PC Build Advice/Review Thread

**Callisto** · 2013-02-05 11:34

My mother's looking to cut out her cable to save some money and is asking me for advice for a setup that would allow her to watch streaming TV and such, I'm weighing options between a Roku or putting together a HTPC with Boxee or something. What kind of specs/price would we be looking at to put together a reasonable HTPC from scratch? Budget would probably be around $500-600 tops.

**hey** · 2013-02-05 12:23

An htpc doesn't take much. Pretty much the cheapest thing you can put together will work. 10 bit video needs a semi decent cpu (like 2 ghz quad core, or maybe 2.5-3 ghz dual core or so, nothing much), but unless she watches anime, she'll probably never even encounter that anyway.

**Callisto** · 2013-02-05 12:54

She'd basically be watching Hulu/Netflix and justin.tv streams. I'm guessing the onboard gpu on an i5 would be sufficient for HD video for that?

**hey** · 2013-02-05 13:02

Originally Posted by Callisto

She'd basically be watching Hulu/Netflix and justin.tv streams. I'm guessing the onboard gpu on an i5 would be sufficient for HD video for that?

Yes, no need for a gpu.

If she's just going to watch streams like that, then the roku might not be bad, but an htpc of course allows for much much more flexibility. Of course it will also cost a lot more, so hard to say if it's worth it.

edit: actually looking at it more, the Roku seems fairly nice. That's probably a pretty good option for most people who would even consider it over an htpc.

**Tyche** · 2013-02-05 13:03

So the magical Samsung ram is out of stock at amazon and newegg. Any other suggestions for ram that'll fit with the noctua. The ram is the only part I've yet to order.

**Callisto** · 2013-02-05 13:06

I know she likes to also play music and such in the living room anyways so I was thinking I could get all of her music/images on there as well and maybe set things up so that her laptop with her important stuff could be backed up over the network and stored there as well since she tends to blow those up once or twice a year. Can a Roku stream local media over a network?

**Callisto** · 2013-02-05 13:31

Alright, rough draft here: derp I'm bad at internetting

Antec NEW SOLUTION SERIES VSK-4000 Black SGCC steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $49.99 - $20 Instant = $29.99

MSI Z77A-G41 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - $99.99 - $10 Instant = $89.99

CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - $79.99 - $10 Instant = 69.99

Intel Core i3-3220 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ... - $129.99

CORSAIR XMS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2B1600C9 - $30.99

Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $79.99 - $20 Instant = $59.99

Subtotal: $410.94

Let me know if any of that seems like overkill.

**hey** · 2013-02-05 13:59

Originally Posted by Callisto

Can a Roku stream local media over a network?

Looks like it.

600w psu is pretty crazy overkill. You'd probably want more like 200w.

**Caiyuo** · 2013-02-05 14:03

Originally Posted by Callisto

I know she likes to also play music and such in the living room anyways so I was thinking I could get all of her music/images on there as well and maybe set things up so that her laptop with her important stuff could be backed up over the network and stored there as well since she tends to blow those up once or twice a year. Can a Roku stream local media over a network?

The Roku boxes are surprisingly nice. There's other options in the same category, too. For local network streaming I've heard Roku can use a channel called Plex, but I don't know what the limitations on it are.

http://elan.plexapp.com/2011/05/03/plex-on-the-roku/

**Jojimbo** · 2013-02-05 15:53

Originally Posted by Tyche

So the magical Samsung ram is out of stock at amazon and newegg. Any other suggestions for ram that'll fit with the noctua. The ram is the only part I've yet to order.

Pretty much any RAM without crazy fins will work, like this.

Originally Posted by Callisto

Alright, rough draft here: derp I'm bad at internetting

Spoiler: show

Let me know if any of that seems like overkill.

No need for Z77, get cheaper H77/B75, 600W PSU is overkill too as said above, Corsair 430W would work and is often $25 or so after MIR.

Check pcpartpicker.com if you are able to buy from places other newegg, might be able to save some money.

