Budget 31-40k HTPC Component advice needed

[axeman]

I plan to retire my PC and move into a HTPC soon.

Requirements:

Cabinet Space: 13" (W) 16" (H) 20" (D)
Mobo Acceptable:
Space for 4 HDD's (3.5")
Space for 1 DVD Drive
Should fit a normal mid range GFX Card
USB 3.0 support not mandatory
Water cooling support not mandatory

Technical Needs:
SATA: 6 ports, speed not very crucial
Processor: i3/ i5
RAM: 8 GB
GT640/650 GFX Card with 1 GB RAM - 1 HDMI and 1 DVI interface

HDD's are already selected, hence not mentioning them.
Gig LAN and 5.1/7.1 channel audio are also common, hence skipped this as well.


Based on the above do suggest parts and approx prices, as my current research has led me no-where.

 

[terence_fdes]

I will try to suggest things that are easily available in India towards your HTPC build. You have'nt stated your budget bro

1] CABINET: Check out the Bitfenix cases - Prodigy Rs 5950 + shipping
Dealer | external link to order (speak to Sudhir)

2] Motherboards - either mini ITX or mATX boards [again note that the quality boards listed below are hard to find 'coz of low demand/stocks]
Asus Maximus V Gene - Rs 14330Asus P8B75 -M-LX - Rs 4380 (Available/Ready for Despatch)
Gigabyte G1 Sniper M3 - Rs 11650 (out of stock in most places) - This is a great board
Asrock Z77E-ITX - Rs 11795 (Available Here/Ready to despatch) - This is a good one too.

3] Cooler - CM Hyper Evo 212 - Rs 2309
Antec Coolers

4] PSU -
Antec - 2 models priced at 1836 & 2600
Options
Corsair CX 430W or VS450

5] GPU
Gigabyte GTX 650 - Rs 9049
Asus GTX 650-DC - Rs 9295

Cheers
Hope this helps
Terry

 

[prime]

I will try to suggest things that are easily available in India towards your HTPC build. You have'nt stated your budget bro

Are you sure this fits in his budget of 31-40k?

 

[Gannu]

5] GPU
Gigabyte GTX 650 - Rs 9049
Asus GTX 650-DC - Rs 9295

Aren't these a bit pricey/overkill for an HTPC system?

 

[terence_fdes]

Are you sure this fits in his budget of 31-40k?

Where has OP mentioned his budget (Duh... I ain't drunk lol ) ?[DOUBLEPOST=1365054711][/DOUBLEPOST]

Aren't these a bit pricey/overkill for an HTPC system?

OP's choices 640/650 - or else I would have recommended the 610 or AMD series. In fact OP should first check out the iGPU of the i3/i5 for a month or so & then decide if he really needs a dedicated GPU

In fact, I have not mentioned anything about the proc too (OP is looking at i3/i5). I think AMD would be a better option

 

[Gannu]

Where has OP mentioned his budget (Duh... I ain't drunk lol ) ?

Haha very funny!

 

[terence_fdes]

Haha very funny!

View attachment 20070

Apologies. I need to "really" change my glasses [both spectacles + whiskey mug]. These HEADERS are a headache

In fact the "dark-skin" that I have chosen (for the TE interface ..... I cannot see a couple of other things, like
quoted - responses etc

But I will wait as I believe TE is going in for another overhaul/downtime.....

meanwhile I am confused as to what exactly are the number of components that OP needs (to fit in this budget 30-40k)

 

[Gannu]

Apologies.

None required. I was taking a dig at you. I am using the Blackend theme as well and find it better than the Baisik theme.

The OP needs a good enclosure that can house all those components mentioned in the first post, motherboard, processor, RAM and a GPU.

 

[terence_fdes]

I am using the Blackend theme as well and find it better than the Baisik theme.
.

Sorry for digressing - BUT can you see read things like (see in this thread)
http://www.techenclave.com/community/threads/creative-sound-blaster-z.143755/#post-1808471
- the response by PristineNote "only the following products are available" after that line the rest is all unreadable - unless one selects/highlights those lines using the mouse/drag

Meanwhile, I would wait for OP's feedback as the core components - cabinet; mobo (Asus B75); psu - are all within the budget & with room to spare for the remaining things.

Cheers
terry

 

[Gannu]

Yeah there seems to be an issue when copying content from other links. It appears in the dark font on an even darker blackground. Noticed this before.

(@Renegade - FYI)

 

[renegade]

@Gannu - what exactly are you pointing to? Please explain in a separate thread in feedback corner.

Apologies. I need to "really" change my glasses [both spectacles + whiskey mug]. These HEADERS are a But I will wait as I believe TE is going in for another overhaul/downtime.....

Very funny again.. on a serious note, there are no more changes planned for a long time.

 

[terence_fdes]

@Gannu - what exactly are you pointing to? Please explain in a separate thread in feedback corner.


Very funny again.. on a serious note, there are no more changes planned for a long time.

Done that & created a separate thread to resolve this strange issue (see Feedback) - http://www.techenclave.com/community/threads/dark-skin-some-texts-not-legible.147321/

Regarding the "Downtime" some bloke revived this thread a few days back and then some replies kept pouring in...... so I thot, "here we (TE) goes again"..... Until the Mods woke up & closed the thread

 

[axeman]

Grr Trolls!

terence_fdes thanks, your ideas are good, and have pointed me in a different direction.

Budget: anything that can be justified to the better half.

