Gemini77

cool....I think I will be getting the parts next week, enough for my build and one for a friend

Gemini77

any suggestions on a nice case

Manyak

Check out these cases. Their quality puts Lian Li to shame. Powder coated steel chassis, 5/8" thick aluminum front panel. And a display for media center

If you'd prefer a case that can take full-height cards this one's pretty good. Not as well constructed as the d-vines, but still good.

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For Sale: [Conus] CM Storm Scout, TEC, WC, Laptop, A900, Model M, GPU, Audio, and a ton more!!

Gemini77

just out of curiosity what would other board would you all recommend to save a little money on the build

Gemini77

do you think this motherboard and CPU are good for a basic usage system, .......I also trying to build my mom something for christmas

Manyak

There are a couple other 780G/785G motherboards that support core unlocking, I'm just not sure which ones. If you ask in the AMD section I'm sure someone can help you a bit better than I can.

You can also go with a 740G if you don't care for RAID. But again, I don't know which boards will do it.

Just make sure it supports AM3. A couple of them are only AM2/AM2+, you want to stay away from those.


That CPU is actually pretty powerful for basic usage, way more than she'd need.

For her maybe even use this or this board instead. Remember how I said the onboard sound of the ASUS might affect stability? Well unless you're going to get her an add-on sound card she's better off with something else just because of that.

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Gemini77

to save some money on the build, what do you think of this processor compared to the AMD Phenom II X2 550?......with this board GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H

AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...1MB%20Dual-Cor


vs


AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103680

Manyak

That board is just fine, it'll do nicely (make sure you get DDR2 instead now). The CPU is fine for an HTPC as well, but just so you know it's a bit slower clock-for-clock, and you won't be able to unlock any cores like with the Phenom. But the only time you'll notice the difference is with bluray ripping.

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For Sale: [Conus] CM Storm Scout, TEC, WC, Laptop, A900, Model M, GPU, Audio, and a ton more!!

Gemini77

Ok, here are the current specs of the future build:

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 5000B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case - Retail


Antec earthwatts EA380 380W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

Im still looking for the memory, Blue-Ray Player.......do you all think the power supply is strong enough?
Should I be looking into another video or sound card for better HD playback?

Manyak

The power supply is more than strong enough. Power usage will vary between about 60W (idle) to 150W (full load), which is perfect for that PSU. Any bigger and you'll have some real efficiency problems.

You won't need a better video card, but you do want a good sound card. Onboard sound just doesn't cut it, you'll miss the whole 'feel' of explosions and what not. My recommendation for best value is the card I linked to in the earlier post, the Xonar D1.

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