Windows 7: Would this be a good Home Theatre gaming computer?

FuturDreamz · 02 Jan 2013

FZ MicroATX HTPC Wishlist - Newegg.ca

Because I'd have to upgrade everything on my computer anyways, I just sold it and now I plan to build a new setup.

I believe this would be a pretty powerful system, and I think cooling would be sufficient.
Any thoughts or advice?

Erick Aguilar · 03 Jan 2013

Home theater yes. Gaming, not so much. you are limiting yourself a lot making it as an htpc design.

Thorsen · 03 Jan 2013

I would be worried about heat as well. Also, the 7750 isn't going to be as good for gaming. The 7850 is much better, and the 6850 is better than the 7750. Video Card Comparison - GPUReview.com

PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmarks - Video Card Look Up

the other thing to think about is noise. you want this as quiet as possible. Is the form factor needed? or could you go with a mid size tower instead? because that would allow you better airflow with more fans running at lower speeds. Also, with a mid-tower, you could use a water cooling heatsink for the CPU which would lower noise, and temps easier.

FuturDreamz · 03 Jan 2013

Quote: Originally Posted by Thorsen

I would be worried about heat as well. Also, the 7750 isn't going to be as good for gaming. The 7850 is much better, and the 6850 is better than the 7750. Video Card Comparison - GPUReview.com

PassMark Software - Video Card Benchmarks - Video Card Look Up

the other thing to think about is noise. you want this as quiet as possible. Is the form factor needed? or could you go with a mid size tower instead? because that would allow you better airflow with more fans running at lower speeds. Also, with a mid-tower, you could use a water cooling heatsink for the CPU which would lower noise, and temps easier.

I wouldn't be using it for extreme gaming; currently Portal and Portal 2 are the most intensive games I play.

I do want this formfactor, because then it would tuck underneath a tv easily. But with this I do require a low profile video card, which neither the 7850 or 6850 are available in.

I can also drill holes in the pci blanks to improve airflow.

Thorsen · 03 Jan 2013

The components look good. the heatsink you picked looks good too and will be quieter than the one that comes with the i5. the 7750 isn't bad, just didn't want you to get it if you were going to be playing newer FPS games. it will be fine for Portal2 and decent for BF3...

AMD Radeon HD 7770 and 7750 Video Card Reviews - Battlefield 3 - Legit Reviews

I would say go for the 7770, but it doesn't seem to have low-profile cards. Not sure if any Nvidia cards the are better are low-profile.

FuturDreamz · 03 Jan 2013

The best low profile Nvidia cards I found were using the GT 640 which performs a bit worse than the 7750.

that being said, I'm going to get a couple of these, and I'll drill holes in the bracket for the VGA port.

Thorsen · 03 Jan 2013

Looking at the case pictures, Im not sure where you are going to mount the SSD and HDD. it says there is only 1 internal 3.5 bay. Edit I guess in the space for the external. not sure if you will need a 3.5 mounting bracket for the SSD or if it will go in the same spacing....

Quote:

Expansion
External 5.25" Drive Bays 1.
External 3.5" Drive Bays 1.
Internal 3.5" Drive Bays 1.
Expansion Slots 4.

bobafetthotmail · 03 Jan 2013

Quote: Originally Posted by FuturDreamz

But with this I do require a low profile video card, which neither the 7850 or 6850 are available in.

This is a single-slot 6850 (there is also one from powercolor but I'd not trust them), and I found a a review of a single-slot 7850 from the same manufacturer.
The company is a spinoff of Foxconn, not that it matters a lot, as they make 50% or more of anything electronic anyway.

I'm not recommending anything, just providing what Google told me.

EDIT: nevermind, you were looking for low-profile, not single-slot.

EDIT2: Aha! found them. AFOX makes low-profile 7850 and 6850 as well!

FuturDreamz · 03 Jan 2013

Quote: Originally Posted by Thorsen

Looking at the case pictures, Im not sure where you are going to mount the SSD and HDD. it says there is only 1 internal 3.5 bay. Edit I guess in the space for the external. not sure if you will need a 3.5 mounting bracket for the SSD or if it will go in the same spacing....

Quote:

Expansion
External 5.25" Drive Bays 1.
External 3.5" Drive Bays 1.
Internal 3.5" Drive Bays 1.
Expansion Slots 4.

I've had this case before. I just velcro the SSD to the bottom of the ODD.

FuturDreamz · 03 Jan 2013

Quote: Originally Posted by bobafetthotmail

EDIT2: Aha! found them. AFOX makes low-profile 7850 and 6850 as well!

Well those are certainly big monsters...

They do include molex to 4-pin adapters so that won't be a problem, but I calculate that the PSU would be operating at maximum capacity; while with the 7750 I'd have about a 40W buffer.

Aside from the fact that those cards are pretty expensive and tricky to get to Canada, I think I might stick with the 7750. I'm not really an extreme gamer. I have a large collection of Wii games (almost all from Nintendo), and I barely play my Xbox in comparison (just got Assassin's creed).

Windows 7: Would this be a good Home Theatre gaming computer?

Would this be a good Home Theatre gaming computer? problems?