[Relic1882]

So, my new build is going to be a dedicated HTPC that will play all of my games, movies, music, pictures, and I may possibly upgrade it with a TV Tuner, though I don't have cable so it may be very pointless for that anyway. Will you guys tell me what you think of this build? It's going to be dedicated so my other PCs and my wife's Kindle can all receive media from it too. Here is the list of stuff I'm going to be building it with:

ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87
Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz
G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB)
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card
SeaSonic M12II 750 SS-750AM2 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready Full-modular Power Supply
SAMSUNG 840 EVO 2.5" 250GB Internal Solid State Drive) - Primary OS and XBMC drive
WD BLACK 4TB - For Gaming Installations and media storage
VisionTek Candyboard 900319 Black USB RF Wireless Mini Keyboard
GMYLE Windows 7 Vista XP Media Center MCE PC Remote Control
Oh yeah, and Ill be using a Blu Ray writer drive pulled from my old computer too.

I'm going to use this HTPC case: http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-GD...e+Tek+htpc

It's a beast but it's the sleekest looking case I can find that will fit everything nicely.

I'm going to be using another WD Black Hard drive (1TB) from another computer when I build this one. When they get full, I'll start popping WD Greens into the HTPC.

Can you guys think of anything that would possibly work better for what I'm doing?

I'm not concerned with power consumption. Also, I watch movies and play games loud enough with my surround system where noise from the computer isn't an issue either.

[zxz0O0]

Well, that will sure be a beastly htpc. Nothing really to complain about. I would build a raid though rather than popping in random hard drives.

[elusien]

The following website has lots of useful info for building an HTPC, including accessories such as remote controls and keyboards, as well as detailed instructions on the build, including various RAID systems.

http://mymediaexperience.com

[RazorFR]

I have a similar "super charged" HTPC. Though it is built into a slightly smaller silverstone GD06.

+ Most important advise I can give, you have to choose a GPU with a blower, or the fans will go crazy in that type of Small factor case. The Zotac is a no go. I for myself have a reference GTX 780 and it is OK. You also need to make sure your cabinet has necessary air flow at the back. Those high end GPUs do blow a lot of hot air at the back of the case.
+ Be prepared to spend some time to build it, there is not much room (maybe a little more in a GD07), choose the smallest PSU you can find (I have a Nexus 630, only 12 cm deep, and It helped a lot)
+ It won't be completely silent, but you can make it almost silent by changing case fans for eg Noctuas, and using ROG Fan expert to use custom fan profiles for CPU and case fans, You can also use something like MSI afterburner to do the same for GPU, though with latest Nvidias it is not really necessary, the fan profile is alreally very quiet. Be careful about what the minimum fan speed % of the GPU is. Some GPU have a 40% minimum fan speed, it is way too loud for a HTPC
+ You don't need a keyboard, you can fully control XBMC with a X360 wireless pad, and you can switch easily from games to xbmc with it.

Have fun with your new htpc

[joelbaby]

Can you guys think of anything that would possibly work better for what I'm doing?

I think you're asking on the wrong forum. You're building a gaming PC that just happens to have XBMC installed on it.
Ask on the gamers forums if the PC is up to spec. XBMC can run on a $25 raspberry pi.

As far as better is concerned: I have no idea why you would put your media inside the PC. When you upgrade you'll be pulling disks out. Consider putting all the bulk storage on a separate NAS. Use the SSD for OS, Programs, and Games.
Why do you need a beast machine turned on so that a Kindle can read media? Just use a NAS.


2 Fans on that Video Card ... doesn't exactly sound like a silent solution.
7200rpm drive .. not very silent.

When you're playing a game fan noise probably doesn't matter. When you're watching a movie, it might.

If you're not concerned about power consumption - why use WD Green drives?

Any games machine can run XBMC. Now figure out how to make it silent. Build something watercooled.

Inspiration for you: A NUC, and a Water Cooled PC...

http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comment...intel_nuc/

http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comment...tercooled/

[Relic1882]

I'm not concerned with power. I would use the WD Green drives as storage space. The Black drive will be for gaming performance and load times only. I can't fit all the games on the SSD. They are just too expensive to get that kind of space.

I hadn't planned on building a NAS because this PC is going to be my all in one unit for the house. It's going to sit atop my entertainment stand so air flow won't be a problem. Of course I hadn't really looked into a NAS, but maybe if it's cheap enough it would be an option. I was thinking that when I run other PCs through the house they can all get the media from this new one. The NAS is another idea for me now. Maybe I'll check into it.

