Gaming/HTPC Build
ErrorNullTurnip
Illinois Icrontian
While I wait for the newest, fanciest chips to come out I'd like to build a smaller, quieter, cheaper computer. I'm planning on using this for gaming for a year or so and then move it over for use as a dedicated HTPC. I'm hoping for something that can play current games (Mass Effect 2, Fallout: New Vegas, etc) at high resolutions/framerates for under $500 before monitors and peripherals.
I'm looking at either:
Intel i3-2100T with a Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3-B3 or
AMD Phenom II X4 965 with a Asus M4A88T-I Deluxe.
I'd like a smaller form factor in a small case, but I'm not sure how much airflow/space I'll need for a gaming PC. If I decide to upgrade the video card will a mini-ITX case be large enough or should I just use a micro-ATX case? Any thoughts?
I'm looking at either:
Intel i3-2100T with a Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3-B3 or
AMD Phenom II X4 965 with a Asus M4A88T-I Deluxe.
I'd like a smaller form factor in a small case, but I'm not sure how much airflow/space I'll need for a gaming PC. If I decide to upgrade the video card will a mini-ITX case be large enough or should I just use a micro-ATX case? Any thoughts?
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Comments
For your build, I would strongly consider pairing an AMD A8 CPU and a Radeon HD 6670. You can CrossFire them together for quite robust performance on very low power/size. It's <i>exactly</i> what you're looking for, I guarantee, and will have no trouble with the games you just listed.
Wait, so I can crossfire the 6550 built into the CPU with another card?
http://tech.icrontic.com/articles/introducing-the-amd-llano-apu-and-socket-fm1/
Sweet.
Ok, so that paired with a GIGABYTE GA-A75M-UD2H and a XFX HD-667X-ZHF3 Radeon HD 6670 ought to do it. Thinking of a case like the NZXT Vulcan, any thoughts?
Power supplies are confusing me. Near as I can figure I'll need something around 500W in micro-ATX size. Will this FSP450-60GHS(85)-R 450W Micro ATX12V work?
I see you picked up on that. I love the NZXT Vulcan case, too.
Finally, 500W should be more than enough, but I think the Vulcan supports standard ATX power supplies.
Yup. uATX standard is just for the motherboard mechanicals. PSU standard (PS2) is common between EATX/ATX/uATX.
If you want to switch, this should be good for you.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035
edit//
Rootwyrm, the PSU standard is ATX. (Not PS2). FYI
Wrapping up the build with a SAMSUNG 1TB 7200 RPM HDD and some G.SKILL Ripjaws 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 SDRAM.
Nope. ATX defines voltage and pinout only; they do not cover mechanical aspect of the PSU in any way whatsoever, beyond the former recommendation relating to airflow and a brief bout of reiterating/restating PS2 in the 1.x era. Only BPX and FlexATX attempted to address mechanical independently; BPX with an airflow restriction and FlexATX with new mechanical specification from scratch. I can in fact, build an ATX compliant PSU which is a toroid, a pyramid, or shaped like a frog. (Or just has different bolt patterns.)
The official designation for the mechanical specifications of an 'ATX standard' PSU is actually PS2. Not PS/2, PS2 - no slash. ATX12V 1.1-1.3 (IIRC) elected to duplicate PS2 and incorporate it as part of ATX, but 2.x doesn't. The reason for PS2 over ATX is because PS2 predates ATX by about 10 years and is purely a mechanical specification covering the housing and mounting of a PSU - any type of PSU which meets these mechanical requirements is defined as a PS2 unit whether the input or output is AC, DC, ATX12V, AT, or 48V. IIRC it actually originally stood for "Power supply Standard 2." If you check the spec sheets on any 'ATX standard' PSU you'll find it's listed as a "PS2" for "ATX (1,2).(0-3)"
So there's your fun fact for the day.
To be honest, I've got no preference or recommendation between Antec BP550+ and most others, though I'd definitely take it over the FSP450 and it's oddball take on FlexATX mechanical. (Hell, that might be TFX without the cutouts.) Antec brands a good Delta unit, NZXT has the 80Plus Gold HALE90 550W, but realistically speaking, the majority of PSUs are going to have a similar noise profile - quite a few won't even turn on the fan these days till you're really running near the limit. I would recommend whatever quality unit offers you the best price/warranty combo at the 550-600 area.
I asked the kind folks over at JonnyGuru because your explanation of "Power supply Standard 2" sounds like
(http://formfactors.org/FFDetail.asp?FFID=13&CatID=2)
That has the dimension/mechanical recommendations based on the various formats. ATX is Intel's standard and is generally adopted by others.
There is no shared required standard for things like screw hole placement, psu casing dimensions, etc. because sometimes OEM make their own custom shaped chassis that don't follow any ATX based standard. Think of some of Dells old ATX PSUs that were enormous:
http://www.atxpowersupplies.com/160-watt-dell-power-supply-p2721.php
I've never been exposed to PS2 ("Power supply Standard 2"). Root is dating it at about 1985. I was still on the teat back then, so I would have no clue.
Anyways:
I dig gskill ram. Swell choice Mr. Turnip.
The above list of parts puts me at $570, not bad. I still have need of 2 monitors, a keyboard and mouse. I remember seeing a thread about monitors a while ago, but haven't been able to find it. I'm hoping to spend no more than $300 for 2 monitors (at least 1920x1080).