I was considering a coolermaster elite 361 with i3/i5, Gigabyte GA-Z77MX-D3H or similar 6 port mobo with the Lucid Virtu MVP technology, and yes, graphics card can be a delayed purchase in case an i5 can cope up with my basic requirements.

PSU was considering a Seasonic/ if possible a modular unit.

Your thoughts on these?

 

[terence_fdes]

1. Cabinet: Pure HTPC cabbies are hard to come by in India (sleek/designer looks/good build quality+ air-flow). The CM elite 361 IMHO is just a regular run of the mill looks. So the reason why I suggested Bitfenix Prodigy (just check google images to see what amazing things folks have done with this cabby). Of course - there are other HTPC cabbies too from Silverstone available in India.

2] HDD's: I understand you are looking at 3-4 HDD's, maybe more. Why don't you start building, one-by-one larger capacity single HDD's (3 & 4TB drives are now available). Recently on this forum some guys grabbed the oppurtunity of a 4TB drive for around 8k from Amazon . Have a 60GB SSD for OS & other main apps - so speed/performance will never be an issue.

3] Processor: Are you open for AMD...then look at the A10-5800K Trinity (it's iGPU - AMD Radeon HD 7660 beats the hell out of i3/i5). You also end up saving considerable money (mobo + proc) + no need for discrete GPU, without compromising on performance. Now only if you want to up your fps at max resolutions with Dir X11 games..... then add a GPU. see another discussion here

4] PSU: Seasonic X-Series fully modular are dream psu's which are at least 40% more expensive than the regular ones. What you get - extreme stability; reliability and efficiency of the X-Series results in better protection & longevity of all your other components on your system. Seasonic X-Series has among the best "efficiency" of all psu's compared. The voltage efficiency across all rails are superbly consistent. I am using the X760 since Sept 2012 & no issues with it. The built-in Sanyo denki fan starts spinning (silently) ONLY if threshold limits are crossed. Lastly - you get to use ONLY those cables that are necessary - so better cable management inside the cabby > better air-flow.

However, for an HTPC where the requirement of 450W should more than suffice. Seasonic does not have anything modular below 660W.... at least I have not seen them in India 450w???

HTPC psu's are more compact.

Cheers
Terry

 

[axeman]

notings below:

1. Cabinet: Pure HTPC cabbies are hard to come by in India (sleek/designer looks/good build quality+ air-flow). The CM elite 361 IMHO is just a regular run of the mill looks. So the reason why I suggested Bitfenix Prodigy (just check google images to see what amazing things folks have done with this cabby). Of course - there are other HTPC cabbies too from Silverstone available in India. - Saw, more comfortable with a simple clean look, size is similar for both cm and fenix

2] HDD's: I understand you are looking at 3-4 HDD's, maybe more. Why don't you start building, one-by-one larger capacity single HDD's (3 & 4TB drives are now available). Recently on this forum some guys grabbed the oppurtunity of a 4TB drive for around 8k from Amazon . Have a 60GB SSD for OS & other main apps - so speed/performance will never be an issue. - already enroute, hence mentioned need of 6 sata ports

3] Processor: Are you open for AMD...then look at the A10-5800K Trinity (it's iGPU - AMD Radeon HD 7660 beats the hell out of i3/i5). You also end up saving considerable money (mobo + proc) + no need for discrete GPU, without compromising on performance. Now only if you want to up your fps at max resolutions with Dir X11 games..... then add a GPU. see another discussion here - nope, some of the sw purported to be used demands intel

4] PSU: Seasonic X-Series fully modular are dream psu's which are at least 40% more expensive than the regular ones. What you get - extreme stability; reliability and efficiency of the X-Series results in better protection & longevity of all your other components on your system. Seasonic X-Series has among the best "efficiency" of all psu's compared. The voltage efficiency across all rails are superbly consistent. I am using the X760 since Sept 2012 & no issues with it. The built-in Sanyo denki fan starts spinning (silently) ONLY if threshold limits are crossed. Lastly - you get to use ONLY those cables that are necessary - so better cable management inside the cabby > better air-flow.

However, for an HTPC where the requirement of 450W should more than suffice. Seasonic does not have anything modular below 660W.... at least I have not seen them in India 450w??? - but this will fit a cm 361 then yes?

HTPC psu's are more compact.

Cheers
Terry

 

[terence_fdes]

@axeman..... Err, I found it hard to "read" your notings (I am on the dark skin theme), as you continued with the same font/color {use any available means to highlight your replies}

So

However, for an HTPC where the requirement of 450W should more than suffice. Seasonic does not have anything modular below 660W.... at least I have not seen them in India 450w??? - but this will fit a cm 361 then yes?

I am not entirely sure whether it will fit the CM Elite 361 - (common sense tells me it should, but I cannot vouch for that). The seating of any psu in this cabby is unique. CM tried to design a case where one can use it either way - horiz or vertically. The psu sits below the optical drive and towards the front side of the case !!!!! Have you actually seen the case ?
Here is some feedback
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119258&Tpk=cooler master elite 361&IsVirtualParent=1
and of a really disgruntled user
I am quite sure that you have done your own R&D (read all the reviews) before you take your decision

I am aware that where PC Cabinets are concerned - opinions are the most diverse (I have yet to see a dream cabinet that has satisfied all). I have some design issues (drawbacks) even with my own cabby - CM Storm Stryker (white)

NOTE: For the CM 361, it would be good if you also add a few more fans (case comes with ONLY 1 120mm)

All the best
Terry