$900 Gaming HTPC

[Hikaru12]

I'm looking to build a living room PC that can play games at 1080P with high or max details. I know the EVGA GTX 960 is actually a pretty good card for the money but not sure if it's the best bang for the buck. I do not plan on watercooling at this time (but will upgrade in the future)

 

Could anyone recommend me a HTPC build for a $900 price point? One thing to note is I don't want a huge case as I don't need it taking up a bunch of space in my entertainment center but no specific size requirement is required (I don't need Mini ITX or something).

 

Thanks in advance!

[LiamApex]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hGs6dC

[VirtualR3ality]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hGs6dC

I second this build, that is a great bang for the buck.

[MLGNOSCOPEHEADSHOTGETREKT]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZgDrXL
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZgDrXL/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($178.89 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI H97I AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($65.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 290 4GB DirectCU II Video Card  ($269.70 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Node 304 (White) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($84.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $907.52
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-10 09:51 EDT-0400

[Imakuni]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hGs6dC

Great build...... aside for some huge flaws:

1. 45$ overbudget.
2. Haswell R incompatibility.
3. The wrost brand of 290 possible.

[VirtualR3ality]

 

Great build...... aside for some huge flaws:

1. 45$ overbudget.
2. Haswell R incompatibility.
3. The wrost brand of 290 possible.

 

Urm, how is it over budget at 871? He will need to spend more upfront but at the end of the MIRB he will get that money back.

[VioDuskar]

 

Great build...... aside for some huge flaws:

1. 45$ overbudget.
2. Haswell R incompatibility.
3. The wrost brand of 290 possible.

 

not over budget in my region.

what?

what? Asus is a good brand.

[VioDuskar]

I'm -snip-

Thanks in advance!

 

Follow your thread

[othertomperson]

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($173.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: A-Data Premier SP610 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($187.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 285 2GB WINDFORCE 2X Video Card  ($162.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Silverstone GD05B-USB3.0 (Black) HTPC Case  ($94.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ NCIX US) 

Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($87.89 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $901.76

 

Threw in a blu ray drive because HTPC. Optional, however. I recommend not bothering with AA. 1080p in a living room, you're probably sitting far enough away not to need it.

 

 

I second this build, that is a great bang for the buck.

 

An open air 290 jammed right up against an Intel stock cooler in a tiny tiny case. I don't recommend this.

[LiamApex]

 

Great build...... aside for some huge flaws:

1. 45$ overbudget.
2. Haswell R incompatibility.
3. The wrost brand of 290 possible.

 

1.the total is $871

2. the motherboard can be easily swapped for something else or the cpu downgraded

3.their is nothing wrong with asus they make excellent graphics cards, however you could buy a evga card would be the same price 

[ADZ_123_!"£]

1.the total is $871

2. the motherboard can be easily swapped for something else or the cpu downgraded

3.their is nothing wrong with asus they make excellent graphics cards, however you could buy a evga card would be the same price 

If you are still thinking about a r9 290 then EVGA don't make AMD cards but they do make nivdia cards.  

[Shhuks]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DfKFMp

 

Would have to add HDD later(that could be an upgrade you mentioned), but the 970 is gonna be much better for 1080p. 

[LiamApex]

If you are still thinking about a r9 290 then EVGA don't make AMD cards but they do make nivdia cards.  

oh really i didnt know that

[Reavantos]

any particular reason for going AMD over nvidia? the 9xx series cards are really good. especially with power usage for performance. Not knocking the 290, just wouldn't want one in a smaller case IMO.

[Imakuni]

Urm, how is it over budget at 871? He will need to spend more upfront but at the end of the MIRB he will get that money back.

MIR should never be considered. It's good to have then and try lowering the price, but one might not actually end up getting it. And if that happens, too bad, now he won't be able to affor dthe planned build.

 

not over budget in my region.

what?

what? Asus is a good brand.

1. See above.
2. The CPU has potential incompatibility with the mobo. It can be solved with a BIOS update; but how are you doing an update if you can't even start the thing, as the CPU is not supported? Just avoid it by changing mobo / CPU.
3. Asus is a good brand. HOWEVER, in the particular case of the 290, instead of designing a new cooler for it, they just re-used a design they had. As a result, it had cooling problems (I think on the VRM, but I could be wrong...).

 

1.the total is $871

2. the motherboard can be easily swapped for something else or the cpu downgraded

3.their is nothing wrong with asus they make excellent graphics cards, however you could buy a evga card would be the same price 

1. See first comment.
2. True. But OP (and the guy posting the build) must be told that.
3. See comment above.

[Hikaru12]

 

MIR should never be considered. It's good to have then and try lowering the price, but one might not actually end up getting it. And if that happens, too bad, now he won't be able to affor dthe planned build.

 

1. See above.
2. The CPU has potential incompatibility with the mobo. It can be solved with a BIOS update; but how are you doing an update if you can't even start the thing, as the CPU is not supported? Just avoid it by changing mobo / CPU.
3. Asus is a good brand. HOWEVER, in the particular case of the 290, instead of designing a new cooler for it, they just re-used a design they had. As a result, it had cooling problems (I think on the VRM, but I could be wrong...).

 

1. See first comment.
2. True. But OP (and the guy posting the build) must be told that.
3. See comment above.

 

 

The $900 is flexible guys. Probably should have made that clear in the OP but didn't want to go overboard. I could stretch it to 1,000 if need be. The 4690k is a little more pricier but I think worth it. 

[ObilvionNizer]

The $900 is flexible guys. Probably should have made that clear in the OP but didn't want to go overboard. I could stretch it to 1,000 if need be. The 4690k is a little more pricier but I think worth it. 

If you want to go for the haswell refresh CPU with the h81 board you will be able to update with that CPU. the CPU bios incompatibility isn't really a thing anymore. It will still boot and run fine allowing you to update the bios.