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Budget HTPC

post #1 of 8
3/29/12 at 9:47pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys,

Trying to put together a modest windows 7 HTPC for diablo3/emulators. I hear diablo 3 isnt too terribly taxing of a game even when running with ultra settings, so I figure I don't need to go all out:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 460 Rana 3.4GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core
$84

Video Card: Radeon HD 6670 1GB PCI Express 2.1 Low Profile
$94

Mobo: BIOSTAR N68S3+ AM3 NVIDIA MCP68S Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
$40

RAM:PNY Optima 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
$40

Case:Athena Power CA Slim Computer Case w/ 300W Power Supply
$44

HD:Crucial 128 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s
$155

Total: 460

All these parts have 4-5 star feedback on newegg. I want to keep it under 500, and I still need to get a wireless keyboard. Also, is getting 5.1 surround on this guy as easy as getting a sound card with optical/coaxial out? Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
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post #2 of 8
3/29/12 at 10:26pm
Drop the PNY ram and go for Crucial. Same price, but more consistant in quality. The chances of having to RMA the PNY, or having it be randomly flaky are much higher.

The CPU is fine. Nice clockspeed, and just enough cores.

The power supply in that case is going to be a piece of crap. Pick a case based on what you want in a case. If it comes with a PSU? No big deal, it's just one more thing to throw away. Budget in another $50-60 to get a solid Antec power supply. I say Antec specifically, as they are right at that point of being relatively cheap, but still perfectly acceptable quality.
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post #3 of 8
3/29/12 at 11:32pm
Just recently built a gaming pc for a friend using the same cpu. Get the Biostar 880g mobo and you can unlock the 4th core on that cpu with a single button press. Seriously. Also, as James mentioned, the power supply will be pretty weak. I'd suggest another one.

My friends and I have used this power supply in four builds now with great results.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817152028

Here's the mobo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138283

And totally pick up this video card. It ran every game we threw at it at highest settings with very great fps.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161377
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post #4 of 8
3/30/12 at 8:13am
drop the amd! go nvidia!

Just my .02 cents
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post #5 of 8
4/1/12 at 6:48pm
Thread Starter 
darklordjames: Thanks for the tip about the ram, ill be sure to go with crucial. Do you have a recommendation for a good looking case? Id like it to fit in with the rest of of my entertainment system, which is basically all black.

Scott: So that power supply will fit into a micro atx case?

threefiddle: which component are you referring to? haha
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post #6 of 8
4/19/12 at 10:25am
You should find a more powerful power supply than 300w that will fit in a micro ATX case. the video card needs its own power connector that will draw on the already low watt rating of 300.
i really like all of your other components. Ive been building gaming PC's for years going back to 486's ( pre pentium ) the HDD choice is key and you have a good one there, i prefer Nvidia as well but the ATI is fine.
are you using a projector to game on ? or a monitor ? ive been playing with gaming on dual projectors for a passive 3D system that works great. there is a lot of games that support stereoscopic 3D.
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post #7 of 8
4/24/12 at 8:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by motorman45 View Post

You should find a more powerful power supply than 300w that will fit in a micro ATX case. the video card needs its own power connector that will draw on the already low watt rating of 300.
i really like all of your other components. Ive been building gaming PC's for years going back to 486's ( pre pentium ) the HDD choice is key and you have a good one there, i prefer Nvidia as well but the ATI is fine.
are you using a projector to game on ? or a monitor ? ive been playing with gaming on dual projectors for a passive 3D system that works great. there is a lot of games that support stereoscopic 3D.

I didn't think that the 6670 needed power beyond the slot itself? Although the recommended power supply size is listed at 400w or better on AMD's site.
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post #8 of 8
4/24/12 at 5:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by deedubbadoo View Post

I didn't think that the 6670 needed power beyond the slot itself? Although the recommended power supply size is listed at 400w or better on AMD's site.

your right, it looks like it dosnt need the secondary power cable, still need enough supplu power, i would go 500 watts, no need to strain things and its not much $$
I wonder if this card will work with stereoscopic player to demultiplex 3D into those two HDMI pitputs for a dual projector passive 3D ?? that would be better than having to get DVI to HDMI adapters. or is the "dsiplay port" for video and the HDMI audio ?? i cant tell
anyone try this yet ??
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