Media PC

[Frataj]

Hi guys, I recently got my hands on some older pc parts and would like to use them for a livingroom media pc and was hoping you could help me complete it.

The parts I currently have are:

• ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 STRIX 8 GB
• Intel Core i7 7700K
• G.Skill Trident Z RGB 2 x 8GB, 3000 MHz DDR4
• Samsung 960 Evo 250 GB

So I guess i am looking for a Mainboard, CPU cooler, PSU and a Case. 

Budget (including currency): 

Maybe ~350 CHF, I have no idea if this is in any way realistic for this era of hardware, its not a strict budget so feel free to go a bit over budget if it makes sense.

Country: 

Switzerland

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 

It will be used almost exclusively for Youtube, Netflix, Twitch and so on. Maybe some light games like The Binding of Isaac or Hades.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

I'm not in a hurry, so I can look for some deals if it makes sense. I would like the PC to be relatively small.

 

[mr cheese]

I'd recommend secondhand market for a case and MB, those are pretty reliable to find since you can grab pretty much any old ATX case for this and Z170 / B150 boards are not available new. I don't have any specifics personally but I believe someone more familiar with the era and used marketplace might have specific recommendations.

ID-COOLING SE-214 or SE-208 are likely going to be enough coolers for your CPU and cost pretty much nothing.

You will also likely be fine with a 650W PSU of any rating, for instance the Corsair CX 2023.

 

I don't have any estimates on price at the moment but I estimate your total would be around 200CHF

[OhioYJ]

Don't do anything with the coolers until you pick a case. Many HTPC style cases, require very low profile coolers. So wait until you have settled on a case, before settling on a cooler.

 

Make sure you decide where you want to put this before picking a case. I use HTPC (media PCs) for every TV in the house. I've gone through several builds and cases. I'm now on the Silverstone GD09. I'm on this case for several reasons.

• It allows the use of full size ATX MBs. I generally pass down my hardware as I upgrade. So being able to use ATX motherboards in the HTPCs is huge.
• It has an optical bay. Some may not need this, however we still play DVDs, and Blu-rays, so we need this drive space.
• It uses a full size ATX PSU, again nice compatability, and I can pass down PSUs as I upgrade.
• Full size GPUs fit. I have a 2080 super in one of my HTPCs right now.

Don't be afraid to price a new MB / CPU combo. Oddly enough it might come out cheaper than trying to find just a MB for your 7700K. Depends on what the used market is like in your area. I know used motherboards are stupid in my area. You can likely find something that still uses your RAM though (meaning you can still use everything else in your build)

 

I tend to use my HTPCs for SteamLink rather than actually gaming on them directly, that is assuming you have another gaming machine (I assuming you do).  This lets the "better" machine do the heavy lifting.

 

I'll throw one more useful thought out there, I'm using one of these so I can turn my PC on by remote. If you have a remote with the remote IR blasters it also lets you bury the PC in a cabinet or closet even and still turn it on or off if need be by remote.

[DJ_Jay125]

What id honestly recommend is one of these (prices are set to germany in PCPartpicker as swiss isn't a option)

either way honestly I'd sell the components, they're not horrible or anything its just if you can get about another 200 CHF you can build something nice and small or something a bit bigger using the GD09 previously mentioned

 

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/2jC3Bq This is a really nice small APU build, no dedicated GPU but the 8600G is pretty damn good and it keeps it low power and low noise

 

You can also use the same APU Ram and PSU i recommended with any AM5 motherboard (tho id recommend one with wifi) and the GD09 if you're ok with something a little bigger that can be more easily upgraded