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SFF Gaming rig connected to TV

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Jr. Member
Sep 3, 2001
111 posts
1 upvote
Calgary

SFF Gaming rig connected to TV

Looking for some insight on building a small (mATX I guess) machine to play games on my LCD.

I want to use one of those new GTX 460 cards I think, seems like the best bang/buck right now.

What do I really need in terms of cpu and ram to make this work?

Do I really need a 450W PSU as I've read for this video card?

Any / all other parts suggestions would be great!
14 replies
Deal Expert
Feb 29, 2008
30106 posts
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Montreal
The power consumption of the gtx 460 is on the high side, not very suited for quiet HTPC builds. If you really want to go this route, I suggest a decent sized case, with good airflow, and mATX sized board at least. I would seriously consider the 5770 for less noise and heat.

For CPU, you can go cheap. The core i5 530 or Phenom II 550 would be a decent choice, as would the AThlon II x4 635 for more multitasking type work.
Newbie
Jul 30, 2008
28 posts
I just built an itx budget gaming system which can also serve as an HTPC!

-Intel i3 530 cpu w/stock cooler
-Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 Socket 1156 w/ USB 3.0 Mini-itx motherboard
-G skill 4GB DDR3 ram 1333mhz at CL7
-640GB WD Black HDD
-Power Color 5770 Video card w/ HDMI
-Silverstone SG05 mini-itx case with 300watt PSU

All this for around $700 after tax!

I have no use for an internal CDROM drive therefore I did not install one with this system. If that is your concern, you may purchase and install a slim drive.

Plays most games at 1920x1200 at 60fps+ at low to mid settings. Mass Effect 2 runs smooth at max settings! Currently playing Singularity at max settings 60fps+ :)

Everything runs perfectly with the 300watt psu and noise level is on par with my main "silent pc" system which i spent an arm and a leg to keep noise level to a minimum.
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Feb 11, 2004
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Midland
a budget would help & is gaming the ONLY think you'll want to do on it or movies as well ??
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Jr. Member
Sep 3, 2001
111 posts
1 upvote
Calgary
Thanks for the info so far.

This will not be for movies, I have a popcorn hour.

I am thinking MAYBE to kill two birds with one (more expensive) stone and build this box so I can put ESXi on it for a server environment I want to mirror from work for testing etc.

So I'm thinking, roughly:

Case: Silverstone Sugo SG02B-F Small Form Factor Chassis, Black
Motherboard: Intel Desktop Board DQ57TM Executive Series w/ Dual DDR3 1333, 5.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, PCI-E (works according to vm-help.com)
CPU: Intel Core™ i5 Processor 661 3.33GHz w/ 4MB Cache, HD Graphics (is this worth $20 more than the i5-650 for 0.33 GHz? Look at something else?)
Video: eVGA GeForce GTX 460 SuperClocked 768MB PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDMI
RAM: I kind of want 4x 4GB, so I have 16GB for the server side of it, but the only kit I've found is like $900...
HDD: I already have a bunch around, but might do 2x small SSD in RAID 0 (for the server side more than the gaming)
PSU: Corsair VX 550W Power Supply w/ 120mm Fan - just looking for something decent under $100... open to suggestions.

Slim CD drive might be a good idea.

I'd like to stay under $1k if I opt for 4x 2GB RAM and no SSD instead.

I'm also partial to stuff that can be found at www.memoryexpress.com because I can get it and exchange it locally etc.

The case, mb, cpu, video, psu above come to $804.95 already at Memory Express. So, with even 8GB ram and no new hdd I'm over 1k at this point.


edit: ESXi people: if I'm running only 1 image will it run at native speed? or Virtual no good for gaming at all... how can I "dual boot" Windows 7 and ESXi lol... swap hard drives?
Deal Expert
Feb 29, 2008
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If you're gonna run virtualization software, I wouldn't muck around with hyperthreading crap, and get a real quad core.
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Feb 11, 2004
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Midland
mr_raider wrote: If you're gonna run virtualization software, I wouldn't muck around with hyperthreading crap, and get a real quad core.
+1

or else a AMD chip as there all virtualization supported vs some of the intels cpu models don't.
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Banned
Apr 15, 2006
4572 posts
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Chatham
trueimage wrote: Thanks for the info so far.

This will not be for movies, I have a popcorn hour.

I am thinking MAYBE to kill two birds with one (more expensive) stone and build this box so I can put ESXi on it for a server environment I want to mirror from work for testing etc.

So I'm thinking, roughly:

Case: Silverstone Sugo SG02B-F Small Form Factor Chassis, Black
Motherboard: Intel Desktop Board DQ57TM Executive Series w/ Dual DDR3 1333, 5.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan, PCI-E (works according to vm-help.com)
CPU: Intel Core™ i5 Processor 661 3.33GHz w/ 4MB Cache, HD Graphics (is this worth $20 more than the i5-650 for 0.33 GHz? Look at something else?)
Video: eVGA GeForce GTX 460 SuperClocked 768MB PCI-E w/ Dual DVI, HDMI
RAM: I kind of want 4x 4GB, so I have 16GB for the server side of it, but the only kit I've found is like $900...
HDD: I already have a bunch around, but might do 2x small SSD in RAID 0 (for the server side more than the gaming)
PSU: Corsair VX 550W Power Supply w/ 120mm Fan - just looking for something decent under $100... open to suggestions.

