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HTPC Planning Help

Oseirus
By Oseirus
in New Builds and Planning
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I'm starting to gather a parts list for a HTPC build. So far all I know about it is that it's going to be an ITX build. Although I don't have any *specific* price goal, I'll pretty much be using this for Netflix, light gaming (puzzle games, party games, etc.), and classic console (N64/SNES/NES/Sega/etc.) emulation in my living room, so I would like to keep it as inexpensive as possible. In addition, I'm planning to stick to integrated graphics since I won't be doing anything particularly taxing on this machine.

 

So my question for right now is: Which is better for Integrated graphics on this kind of machine- Intel or AMD? Specific CPU recommendations/examples would be greatly appreciated.

 

Also, even though this is a relatively low-end machine, is there any reason I would be better off finding a discrete graphics card?

 

I'll probably have more questions as I progress through the part picking, but right now I'm just looking for something to start building around.

 

Thanks!

Blackout - Intel Core i5-4670K | Xigmatek Dark Knight II Nighthawk Ed. | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 (2GB) | 8GB Corsair Vengeance Mem. | Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H Mobo | 250GB Samsung 840 Series SSD | 1TB WD Black HDD | Seasonic Platinum SS-660XP2 660w PSU

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An AMD APU's integrated graphics should be plenty as is.

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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Great, thanks. On a semi-related note, I've heard that Samsung 840 EVO SSDs don't play nice with AMD boards... how true is this?

Blackout - Intel Core i5-4670K | Xigmatek Dark Knight II Nighthawk Ed. | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 (2GB) | 8GB Corsair Vengeance Mem. | Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H Mobo | 250GB Samsung 840 Series SSD | 1TB WD Black HDD | Seasonic Platinum SS-660XP2 660w PSU

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What do you mean by "don't play nice"?

I'm not sure, they weren't terribly specific what the problems were, other than one guy saying he couldn't install Windows 7 on it with an AMD chipset. But there are a handful of reviews on Newegg saying the same thing: Incompatible with newer AMD motherboards. You might have to dig a bit for the reviews but there are at least three that I've seen. Are these people just dumb, or is there some truth to this?

 

EDIT: Digging a bit more, it seems like there's a good amount of people *asking* about this issue, but not much that effectively confirms or denies it. This guy here claims to have gotten an email from Samsung support directly saying that EVOs are intended for Intel chipsets only, but even then he's not sure how accurate that might be.

Blackout - Intel Core i5-4670K | Xigmatek Dark Knight II Nighthawk Ed. | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 (2GB) | 8GB Corsair Vengeance Mem. | Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H Mobo | 250GB Samsung 840 Series SSD | 1TB WD Black HDD | Seasonic Platinum SS-660XP2 660w PSU

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Great, thanks. On a semi-related note, I've heard that Samsung 840 EVO SSDs don't play nice with AMD boards... how true is this?

There should no problems regarding that whatsoever.

You need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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There should no problems regarding that whatsoever.

You need to quote a post or tag a member or else they won't get a notification you replied to them.

 

My bad. Although I wasn't trying to ask anyone specific, just whoever might have known about the supposed EVO issues. 

 

At this point I have most of the parts picked out and ready to go, but I'm having a hell of a time picking out a Power Supply to use. At the moment I've got a Corsair CX430M on the wishlist, but I can't help but feel like there might be a better option.

Blackout - Intel Core i5-4670K | Xigmatek Dark Knight II Nighthawk Ed. | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 (2GB) | 8GB Corsair Vengeance Mem. | Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H Mobo | 250GB Samsung 840 Series SSD | 1TB WD Black HDD | Seasonic Platinum SS-660XP2 660w PSU

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My bad. Although I wasn't trying to ask anyone specific, just whoever might have known about the supposed EVO issues. 

 

At this point I have most of the parts picked out and ready to go, but I'm having a hell of a time picking out a Power Supply to use. At the moment I've got a Corsair CX430M on the wishlist, but I can't help but feel like there might be a better option.

The cx430m is a solid choice.

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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The cx430m is a solid choice.

Alright. I think I've got what I need for the time being. Thank you!

Blackout - Intel Core i5-4670K | Xigmatek Dark Knight II Nighthawk Ed. | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 (2GB) | 8GB Corsair Vengeance Mem. | Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H Mobo | 250GB Samsung 840 Series SSD | 1TB WD Black HDD | Seasonic Platinum SS-660XP2 660w PSU

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The more or less final parts list. Without the keyboard and OS it sits at about $530. I know the RAM is a bit overkill, but stepping down to 4GB was only like $5 less... so why not?

 


 

CPU:  AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 


Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 


Storage:  Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($123.17 @ Amazon) 

Case:  Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Microcenter) 

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Microcenter) 

Optical Drive:  Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($16.98 @ OutletPC) 

Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 


Total: $700.08

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-03 22:07 EST-0500)

Blackout - Intel Core i5-4670K | Xigmatek Dark Knight II Nighthawk Ed. | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 770 (2GB) | 8GB Corsair Vengeance Mem. | Gigabyte GA-Z87X-D3H Mobo | 250GB Samsung 840 Series SSD | 1TB WD Black HDD | Seasonic Platinum SS-660XP2 660w PSU

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The more or less final parts list. Without the keyboard and OS it sits at about $530. I know the RAM is a bit overkill, but stepping down to 4GB was only like $5 less... so why not?

Edits: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2eHey

The Gemini doesn't fit. 

If you ever need help with a build, read the following before posting: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/
Also, make sure to quote a post or tag a member when replying or else they won't get a notification that you replied to them.

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