building mini-itx pc. apu or gpu

[johnmad]

been wanting to build a htpc for awhile and I not sure if I want an apu or a standalone gpu. pretty sure i'm going with amd seeing i'm on a budget. what do you guys think.

[NeatSquidYT]

APU

[Kyuubixchidori]

if its just a htpc, and no serious gaming, than a apu is your best bet

[ShadowCaptain]

 seeing i'm on a budget.

 

without knowing what your budget is, its impossible to say

 

also what is this computer for? if its for gaming, get a dedicated GPU and a cheap CPU like an fx4100 or an AM1 + 5350 and cheap GPU

 

if its for a HTPC and basic games an APU will do that just fine

[olback]

Budget?

[olback]

Budget?

[johnmad]

budget is no more than $500 and the only game that will be played on it is diablo 3

[ForsakenLive]

For an HTPC an APU is a good choice, just get a cheap A8 APU, if you want the low power ones (white box) are nice as they keep things cooler and don't increase that much the power bill, specially if you want to leave it on all times.

Get a really compact case and don't worry about fitting a GPU or putting cables to it. A small capacity (120/128+GB) SSD is a nice addition, one thing you will want from your HTPC is fast boot and loading times. Go with a quiet fan/s, having a low power APU there means a cheapo but low RPM CPU cooler is good enough. Don't go crazy about the mobo or ram just because it's an APU, if you find high speed ram for basically the same price as the ram you were planning to get, then great, if not, don't bother.

Remember you can stream games to the HTPC with Steam's features. Steam in home streaming can be done perfectly even using two windows pcs! Even with non-steam games like Diablo 3 (just enable in-home streaming and ALT+TAB on the host PC then , actually works). As long as you have good LAN connectivity (try to aim for wired or at least powerline/AC) and you are good to go.

[Laputacake]

budget is no more than $500 and the only game that will be played on it is diablo 3

APU then