HTPC/Gaming build

solomien

Hey looking for thoughts on the below build will be used for light gaming but mostly as an always on HTPC streaming HD plex etc to multiple devices may in future stream 4k... Have about 900 to spend including a monitor and need advice on picking a monitor for around the €150 mark as well please

Intel i5 4460 €170
GA-H81M-S2H Gigabyte mATX €45
Fractal design core 1000 mini tower €37
2TB WD red €87
Crucial ballistic sport 8 gb€40
250 crucial ssd €78
430 watt corsair cx modular €50
Gigabyte gtx 950 € 160
Total 670 not including delivery

Any advice greatly appreciated

Digital Solitude

Drop to an i5 4460 to save ~€40 and put that into the case. There will be absolutely no difference. Even an i3 4160 will be more than enough.

If 1080p60 is all you're after, I've a BenQ 2450 that I find nice enough, it was about €160

Serephucus

I'd also drop the board down the H81. If you're not getting a K chip you don't need it.

What sort of HTPC stuff are you going to be doing? Any sharing across the network, long-term mass storage, anything like that? Just wondering if we should be looking more on the home server side of things or not.

solomien

Thanks for the quick replys.
Went with the board due to liking Gigabyte and wanting multiple USB 3 ports as I have a couple of external hard drives already any other suggestions?
Thanks on the cpu wasn't sure if I needed more for transcoding in plex..

Currently movies etc being shared to two houses with about 5-6 devices being serviced 2 smart tvs playstations and pcs using plex mainly.
Suppose there is a fair amount of long term storage as I'm trying to build up a media library of sorts

Serephucus

On my phone so I can't spec a board for you at the moment. There should be lots of them to fit your needs though.

If you're going to be serving that many clients - particularly if you have or will have lots of 1080p content - I'd keep the i5. I have and 8-core Atom chip in mine (so not very easy to compare) and things start getting messy after about three concurrent 1080p transcode streams.

solomien

Thanks thing I found one edited main post to included changes. I suppose the likelihood of of more then 3 being used that often is slim especially for it all to be in HD. Would the build be fairly long serving and good value at approx €700

What advantages are there to going the home server route?

Jameschaplin zero

The 2TB WD Red HDD you listed is Intellipower by the way, so it would be a bit slower than a standard 7200rpm HDD. You can get a 2TB Seagate 7200rpm for less but apparently they have a high failure-rate.

Serephucus

Home server route would focus more on remote features - being able to remotely turn the thing on and off, stuff like that - and long term storage (I don't think that Core case has many 3.5" bays). They're similar enough, to be honest, it's just more in terms of where the budget might go.

I'm hesitant to recommend Seagate, especially if OP isn't running any sort of backup.

solomien

Thanks for the the help parts ordered hopefully be here soon..

Can anyone suggest an 24inch plus ips monitor for less then 200?

Thanks again
Solomien