[bluray]

ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87
Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz
G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB)
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card
SeaSonic M12II 750 SS-750AM2 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready Full-modular Power Supply
SAMSUNG 840 EVO 2.5" 250GB Internal Solid State Drive) - Primary OS and XBMC drive
WD BLACK 4TB - For Gaming Installations and media storage

I'm going to use this HTPC case: http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-GD...e+Tek+htpc

This is the type of spec I want for HTPC, and it will be a beast. Have you price it?

If you want a very cool looking gaming HPTC, here is another option- "Alienware X51". Everything is included (3rd Generation i5-3450, Blu-ray drive, GDDR5 GT 640, wireless card, Windows, 240W power brick, etc) for $869. It should be great for gaming and XBMC, and it is ready out of the box. Since it is using a massive power brick, it should be running very cool and silent. I own one, and it is in my signature. It's very powerful and very silent/cool.....

[vmstek]

I just built almost the exact same system as a workstation upgrade...but reused my 5 year old workstation as a dedicated XBMC HTPC server, following this thread http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=174854

Even with it also running a LAMP server, SABnzbd and Transmission, it performs flawlessly with only a ATI5770 vid card.

[Relic1882]

ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87
Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz
G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB)
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card
SeaSonic M12II 750 SS-750AM2 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready Full-modular Power Supply
SAMSUNG 840 EVO 2.5" 250GB Internal Solid State Drive) - Primary OS and XBMC drive
WD BLACK 4TB - For Gaming Installations and media storage

I'm going to use this HTPC case: http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-GD...e+Tek+htpc

This is the type of spec I want for HTPC, and it will be a beast. Have you price it?

If you want a very cool looking gaming HPTC, here is another option- "Alienware X51". Everything is included (3rd Generation i5-3450, Blu-ray drive, GDDR5 GT 640, wireless card, Windows, 240W power brick, etc) for $869. It should be great for gaming and XBMC, and it is ready out of the box. Since it is using a massive power brick, it should be running very cool and silent. I own one, and it is in my signature. It's very powerful and very silent/cool.....

Total price for everything will probably end up around $1800. But that includes a decent sized Solid State drive, 16 gigs ram, remote and all hard drives I want extra.

[bluray]

ASUS MAXIMUS VI HERO LGA 1150 Intel Z87
Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell 3.5GHz
G.SKILL Trident X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB)
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 770 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Video Card
SeaSonic M12II 750 SS-750AM2 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready Full-modular Power Supply
SAMSUNG 840 EVO 2.5" 250GB Internal Solid State Drive) - Primary OS and XBMC drive
WD BLACK 4TB - For Gaming Installations and media storage

I'm going to use this HTPC case: http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Tek-GD...e+Tek+htpc

This is the type of spec I want for HTPC, and it will be a beast. Have you price it?

If you want a very cool looking gaming HPTC, here is another option- "Alienware X51". Everything is included (3rd Generation i5-3450, Blu-ray drive, GDDR5 GT 640, wireless card, Windows, 240W power brick, etc) for $869. It should be great for gaming and XBMC, and it is ready out of the box. Since it is using a massive power brick, it should be running very cool and silent. I own one, and it is in my signature. It's very powerful and very silent/cool.....

Total price for everything will probably end up around $1800. But that includes a decent sized Solid State drive, 16 gigs ram, remote and all hard drives I want extra.

$1800 is a little high, and don't forget to include Windows 8 too. Or this "Alienware X51" with 3rd Gen i7-3770, 16GB of RAM, 1.5 GB nVidia GDDR5 GeForce GTX 660, Windows 8, 330W external power brick, Blu-ray drive, WLAN, Dell Warrantee, etc for $1239. You can add this "Samsung Electronics 840 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5-Inch" for another $90. It will be very fast, quiet, cool and energy efficient gaming PC.

I haven't add SSD in my X51 yet. The 7200 RPM 3.5 inch SATA 6Gb/s hard drive is fast enough for me. It boot up in seconds....

Either way you go with, you will have a powerful gaming HTPC and you will enjoy it.....

[Relic1882]

That sounds good and all but the Alienware has slower memory, a 3rd gen processor, and the 660 gtx compared to the 770 is no match. I know some of it is overkill, but after putting it in the Silverstone Tek case, it's going to kind of be a showpiece on top of my media stand. Not to mention I want it to be powerful enough to run anything for a long time. I'm trying to shoot for running media through the house while playing games and everything seamlessly. I don't mind spending the extra if the power is there. I have my living room configured with my speakers and TV on the wall with no wires visible anywhere. My wife is going to decorate around the HTPC to make the room look really nice and I'm in charge of making it a powerhouse.

[bluray]

My wife is going to decorate around the HTPC to make the room look really nice and I'm in charge of making it a powerhouse.

As I said, you and your wife will enjoy it either way....