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Which one is better for gaming and xbmc, nuc i3 or build your own custom PC and if PC is it possible for $500. This PC will be running 16 hour a day most for xbmc but at time playing games.

if you need "Heavy" graphics games go for custom pc..

Any suggestion for heavy gaming?

(2014-09-01, 21:39)pjcanales Wrote: [ -> ]Any suggestion for heavy gaming?

Define heavy gaming. What games are you playing?

When I see heavy gaming and see a budget of $500 I think there's a disconnect in there somewhere.

An AMD APU would make for a good Gaming rig to keep the budget low. IT can even handle XBMC+Yadifz2+4k all in Software mode some even in hardware mode.

Black ops 2, titan fall, GTA 5, the hills has eyes new version when its release. Would like to play them with great setting not minimum but not planning on 4k but 1080p. This build would be one and used about 15 hours a day.

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Something like this but need hdmi for xbmc. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundl...bo.1814711

You'll need a r9 280x GPU (at least 300$)
A top of the line pentium will do for some games but a i5 is recommended (100-300$)
A ssd will set you back at least another 100$
A 1080p gaming rig is not possible without at least a 1000$ budget.
If you go 720p:
R7 270 150$
Whatever pentium(1150) you find for about 100$
Motherboard (1150) the cheapest you find 50$
Psu 500w+ 80$
Ssd 100$
Case 100$
Ram 4gb 1600mhz 30$
About 600$ total(guesstimate)
This would run most games in 1080p low/medium and 99%of games 720p ultra.
Come back with a bigger wallet or less demands

Here is a video with a list of parts that may work well for you

http://youtu.be/46XRjQFHjr4

(2014-09-03, 03:03)Topken Wrote: [ -> ]Here is a video with a list of parts that may work well for you

http://youtu.be/46XRjQFHjr4

Basically the same I said minus the case.

Who spends $100 on a case? There are plenty of decent cases for less then $50 heck you can probably find a decent one at a garage sale for like $5

Anyone who cares about the looks of the computer and the cooling of the components.
Yes there are cheaper options and you might touch 550$ but you still wont fill the requirement of 1080p gaming.

Yeah, $100 on a case is nuts. Unless it's some special application, like you're going for a fanless system and it's basically turning the whole case into a heat sink, then there's almost no justification for that kind of wasteful spending. Certainly not on a budget build. Spending more money on the case also doesn't magically cool the components any better. It's a box. A metal box.

You can actually cheap out on the CPU a bit. A lot of recent testing articles put a LOT of the onus on the GPU. Even with my A8-3870K, which is using a discrete HD 6850, it's a pretty unremarkable CPU, but it's only about 20% slower than the 3770K + HD 6850 system I had before some machines got rebuilt and parts moved around. Considering the disparity between a A8-3870K (STARS, so basically a glorified Phenom II 4x 3.0ghz, vs a 3770K, you could get away with any lower end Intel Quad or even higher end Dual if you wanted to save some bucks.

Alternatively, if you go for a higher end, it'll last you YEARS with JUST upgrading the GPU. I'm building up a 3770K HTPC and while it's getting an HD 6950, that 3770K could easily be trucking on games for 3-4 years if it just gets some GPU upgrades along the way.

(2014-09-04, 03:48)Ned Scott Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah, $100 on a case is nuts. Unless it's some special application, like you're going for a fanless system and it's basically turning the whole case into a heat sink, then there's almost no justification for that kind of wasteful spending. Certainly not on a budget build. Spending more money on the case also doesn't magically cool the components any better. It's a box. A metal box.

1.A good htpc case for gaming would be SilverStone GD07 or Fractal design node 605, booth cost about 150$; 50$ above what I estimated and you call insane.

2.Well expensive cases have a tendency to cool better due to better airflow, better airflow takes some work away from the fans and therby som noise away from the case, pressurising and better cable guiding solutions. Not to mention better included fans.
The two cases mentioned are also of the very few htpc cases which look decent while having space for a full atx mb, full length gpu, full length psu and full height cpu cooler. Worry free installation and easily coolable.

(2014-09-04, 04:16)DJ_Izumi Wrote: [ -> ]You can actually cheap out on the CPU a bit. A lot of recent testing articles put a LOT of the onus on the GPU. Even with my A8-3870K, which is using a discrete HD 6850, it's a pretty unremarkable CPU, but it's only about 20% slower than the 3770K + HD 6850 system I had before some machines got rebuilt and parts moved around. Considering the disparity between a A8-3870K (STARS, so basically a glorified Phenom II 4x 3.0ghz, vs a 3770K, you could get away with any lower end Intel Quad or even higher end Dual if you wanted to save some bucks.

Alternatively, if you go for a higher end, it'll last you YEARS with JUST upgrading the CPU. I'm building up a 3770K HTPC and while it's getting an HD 6950, that 3770K could easily be trucking on games for 3-4 years if it just gets some GPU upgrades along the way.

Like i said, you could probably get away with a high end pentium or a i3 but the moment you start playing something cpu intensive like arma 3 your new gaming rig won't be so impressive.
One of my rigs is running a i3 3225+r9 280x+1600mhz while the other a i5 4790k+290+2400mhz on gpu intensive games there is next to no difference between them. But with games like arma 3 which is highly cpu intensive or battlefield 4 which is highly memory speed sensitive there is a extreme difference between them(i3/i5 50/110fps).
Basically, if you know all the games you'll play on it in the nearest future are NON cpu or ram intensive then go with a pentium+1600mhz. Going intel(1150) will let you upgrade to a much more powerful cpu and faster ram if needed.

If you do feel the need to cheap out on the case -- why anyone wants to put a Porsche engine in a 1980 Dodge Dart chassis who knows -- you can at least get a "Honda" chassis by going with an HTPC case from nMediaPC. I have the nMediaPC 1000b with a micro-ATX motherboard and ATX PSU. There's room for a full-size video card and the chassis is pretty deep. The only thing I don't like about it is the 92mm fans. There's plenty of room though for a good CPU cooler like the Scythe Shuriken.