Slim CD drive might be a good idea.

I'd like to stay under $1k if I opt for 4x 2GB RAM and no SSD instead.

I'm also partial to stuff that can be found at www.memoryexpress.com because I can get it and exchange it locally etc.

The case, mb, cpu, video, psu above come to $804.95 already at Memory Express. So, with even 8GB ram and no new hdd I'm over 1k at this point.


edit: ESXi people: if I'm running only 1 image will it run at native speed? or Virtual no good for gaming at all... how can I "dual boot" Windows 7 and ESXi lol... swap hard drives?
In ESXi, you cant game due to the driver limited. So scratch that idea. You can build a ESXi server for very low cost these days with AMD solution.

Or you can do a swap boot. Get a boot to windows 7 when you need to work.

All my workstations and gaming rigs are running diskless. Its the best way for me in term of versatility.
Jr. Member
Sep 3, 2001
111 posts
1 upvote
Calgary
jetway1212 wrote: In ESXi, you cant game due to the driver limited. So scratch that idea. You can build a ESXi server for very low cost these days with AMD solution.

Or you can do a swap boot. Get a boot to windows 7 when you need to work.

All my workstations and gaming rigs are running diskless. Its the best way for me in term of versatility.
Ok, so any mATX AMD board you'd recommend - most have onboard video? More cores or more GHz on the Phenom II?

I'd happily go AMD if it is better for virtualization. Most of the mATX boards have only 2 DDR2 or DDR3 slots too :(
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Feb 11, 2004
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trueimage wrote: Ok, so any mATX AMD board you'd recommend - most have onboard video? More cores or more GHz on the Phenom II?

I'd happily go AMD if it is better for virtualization. Most of the mATX boards have only 2 DDR2 or DDR3 slots too :(
2 slots isn't a issue as minimal 4 gig & now 8 gig kits are coming in 2 or 4 gig moduals now. :)

yes most of the Matx amd boards have onboard.

maybe look at a phenom II X4 955 or if ya wanted to get realy creative you could pay the $60 more & go with a X6 1055T which would be nice for the virtualization side of things ..
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Jr. Member
Sep 3, 2001
111 posts
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Calgary
terrybear wrote: 2 slots isn't a issue as minimal 4 gig & now 8 gig kits are coming in 2 or 4 gig moduals now. :)

yes most of the Matx amd boards have onboard.

maybe look at a phenom II X4 955 or if ya wanted to get realy creative you could pay the $60 more & go with a X6 1055T which would be nice for the virtualization side of things ..
Asus M4A785T-M

This one has 4 slots, but also has onboard video ... any problems with disabling the onboard video and using a GTX460 ? Seems like a waste haha. Or can you do crossfire with onboard + external if I went with a raedeon card?

I was deciding between:

AMD Phenom™ II X6 1055T 2.8GHz w/ 9MB Cache (Retail Box, Socket AM3)
$219.99

MD Phenom™ II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz w/ 8MB Cache (Retail Box, Socket AM3)
$199.99
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Feb 11, 2004
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trueimage wrote: Asus M4A785T-M

This one has 4 slots, but also has onboard video ... any problems with disabling the onboard video and using a GTX460 ? Seems like a waste haha. Or can you do crossfire with onboard + external if I went with a raedeon card?

I was deciding between:

AMD Phenom™ II X6 1055T 2.8GHz w/ 9MB Cache (Retail Box, Socket AM3)
$219.99

MD Phenom™ II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz w/ 8MB Cache (Retail Box, Socket AM3)
$199.99
nope no issues doing so unless the boards defective did so on my AMD 690G board years ago.

And to do hybred crossfire you'd have to buy a low end 4xxx series ati card to do so.

the reason why I sugested the 955 be like I have is basicaly there the same cpu's & the $20-40 cost savings to have a cpu that scales the same can be invested into other parts for the system or like a CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ to further cool the cpu.

I also sugested the X6 cause of the fact of more cores to run more VM instances on since it was something you said you where thinking of doing as well. :)

Oh & don't forget about buying thru ncix & price matching the items. :)
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Deal Expert
Feb 29, 2008
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This is an HTPC no? I would go with lower power parts if possible. The 945 c3 stepping ("gmbox") has 95w tdp. You could also make do with an x4 635. Some applications are not very l3 cache sensitive.
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mr_raider wrote: This is an HTPC no? I would go with lower power parts if possible. The 945 c3 stepping ("gmbox") has 95w tdp. You could also make do with an x4 635. Some applications are not very l3 cache sensitive.
very good point but he's indicated its to be mainly for gaming & VM stuff I believe.
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Deal Expert
Feb 29, 2008
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terrybear wrote: very good point but he's indicated its to be mainly for gaming & VM stuff I believe.
Then he has to deal with heat and noise.

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