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2014-04-18, 20:19
(This post was last modified: 2014-04-18, 20:20 by testudoaubreii.)
Hello,
I am about to pull the trigger on a build. I know there are two camps, Intel and AMD. I am partial to Intel, so that is what I would like to go with. I will be, of course, be using XBMC, streaming video from it to various SmartTVs on my network, music and light emulation (NES). That's it. Is this going to be alright for my needs?
Intel I3-4340 3.6 GHz
Gigabyte GA-H87N-WIFI
2 x 2 GB Patriot Signature Line DDR3 1600
Corsair Builder Series CX 430 Watt
Cooler Master Elite 110 - Cube Style
120 GB Kingston SSD
1 TB External HDD USB 3.0
That is about all my budget can afford. I think that I would like to go with this, so what do you think?
Thank you in advance for all responses.
Testudo
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This is more than adequate for your needs, you could build an XBMC machine with much weaker components. I use an i3 NUC which uses a weaker mobile CPU - works great.
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Depends on what you're doing OP and what OS you're running.
I'd use a weaker intel processor but I don't know how much power you need for the emulators you want to run (i want to assume not much though).
SSD is also big if you're ONLY going to use XBMC and emulators.
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nickr
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Yep 8G is more than enough disk to run operating system and XBMC.
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nickr
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Oh I was discounting windows.
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That what you listed is the better choice for a pure XBMC box. It depends on what you doing. I use my HTPC for gaming. It's meant to pretend to be a console. So it's a full fledged desktop. Others still might have an HTPC for just webrowsing and general computing. They may want something as powerful as an i3 to feel safe.
Others may want an XBMC box that may ocassionally be used to check a website or two. That what you listed is what I think that falls under. If you're just web browsing and using XBMC (what I do with my PC usually lol) then it works well.
Jumping up to the i3 is a luxury move. But I'd personally make it but I like PCs/hardware. But purely buying based on what I need, I'd go with the integrated cpu/mobo combo.
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Thank you everyone for your responses!
I am debating on whether or not to go ahead with this build or just use the i7 3770K/GeForce 780 gaming rig that I have for my HTPC. I have a 25' HDMI cable hooked up to the TV, and I can run XBMC and stream, but I have to have the PC on all of the time. If I am streaming to another source and the PC goes to sleep, I, of course, lose the connection. I don't know if it is worth have the gaming rig on all of the time, or maybe just put it to sleep after we are finished watching/listening to media, or just build a dedicated HTPC. Plus, the gaming rig is not exactly silent.
I thought about a weaker CPU, but I may eventually use it for light audio editing and recording, Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver. I was also looking at another, less expensive mobo, but I like the idea of having wifi and bluetooth. I will be using either Windows 7 or 8...or I may go with another OS. I (my wife, really) will probably be using it for web browsing, too.
