Help with Part Selection for HTPC

peter3933 · December 28, 2015

Hello,

I have been planning to build a HTPC for my parents due to the Samsung desktop PC they have been using for 7 years having problems and starting to slow down.

I have been thinking about the parts, but I want to confirm that these parts are fully compatible and are "the best choice" for my parents.

Here are some "requirements" for the PC:

- Must be somewhat "future proof": should be relatively usable and fast for at least 5 years (and should not lack back too much hardware wise)

- Having a graphics card will be nice (I've been thinking of something around a GTX750Ti or GTX950, nothing special but so that a GPU upgrade will not be needed for a long period of time).

- Hard Drive is Mandatory just for mass storage, I've been thinking maybe a WD Blue 1TB (as its so cheap nowadays) might be good for the build.

- Preferably have an SSD: the previous computer had a Samsung 160GB HDD (not sure of the speed, but it was really slow), and considering the availability of SSDs nowadays, I thought why not throw one in the build just for the OS system. Any recommendations?

- For the CPU, since the computer has to be somewhat future proof, I've been thinking of going for a Core i3 processor, more specifically speaking about the new Skylake Core i3-6100, and going for a B150 chipset Motherboard. Should I go for a Core i5 Processor? (Haswell or Skylake, doesn't really matter) However, CPU choice is not yet confirmed.

Also, although my parents will most likely be using basic speakers from Samsung or their earphones for sound, I was wondering do you think a sound card is necessary? I've been looking on the internet and a lot of people have been complaining about the buzzing sound when they use onboard sound on their motherboard.

Another point I'm not yet decided on is the case. Any good recommendations for a good case?

Although I have somewhat a basic understanding of computers and PC components, I want to hear from you guys whether my selections are truly the best, most appropriate for my parents, and if you think they are not, I'd really appreciate and like to hear any improvements you think could be made.

C0LL0SS0S · December 28, 2015

maybe an Intel NUC with USB 3.0 HDD enclosure could be something for you

peter3933 · December 28, 2015

maybe an Intel NUC with USB 3.0 HDD enclosure could be something for you

I've looked at the specs but I don't know if its necessarily "future proof". I still think building a will be better. Not saying that the Intel NUC is bad, but I'm still thinking of the options to build a PC.