2016/2017 Low power HTPC with possible gaming

[buxbunny]

Unfortunatly the htpc i made back in 2011 is refusing to turn on and for the life of me i can't troubleshoot. As it's so old can't replace under warrenty so thought i'd make another.

Current setup is:
CPU: AMD A8-3870K 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Scythe Shuriken Rev. B 3 11.8 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock A75M-HVS Micro ATX FM1 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1066 Memory
Storage: OCZ Vertex 2 60GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: OCZ Agility 3 60GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Case: Silverstone ML03B HTPC Case
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit

It will be on most of the time as wife/kids/guests use it and occasional gaming probably most intensive game would be sims 3.

So CPU/fan motherboard (possibly ram) are what i definitely need. I'd like keep costs down unless the parts are going to make a huge difference. (bang for buck)

 

[juanrdp]

What i would choice:
- an i3-6100 (100$/50w) or a i5-6400 (175$/65w)
- an H110 Mb, probably something like a Asus H110M-A/M.2 (55$)
- 2x8 DDr4 (of your preference, 50$)
- A Noctua NH-L9x65 (50$, i known is a bit but i hate too much noise, and it's a 65mm heigh one while the case allow 70mm)
- The PSU, it's a good one (the only fault is too much wattage), but for an HTPC i would choice a semi pasive one anyway dont need to bre replaced.

 

[buxbunny]

What i would choice:
- an i3-6100 (100$/50w) or a i5-6400 (175$/65w)
- an H110 Mb, probably something like a Asus H110M-A/M.2 (55$)
- 2x8 DDr4 (of your preference, 50$)
- A Noctua NH-L9x65 (50$, i known is a bit but i hate too much noise, and it's a 65mm heigh one while the case allow 70mm)
- The PSU, it's a good one (the only fault is too much wattage), but for an HTPC i would choice a semi pasive one anyway dont need to bre replaced.

Thanks for the fast reply.
I think i'll go with your recommendation although i'll go for 2x4gb.
Does having higher wattage effect the idle consumption? I feel i might change it just because prefer the silence. I opted for this since cheap modular and gave room if i needed to add a gfx card.
I haven't had much exp with on board graphics so unsure if should grab a passively cooled GPU while i'm at it.

 

[juanrdp]

Does having higher wattage effect the idle consumption? I feel i might change it just because prefer the silence. I opted for this since cheap modular and gave room if i needed to add a gfx card.

Yes, most of the PSUs only really have the intended effiency at more or less the 60-70% load, if the load is too low, the effience is lower.

If you want a semi pasive one calculate the power req. of the current system (i would say near 150w at worst, you could use pages like this one: http://www.coolermaster.com/power-supply-calculator/) add the wattage of a future GPU upgrade, let say 120w for a 1060 for example and then adjust the PSU be at 70% for that wattage. for example for that build you could go as low as 300-350w

I haven't had much exp with on board graphics so unsure if should grab a passively cooled GPU while i'm at it.

Depend of the use you would give to the equipment, if you are going to play yes for sure.
In that case i would say that don't aim for a passive card as they are not really needed, the new series of Nvidia have some models that are pasive on low loads and active on high.

For example on MSI its called "Zero Frozr" and have models like the 1060 that under 60º have then fans stopped.... (im currently writing this on my pc, with a 1080 with the fans just stopped because are at 35º only )well really all the equipment fans are just stopped because they are not needed for browsing).