (see previous post on workstation build) so I have so many drives it's hard to count. My main drive is a samsung 830. I have 16 WD black 1TB drives and 2 newer seahate 2 TB. Most are hardly used.

I don't really need esata, I'm just so used to having it.
tiraides said:
Which games do you plan on playing? How much eye candy?

I have a ps3, ps4, xbox 360 so I have watching movies covered. Besides I have a nice blu ray player from my workstation build I could steal.

What are the brands and models of the hard drives you have? How old are they?

Do you plan on watching movies on DVDs and Blu-ray discs?

Why do you need eSATA?
Click to expand...
 
$200 - Intel Core i5-4570
$70 - MSI B85I
$70 - Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$250 - MSI GTX 760 2GB video card
$140 - Crucial M500 240GB SSD
(Reuse one of your hard drives for storage)
$20 - Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE OEM DVD burner
$86 - Seasonic G Series SSR-550RM 500W modular PSU
$50 - Cooler Master Elite 130
=====
$886 - Total before taxes and shipping

Substitutions:
$120 - Crucial 2x8GB DDR3 1333 kit (if you want 16GB of RAM, sale price through 1/27)
$340 - MSI GTX 770 2GB video card (better gaming performance)
$65 - LG WH16NS40 OEM Blu-ray burner (included $5 discount promo code EMCPWHW47, ends 1/27) (if you're serious about watching Blu-ray movies)
$30 - ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre 6 download (Blu-ray playback software) (sale price through 1/27)

I couldn't go with a very small Steambox-like setup, so I went with the next best thing: a mini ITX setup.

The GTX 760 replaces (performance-wise) both the GTX 660 and the GTX 670. The GTX 770 uses a variant of the same GPU as the GTX 680. The prices of AMD video cards are still overinflated due to the cryptocurrency (Bitcoin/Litecoin) craze.
 
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This is awesome. Wasn't sure I would want a mini itx case but that cooler master looks incredible and will fit nicely on the bookshelf where my projector is. I'll likely go 16GB of ram. The Asia blu-ray link goes to an LG drive. I have that exact drive from my workstation build, so i'll probably use that. I've asked about builds here two times before and I've built the system each time and they've been fantastic. This one looks no different. Thank you.
 
Right link, wrong manufacturer. I've fixed my mistake.

Keep in mind that some of these prices are time-sensitive.

Good luck with the build!
 
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