[saurabh711]

First Post and wanted to confirm a build I am planning to start. Also, if someone can help me if the price seems reasonable or whether I should look for any deals.


[CPU] AMD A6-3500 APU ($72)
[MOBO] ASRock MB-A75M ($75)
[CASE] SilverStone ML03B ($60)
[PSU] Antec EarthWatts EA-380D ($42)
[RAM] Kingston Technology HyperX 4 GB Kit (2x2 GB Modules) ($32)
[Case FANs] Cooler Master 80mm Dual Ball Bearing ($6.50x2)

Total = $294

I have a spare HDDs which I will use and I have a Win7 Home premium. I can spend little bit more in case I can get some really useful items. Also, will this setup be able to pay BluRay's if I add a drive later? or shall I get an A8?

[assassin]

Can play blurays fine. No need for an A8 for that reason.

[saurabh711]

Thanks! Any special cooling fan needed? or will the stock fan work fine for the A6.

[assassin]

The AMD CPUs run hot for my taste. I would invest in a quality CPU cooler.

[saurabh711]

I think the Big Shrukien thing is pretty popular. Should I just buy the A8-3870k, its only $30 more?

Also, is there a list of supplement items that I need to get like SATA cables or screws or something which do not come along with the MOBO, CPU, Case etc.

I have never done a build in the US before, I used to do it in India during the old days.

[Dougie Fresh]

Unless you're planning to convert videos from one format to another or play games, you'll just be adding heat, power usage and spending and extra $30. The A8 will not get you anything better HTPC-wise over the A6. Take the $30 and put it towards an SSD which will really affect the performance of your HTPC.

[GortWillSaveUs]

If you're going with the A6 (and I think you should) you really won't need the [Case FANs] Cooler Master 80mm Dual Ball Bearing ($6.50x2) at all.
If anything, you'll just add the potential of added noise, especially witht he as the smaller fans can be typically heard running.

Especially if you buy the Scythe BIG SHURIKEN 2 Rev B. 5-Heatpipe Universal Low Profile CPU Cooler (SCBSK-2100)

This CPU cooler works wonders.

See my build link below for temps recorded when fan speed set to lowest setting. Cool-n-Quiet.

[Bleikur]

Unless you're planning to convert videos from one format to another or play games, you'll just be adding heat, power usage and spending and extra $30. The A8 will not get you anything better HTPC-wise over the A6. Take the $30 and put it towards an SSD which will really affect the performance of your HTPC.

I think that going for the A8 is a wise move for the future usage of the HTPC. The A6 is certainly enough for the time being. But when comparing the two there will come a time when multimedia tasks become to heavy for an A6 to deal with. Then a system with an A8 will still be usable for a few additional years. One could say that the price difference between the A6 and A8 is what you pay for those additional years of operation.
I will at least use an A8-3870K when building my HTPC. If it's overkill for the time being it can be underclocked for now, to save power and produce less heat, right?

[assassin]

An even wiser move for future use would to use an Intel option.

[saurabh711]

i3-2105 could be good, but the price point is much higher. It'll run me $250 for Mobo+CPU.

Another question, the ML03B has USB 3.0 ports in the front, but the ASRock mobo does not have any USB3.0 headers so will just USB 2.0 connections work ok?

[Dougie Fresh]

Unless you're planning to convert videos from one format to another or play games, you'll just be adding heat, power usage and spending and extra $30. The A8 will not get you anything better HTPC-wise over the A6. Take the $30 and put it towards an SSD which will really affect the performance of your HTPC.

I think that going for the A8 is a wise move for the future usage of the HTPC. The A6 is certainly enough for the time being. But when comparing the two there will come a time when multimedia tasks become to heavy for an A6 to deal with. Then a system with an A8 will still be usable for a few additional years. One could say that the price difference between the A6 and A8 is what you pay for those additional years of operation.
I will at least use an A8-3870K when building my HTPC. If it's overkill for the time being it can be underclocked for now, to save power and produce less heat, right?

I can't believe one more core is going to make the difference between something in the future is working or not. More likely, whatever is to come in the future will run on neither the A6 nor A8 or will require a discrete GPU. Usually whatever capability I am after that needs a new CPU needs a whole new system or in the case of HD audio bitstreaming back around 2009, was solved with a discrete GPU. It would not have mattered if I'd had a triple-core or quad-core CPU.


If future-proofing is a requirement then Intel would be a better path, not FM1 which will have few if any new CPUs release for it and certainly none with new capabilities or features beyond what Llano already has.

[assassin]

You can get a G620 (non-3D) for $50 and an i3 2100 (3D) for $90 at Microcenter.

For motherboards you can easily find something for $80 or so.

Don't know where you are getting the $250 price even at Newegg/Amazon pricing.

[bluray]

i3-2105 could be good, but the price point is much higher. It'll run me $250 for Mobo+CPU.

Another question, the ML03B has USB 3.0 ports in the front, but the ASRock mobo does not have any USB3.0 headers so will just USB 2.0 connections work ok?

If you live close to Micro Center you can buy "Intel Core i3 2100 LGA 1155 3.1GHz Boxed Processor" for $89......

This "Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3" mobo have USB 3.0 header......

[saurabh711]

A8-3870k not recommended at all !?!


So i guess the recommendations are either get the A6-3500 or if even remotely thinking on future stuff, go with Intel.

[Bleikur]

I would love to know what GortWillSaveUs, Beer40oz and Eskro have to say about this Intel vs. AMD discussion in respect of future operability.