building a pc, want to run Hitz 20-03

[sonicHeart]

This machine will primarily be used as a HTPC streaming device (netflix/vudu/etc).. but I would also like to emulate some Gamecube games and possibly N64 as well.
In particular, I want to be able to run NHL Hitz 20-03 (as well as 20-13 HD update) on this machine without any issues on a 1080p television.
I already have a 250GB SSD (mSata drive, mobo has a slot for it) and a pair of MS xbox360 wireless controllers...

I'm not really trying to break the bank, but I don't do much pc gaming-- I may check out steam for some couch co-op games using this rig..  

How am I looking thus far?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wRQwZL

[KHg8m3r]

You're pairing an unlocked CPU with a non-overclockable motherboard. You need a Z87 or Z97 board.

[sonicHeart]

You're pairing an unlocked CPU with a non-overclockable motherboard. You need a Z87 or Z97 board.

That's a start- didn't even see that. I suppose I can always go the non-OC route assuming i would have enough performance to run (again) primarily Hitz 03 as well as some N64 games..

[simsalafan]

you can save money when you buy a pentinum g3258 instead of a i5.

[darkberry]

A 4690k is a little overkill for those kind of games, the haswell i5 is probably one of this strongest single performing cpu out there. You really aren't really going to find a cpu that performs a lot better than the i5 unless a cpu is oc of course. Now with that being said you should get an unlocked board and go with a cheaper pentium g3258 as simsalafan said. If you oc the pentium to let say a modest 4ghz it should be obtainable with stock voltage. You would be hard pressed to find a game you couldn't run with that cpu.

[sonicHeart]

you can save money when you buy a pentinum g3258 instead of a i5.

Thanks for your response. I've received this suggestion on another board as well-- I'm a bit confused because the FAQ for this site doesn't mention the g3258 at all, but rather the i5 and i7. I don't mind going the cheap route here, but again, my main goal is to be able to run NHL Hitz on high settings on my television. I have a 65" plasma, so it can be unforgiving at times with low-quality content.

[darkberry]

the pentium is haswell I don't even think the FAQ has anything about haswell that is why you don't see the pentium. Here for the dolphin benchmark a stock i7 4790k 4.3ghz turbo scores 6:59 on the dolphin cpu bench while a pentium sitting at 4.7ghz which is easily obtainable if you have an air cooler like the hyper 212 evo scores 7:05. So as you can see the pentium with an oc will demolish pretty much any game you can through out it through the emulator.

[sonicHeart]

the pentium is haswell I don't even think the FAQ has anything about haswell that is why you don't see the pentium. Here for the dolphin benchmark a stock i7 4790k 4.3ghz turbo scores 6:59 on the dolphin cpu bench while a pentium sitting at 4.7ghz which is easily obtainable if you have an air cooler like the hyper 212 evo scores 7:05. So as you can see the pentium with an oc will demolish pretty much any game you can through out it through the emulator.

Thank you Darkberry, good info. I have updated my parts list. Unfortunately, I have to spend a little more on the motherboard as I already have a mSATA drive on my current system. I don't think I can return it. I don't want to sell it. So I'm going with a MB that has an mSATA slot. How am I looking with regard to video card? Better options out there? Cheaper options? Is the memory going to be OK if I choose to overclock?

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WqtHK8

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($137.75 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 270 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($143.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Silverstone GD09B HTPC Case ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $518.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-29 10:42 EDT-0400

[darkberry]

Everything seems fine but you might want to look into buying a a new cooler for your cpu something like the noctua NH-L12 (it's low profile) so you can get a decent oc. I heard people running at 4ghz with the stock heatsink and staying around 50c though. If I am correct the r9 270 is a rebranded 7850, in that case you have the fastest gpu for that price range. So you should be able to run 4x IR and probably some AA without any fps drops due the the gpu. I think everything should fit in that case without to much of a problem. But that system should pretty much play anything out there.

[sonicHeart]

Looks like the Hyper 212 Evo won't fit in my case... (per the pcpartpicker compatibility filter)...

Found this guy though:

http://www.zalman.com/global/product/Pro...hp?Idx=277