eiren
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UPDATES:
BUILD SO FAR -
Case = Silverstone LC17B
Fans = 4 x Noctua R8 80mm + 1 x Silenx Ixtrema slim 80mm fan + Nexus PCI Slot Ventilation Brackets
Motherboard = Gigabyte GA-EP45-EXTREME
CPU = Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
CPU Cooler = Noctua NH-U9B
PSU = Corsair HX850w
RAM = OCZ Blade Series 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 PC2-9200C5 Low Voltage Dual Channel
Graphics card = Sapphire Radeon HD4870X2
Optical Drive = LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray Reader & HD-DVD ROM SATA Drive
Hard Disk Drive = 1 x Samsung EcoGreen F2 1.5TB SATA-II 32MB Cache
Keyboard & Mouse = Logitech MX 5000 Wireless Desktop
6/7/2009 - Pictures of the build so far here: http://www.avforums.com/forums/home...proposed-gaming-htpc-build-4.html#post9867239
4/8/2009 - All complete in the build. Everything up and running except the media front end. CPU overclocked to 4.0GHz: http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cinema-pcs/1014281-eirens-proposed-gaming-htpc-build-7.html#post10072402
Original post -
Right... here we go!
This is probably not a very exciting build to most of you since it more or less takes one of Razor's excellent templates for a gaming HTPC and runs with it. I do need some advice on it though. Here's what I've got so far:
Case - Silverstone LC17 (£69)
Fans - 3 x 80mm Coolink SWiF-801 + gaskets (3 x £8 + 3 x £2 gaskets)
Motherboard - Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (£105)
CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz 4MB (£150)
Memory - 4GB of DDR2 1066Mhz (£35)
HDD - 1Tb Samsung F1 Spinpoint (£70)
CPU Cooler - Scythe Ninja II with 120mm fan (£42)
Graphics card - ATI Radeon HD4870 1GB (which will be upgraded to Crossfire later on) (£180)
Total = £681
[I've already got a spare 1000w PSU, so am sorted there.]
Now I know I can get HD audio via the 4870, so that should be all good.
My questions are:
1) What could I improve for minimal expense?
2) There are HIS HD4870 which are a lot more expensive than the standard ones that have better after market cooling on them. Are there better alternative coolers for the other 4870 models which would be better/cheaper? Would these be okay for a later Crossfire upgrade?
3) If I am running everything via my video processor to either my projector or plasma at 1080p, what is the optimal resolution to run games at on the PC? Do you run at the max. possible and have the cards down-convert everything to 1080p?
4) Is it possible to use Remote Desktop to remotely play games on the new PC from my old PC via the home network? Is it going to run like a dog... even for things like Sims 3?
Thanks in advance!
BUILD SO FAR -
Case = Silverstone LC17B
Fans = 4 x Noctua R8 80mm + 1 x Silenx Ixtrema slim 80mm fan + Nexus PCI Slot Ventilation Brackets
Motherboard = Gigabyte GA-EP45-EXTREME
CPU = Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
CPU Cooler = Noctua NH-U9B
PSU = Corsair HX850w
RAM = OCZ Blade Series 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 PC2-9200C5 Low Voltage Dual Channel
Graphics card = Sapphire Radeon HD4870X2
Optical Drive = LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray Reader & HD-DVD ROM SATA Drive
Hard Disk Drive = 1 x Samsung EcoGreen F2 1.5TB SATA-II 32MB Cache
Keyboard & Mouse = Logitech MX 5000 Wireless Desktop
6/7/2009 - Pictures of the build so far here: http://www.avforums.com/forums/home...proposed-gaming-htpc-build-4.html#post9867239
4/8/2009 - All complete in the build. Everything up and running except the media front end. CPU overclocked to 4.0GHz: http://www.avforums.com/forums/home-cinema-pcs/1014281-eirens-proposed-gaming-htpc-build-7.html#post10072402
Original post -
Right... here we go!
This is probably not a very exciting build to most of you since it more or less takes one of Razor's excellent templates for a gaming HTPC and runs with it. I do need some advice on it though. Here's what I've got so far:
Case - Silverstone LC17 (£69)
Fans - 3 x 80mm Coolink SWiF-801 + gaskets (3 x £8 + 3 x £2 gaskets)
Motherboard - Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (£105)
CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz 4MB (£150)
Memory - 4GB of DDR2 1066Mhz (£35)
HDD - 1Tb Samsung F1 Spinpoint (£70)
CPU Cooler - Scythe Ninja II with 120mm fan (£42)
Graphics card - ATI Radeon HD4870 1GB (which will be upgraded to Crossfire later on) (£180)
Total = £681
[I've already got a spare 1000w PSU, so am sorted there.]
Now I know I can get HD audio via the 4870, so that should be all good.
My questions are:
1) What could I improve for minimal expense?
2) There are HIS HD4870 which are a lot more expensive than the standard ones that have better after market cooling on them. Are there better alternative coolers for the other 4870 models which would be better/cheaper? Would these be okay for a later Crossfire upgrade?
3) If I am running everything via my video processor to either my projector or plasma at 1080p, what is the optimal resolution to run games at on the PC? Do you run at the max. possible and have the cards down-convert everything to 1080p?
4) Is it possible to use Remote Desktop to remotely play games on the new PC from my old PC via the home network? Is it going to run like a dog... even for things like Sims 3?
Thanks in advance!
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