Media Center Build - look it over?

[manual mode]

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

CPU: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI H110I Pro Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($42.95 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($47.97 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $278.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-20 21:53 EDT-0400

 

Yeah, this would probably end up being something just for browsing the web and watching movies - could hook it up to a television. Although I'd honestly like to know if I could do some light gaming with it if I hooked up a GTX 950?

[DevTechStudios]

I like I like. If you want to add a 950, you could play some CSGO, Battlefield, SOme lighter games on High, and more demanding games on low or medium. Should be fine

[KRC1023]

This plus a bit more memory and a GTX 760 is my gaming rig.

(Well, a bit more of a PSU as well, for the gfx card)

 

G4400 is a fantastic CPU, It'll do really nicely as an HTPC. However if you plan on getting a GPU at some point I'd say go with more of a PSU.

[manual mode]

1 minute ago, KRC1023 said:

This plus a bit more memory and a GTX 760 is my gaming rig.

(Well, a bit more of a PSU as well, for the gfx card)

 

G4400 is a fantastic CPU, It'll do really nicely as an HTPC. However if you plan on getting a GPU at some point I'd say go with more of a PSU.

Do you think it will outperform my laptop's i5-5200U in multi-core performance? It's got four threads, which the pentium doesn't have, but it probably destroys the i5 in single core performance.

[KRC1023]

Looks to me like it's about the same, maybe not quite as good.

Single core it gives the i5 a pretty good creaming though.

cpuboss.com is your friend.

[manual mode]

21 minutes ago, KRC1023 said:

Looks to me like it's about the same, maybe not quite as good.

Single core it gives the i5 a pretty good creaming though.

cpuboss.com is your friend.

If you have the time, can you run tests for me with your Pentium and Intel HD 510? I may be stuck with the iGPU for just a bit, and I want to see if the price difference is worth it compared to the Pentium 4500.

[KRC1023]

Pentium 4500 is the same iGPU. IIRC it's only .1gHz faster. Big draw for that one is it's unlocked, but you can't do that on your mobo I'd be happy to test, although I'm on linux so that may change results. If you'd like me to test anyway though I can.

Edit: http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-G4500-vs-Intel-Pentium-G4400

[manual mode]

Just now, KRC1023 said:

Pentium 4500 is the same iGPU. IIRC it's only .1gHz faster. Big draw for that one is it's unlocked, but you can't do that on your mobo I'd be happy to test, although I'm on linux so that may change results. If you'd like me to test anyway though I can.

Pentium 4500 has the Intel HD 530, and the Pentium 4400 has the Intel HD 510, apparently. I actually didn't know it was unlocked haha

[KRC1023]

Oh, didn't realize.. Oh well. What tests were you hoping for?

[manual mode]

Just now, KRC1023 said:

Oh, didn't realize.. Oh well. What tests were you hoping for?

cpu.userbenchmark.com

 

Not sure if it works for Linux

 

Any other test, really.

[KRC1023]

Ok, doesn't work on linux. I'm going to shut down, remove graphics card, run heaven and geekbench and i'll be back

[manual mode]

Just now, KRC1023 said:

Ok, doesn't work on linux. I'm going to shut down, remove graphics card, run heaven and geekbench and i'll be back

Thanks for taking the time

[KRC1023]

All good, thermaltake core v21 (v1's bigger brother) is a really easy case to get inside.

Really nice case all around, actually- v1 looks awesome too.

[manual mode]

4 minutes ago, KRC1023 said:

All good, thermaltake core v21 (v1's bigger brother) is a really easy case to get inside.

Really nice case all around, actually- v1 looks awesome too.

Will either of the Thermaltake cases fit a full sized ATX PSU inside?

[KRC1023]

Yeah they are both full sized ATX PSU compatible- SFX is more of a silverstone thing.

 

Also, I'm an idiot and somehow managed to break *all* the things when I removed the nvidia driver... All good though, I'm fixing it. Just going to take a *bit* longer..

[KRC1023]

Here's the geekbench score: http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/5737079

Heaven DX11 ran at 7FPS and I stopped it before it could finish- it was painful to watch

Minecraft gets a respectable 60 FPS

If you'd like me to test more games, tell me- I don't play FPS but I've got a good few other games (portal, talos principle, terraria, etc) that I'd be happy to check out!

 

Edit: However, it's late and I'm tired. I'll be around though if there's anything else you want tested.

Edit again: Minecraft with 97 mods even went kinda OKish, about 27FPS. Better than I had expected

[manual mode]

1 minute ago, KRC1023 said:

Here's the geekbench score: http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/5737079

Heaven DX11 ran at 7FPS and I stopped it before it could finish- it was painful to watch

Minecraft gets a respectable 60 FPS

If you'd like me to test more games, tell me- I don't play FPS but I've got a good few other games (portal, talos principle, terraria, etc) that I'd be happy to check out!

Thanksss

 

I'm probably going to add a GTX 950 to the build after a month or two. The iGPU should be fine for a bit. I've decided that until I get my GPU I'm going to install a 305W PSU (made by Hipro, kind of old, not 80+) instead of spending $30 on a crappy PSU. I'm going to upgrade to a 550W Evga SuperNOVA G2, probably... Take a look at the changes I've made.

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/k9MDpg
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/k9MDpg/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI H110I Pro Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($35.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($88.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($47.97 @ Amazon)
Total: $311.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-20 23:50 EDT-0400

[KRC1023]

Yeah, looks great. I'd say don't even try running a dedicated GPU in there until you get a better PSU... For an HTPC (Especially in that case) I'd say you could even go for a cx500 or something.

Edit: WHOA, after a minute to let the CPU get off it's behind aforementioned modded minecraft runs at 60fps as well