EDIT:: Can add an SSD and still come out a bit cheaper

Spoiler: show

Still works fine without the SSD though, just $90 cheaper. The case you listed works as well, wasn't listed on ppp.com

**Tyche** · 2013-02-05 16:17

Ended up just ordering the G.Skill ripjaws X. Noctua's website said they'd fit as well as every forum I looked at. Final build, all parts are either by my desk or ordered. Should be doing the build Thursday or Friday.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.76 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($182.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($164.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Toshiba 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($295.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($101.93 @ Mac Connection)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Microcenter)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional Full (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Other: SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Active PFC Power Supply ($139.99)
Other: Rosewill RFA-120-WL 120mm 4 White LEDs LED Case cooler ($4.99)
Other: Rosewill RFA-120-WL 120mm 4 White LEDs LED Case cooler ($4.99)
Other: Rosewill RFA-120-WL 120mm 4 White LEDs LED Case cooler ($4.99)
Total: $1490.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-05 16:14 EST-0500)

Total cost for everything after popping tags:
Case: $95
PSU: $90
GPU: $245
Motherboard: $190
Ram: $45
HDD: $90
SSD: $180
Processor: $215
CPU Cooler: $69
Optical drive: $20
OS: $15
Misc case fans: $15

Total: $1254 after one $15 MIR

**Nitsuki** · 2013-02-06 03:27

Tax return get! My GTX680 is arriving thursday at my doorstep! My friend already bought my 560ti, so he's waiting on me to install the 680 so he can pick up the 560. Now to (hopefully not) struggle fitting this monster card in my antec 900 case.

Also btw, people who live in florida, tigerdirect stores have 256gb samsung 830 SSDs on sale for $190 i believe.

**Callisto** · 2013-02-06 10:20

Originally Posted by Jojimbo

Pretty much any RAM without crazy fins will work, like this.

No need for Z77, get cheaper H77/B75, 600W PSU is overkill too as said above, Corsair 430W would work and is often $25 or so after MIR.

Check pcpartpicker.com if you are able to buy from places other newegg, might be able to save some money.

EDIT:: Can add an SSD and still come out a bit cheaper

Spoiler: show

Still works fine without the SSD though, just $90 cheaper. The case you listed works as well, wasn't listed on ppp.com

Awesome, thanks.

**Tyche** · 2013-02-06 10:45

Originally Posted by Nitsuki

Tax return get! My GTX680 is arriving thursday at my doorstep! My friend already bought my 560ti, so he's waiting on me to install the 680 so he can pick up the 560. Now to (hopefully not) struggle fitting this monster card in my antec 900 case.

Also btw, people who live in florida, tigerdirect stores have 256gb samsung 830 SSDs on sale for $190 i believe.

They have the 250gb 840s on sale right now for 150 + shipping online. It's a Steal at that price.

**Isiolia** · 2013-02-06 14:37

Originally Posted by Tyche

They have the 250gb 840s on sale right now for 150 + shipping online. It's a Steal at that price.

The 830 uses more durable memory, which might make it worth it to some. The 250GB capacity 840s likely won't have a problem either before they'd get replaced by larger/faster drives, but I have seen some concern in that regard.

**hey** · 2013-02-06 16:19

Originally Posted by Isiolia

The 830 uses more durable memory, which might make it worth it to some. The 250GB capacity 840s likely won't have a problem either before they'd get replaced by larger/faster drives, but I have seen some concern in that regard.

TLC is also significantly slower, even if you're not concerned about endurance (which most people probably shouldn't be, but it can definitely be a problem for some, with tlc nand).

At this point you're not really saving much money on it either, so i'd probably avoid it, except maybe for low end ssds. In the future though, of course prices will hopefully drop more relative to mlc nand, so it'll likely be worth it for most people.

**Isiolia** · 2013-02-06 17:16

The 840 still does fairly well despite that, but sure, it's often not that much cheaper than objectively better MLC drives. Still not terrible. Just kinda previous gen performance.

**Tyche** · 2013-02-07 23:24

Last of the items came in today. Finished up the build. Haven't overclocked yet. Idling at 25-30 C.

Spoiler: show

**GoggleHead** · 2013-02-08 09:17

That heat sink looks insane.

**ikariiiii** · 2013-02-08 09:59

dude im jelly. thats the noctua series heatsink right? was looking to replace the stock i7 one cause its too loud...

Thread: PC Build Advice/Review Thread

Thread Tools

Similar Threads

Yet another PC build thread.

I'm sorry... another PC build thread.

First time building a PC. Seeking advice

New PC build for retrogaming - in dire need of advice

Yet another PC build thread.

Building PC, Need Advice

Typical nub building PC needs advice thread

Yet another PC building thread

Building a PC, need advice on processor :3

Latest Threads

Up & Coming Threads

Hottest Threads