HTPC and light gaming - thoughts?

[kclark01]

So I decided to build a HTPC after having a Neo-X7 last year which ended up bricked. The idea of having something that is a little more powerful and that I can play games on and upgrade in the future. So after reading around for a while and a bit of research, I came up with this for the build. I would really like some feedback on what people think about the currently hypothetical build so I can purchase the parts to get on with building.

Here it is
[PCPartPicker part list](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/GHm9XL) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/GHm9XL/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd6300wmhkbox) | £74.34 @ Aria PC
**CPU Cooler** | [Scythe BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B 45.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/scythe-cpu-cooler-scbsk2100) | £38.97 @ Overclockers.co.uk
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-ga970aud3p) | £63.54 @ Aria PC
**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl8d8gbxm) | £62.40 @ Kustom PCs
**Storage** | [Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-internal-hard-drive-sv300s37a120g) | £40.98 @ Amazon UK
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st3000dm001) | £69.98 @ Aria PC
**Video Card** | [MSI Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r7260x2gd5ocv1) | £88.45 @ Ebuyer
**Case** | [Silverstone GD09B HTPC Case](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/silverstone-case-gd09b) | £51.71 @ Scan.co.uk
**Power Supply** | [be quiet! 500W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/be-quiet-power-supply-bn192) | £69.99 @ Amazon UK
**Optical Drive** | [LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-optical-drive-uh12ns30) | £37.85 @ Ebuyer
**Case Fan** | [Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 37.9 CFM 120mm Fans](http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-fan-co9050006ww) | £19.99 @ Amazon UK
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | £618.20
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-11 16:01 GMT+0000 |

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[sora]

OP, that build seems solid for light gaming and HTPC!

 

[TofuLion]

depends on how light your gaming is, something like minecraft will run well enough on intel 4600 integrated graphics. the power supply is over priced go for something like this (better brand also): http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-tp550c
the ssd is pretty bad. its cheap, but you get what you pay for. better off either getting something better, or cut it out completely and reallocate the money to a better part like a gpu upgrade.

if gaming is anything heavier than minecraft and budget is a main concern, i recommend the following modifications:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£74.34 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Scythe BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B 45.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£38.97 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.54 @ Aria PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£57.60 @ Kustom PCs)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£69.98 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£149.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Silverstone GD09B HTPC Case (£51.71 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£51.75 @ Ebuyer)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer (£37.85 @ Ebuyer)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 37.9 CFM 120mm Fans (£19.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £615.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-12 00:58 GMT+0000

 

[kclark01]

depends on how light your gaming is, something like minecraft will run well enough on intel 4600 integrated graphics. the power supply is over priced go for something like this (better brand also): http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-tp550c
the ssd is pretty bad. its cheap, but you get what you pay for. better off either getting something better, or cut it out completely and reallocate the money to a better part like a gpu upgrade.

if gaming is anything heavier than minecraft and budget is a main concern, i recommend the following modifications:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£74.34 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Scythe BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B 45.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£38.97 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£63.54 @ Aria PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£57.60 @ Kustom PCs)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£69.98 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 760 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card (£149.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Silverstone GD09B HTPC Case (£51.71 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Antec TruePower Classic 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply (£51.75 @ Ebuyer)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS30 Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer (£37.85 @ Ebuyer)
Case Fan: Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 37.9 CFM 120mm Fans (£19.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £615.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-12 00:58 GMT+0000

Thanks for the advice buddy, I am going for the Antec PSU,

just wondering about the SSD,, i dont know much about the to be honest but thought it would be good for booting. the OS.

the GPU would be a little out of my budget to be honest, is it significantly better than the MSI 270x?

 

[TofuLion]

well yes, an SSD will improve your boot times and general use with the OS and such. the brand is what i was disputing. while i haven't actually tried myself, the Kingston V300 series has a bad reputation. for a few bucks more you can get a crucial M500 or MX100(newer version) both are good budget oriented alternatives to the one you selected.
the gtx 760 is superior to the r9 270X, but not by much and if on a tight budget the 270X would be a worthy choice. you had selected the r7 260X however, and that would probably be a very poor choice, almost so much that i would suggest just getting an intel cpu and using the integrated graphics until an upgraded gpu could be acquired.