Has anyone built a HTPC Gaming Machine

[GamerGirlAlice]

i was just wondering if any one has ever built a gaming pc in something like a Moneual Black Aluminum MonCaso 972L Case. its be a neat way to interlink my big 60" tv and computer. im not a hard core gamer so was thinking something like a gen 3 z68 platform. do u think it could work when i game i play stuff like final fantasy 14 online and wow. it dosnt need much in this kind of build. im more of a multimedia girl then gamer. id love some options on this idea, or if i should just rebuild inside my monolith project.

 

[f0x.]

I havnt but I will watch this thread with interest, was pretty close to building one into a similar zalman case last year.

 

[GamerGirlAlice]

yeah im not sure if it be having heat issues since its not a top line gaming machine.

 

[sleepylilazn]

I think it's entirely possible. I was about to build something like this, but the R3 was on sale and I couldn't pass it up. From what I remember WoW isn't very strenuous. I haven't logged on forever so I can't say, but I remember playing it on my laptop with no problem. I don't know about FF14 online, but I think it shouldn't be much of a problem. You can do it, but you have to choose your components wisely. GLHF =]

 

[GamerGirlAlice]

im just wondering if rebuilding monolith corsair 800d will be best. i have been debating enteryly level water cooling hence whaay i have a 800d. i amit the clossus 2 is a better case but on my budeget i could only aford a single loop of some kind

 

[sheroo]

I've built a few HTPC's over the years, but haven't gamed on them, just used for serving TV and watching DVD's etc. All Sandy Bridge CPU's from the i3 2100 upwards are suitable for an HTPC build. The main thing you need to work out is what GPU you need or will be happy with so that you can play your games. This'll give you a base for building your system around. There are some really nice cube cases out there such as the Silverstone SG06 - mini ITX, but cases are a very personal thing.

Have a think about what GPU you'd be happy with as this will dictate the rest of your system.

 

[Ya93sin]

I'm planning to build a fully passively cooled media/gaming PC to keep at home when I go off to 2nd year Uni, so at the end of Summer.

If it was me building the HTPC, it would be something like a low end Ivy Bridge, with a passive CPU cooler, then I'd look into getting the lowest volts possible for the standard clocks.

You can fit a standard ATX motherboard in that case you mentioned, so I'd be tempted to do that, if it was Ivy Bridge it would be a Z77 mobo.

For the GPU, if you need to play a demanding game, you might need one of the very quiet mid range GPUs, thinking cards with an MSi Twin Frozr cooler, or the Gainward Phantom cooler, then again underclocking it to get better temps, so perhaps a 560Ti but that might be more than you need?

Then maybe a small SSD for the OS along with a Western Digital Green drive for storage.

The fans in that case are quiet but you could probably upgrade?

Then I guess you'd need a soundcard if you love your multimedia?

Then that would be just about it.

The main thing would just be the heat issue, it is going to depend on what you want to play, if you need a low end card then there are passively cooled options, I suppose with the new AMD and nVidia cards coming out on 28nm with much lower temperatures we might see more passive cards on the market. It depends also on how much you care about noise.

In reality it's going to be easier just putting a new build in your current case