[SOLVED] New HTPC

[david1337]

Since I discovered the great Dolphin emulator for Gamecube and Wii, and realized that my current HTPC has no chance of running the games, I've wanted to build a new one.

Seeking help with this

I want:
- An HTPC that is able to play full HD movies and emulation games like the gamecube games in the Dolphin emulator. (I know that CPU power is the most important thing for the Dolphin emulator)
- A nice looking cabinet like the ones from http://www.silverstonetek.com/ , with enough room for a powerful graphic card.
- A perfect airflow, to keep the HTPC cool, but with absolutely minimum noise from the fans (of course it will be more noisy when it's performing)
- Must have HDMI (duh) and optical S/PDIF output
- The HTPC will be turned on 24/7, so maybe a machine that isn't too much power consuming! (Not sure this is a realistic demand though )
- I've already got an SSD harddisk, so I could save some money there at least!
- I will install it with Windows 7 x64

Thanks in advance!

[admin89]

And your budget is ?
Anyway , you should not build anything atm . Better wait for the new Intel Devil Canyon (Summer 2014) :

The i5-4690K will have a 3.5 GHz base clock with 3.9 GHz Turbo Boost, 6 MB of L3 cache within a TDP of 88W. Pricing for the boxed version of the i5 would seem to be ~$254.
The i7-4790K however will be a 4.0 GHz processor that will turbo up to 4.4 GHz, with 8 MB of L3 cache and a similar 88W TDP. Pricing for the i7 above is around ~$362, making a marked premium for the extra threads.

Both of them can OC better than the current top of the line i5 4670k / i7 4770k due to TIM improvement
If budget is not a concern then you should shoot for i7 4790k (plus Z97 mobo) and then overclock it
The reason why you have to overclock is
https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-oc...t-princess
i7 4770k @ 4.6GHz is not able to run demanding game : Zelda TP Gamecube (Hyrule Field) at full speed

[david1337]

Hey mate

Thanks for your answer!
My budget is what ever is needed

Well, I will definitely wait for the new Intel Devil Canyon then..!
Do you think that it will be possible to build a 24/7 HTPC with my demands, that is not way too power consuming?

[admin89]

You definitely need that kind CPU to be able to run any game
But if you want to lower the power consumption then sell your curent GTX 460 (160W) , replace it with latest Maxwell GPU : EVGA GTX 750 (55W)
GTX 750 can handle up to 3xIR(1920x1584) on GPU intensive games , 4xIR (2560x2112) on most games .
i7-4790K @ 4.4GHz Turbo Clock : 88W vs your current i7 860 @ 3.46 GHz Turbo Clock : 95W vs Unlocked Pentium 20th Anniversary version G3258 @ 3.2GHz no Turbo : 53W
Although Unlocked Pentium Haswell can be overclocked , way more powerful than your i7 in Dolphin and its power consumption is low , I don't think that you should drop your quad i7 for a mere dual core Haswell . i7 4790k power consumption is lower than yours , overclock it or not is your choice to make . As you can see , its Turbo Clock is even higher than a "normal OCed "i5 4670k

[Anthe]

I also have this Silverstone case. They look cool and they're finished well, but they're really pricy if you want a good one. Haven't built anything in it though.

[xystus]

I can recommend the Lian-Li Q08 case:
http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-q08/

I have it and I really like it. There's great airflow and enough space to put together a really fast rig (max. length GPU = 30cm). Just look at my signature to see what I have been able fit just nicely in this (relatively) small case.

Good luck, fast mini-ITX setups rule!

[DragonFireXY]

I can recommend the Lian-Li Q08 case:
http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-q08/

I have it and I really like it. There's great airflow and enough space to put together a really fast rig (max. length GPU = 30cm). Just look at my signature to see what I have been able fit just nicely in this (relatively) small case.

Good luck, fast mini-ITX setups rule!

If that's the size you think is small boy do I got news for you!It supports Micro-ATX Mobos!

[James Code]

I've been looking at cooler master mini-itx case for my next project like this.

[xystus]

I can recommend the Lian-Li Q08 case:
http://www.lian-li.com/en/dt_portfolio/pc-q08/

I have it and I really like it. There's great airflow and enough space to put together a really fast rig (max. length GPU = 30cm). Just look at my signature to see what I have been able fit just nicely in this (relatively) small case.

Good luck, fast mini-ITX setups rule!

If that's the size you think is small boy do I got news for you!It supports Micro-ATX Mobos!

Yeah I know, I didn't need it to be super-portable. That's why I stated it to be RELATIVELY small. The case has very good airflow and the overall quality is awesome. Plus it fits everything I wanted in there = win.

It's just a suggestion, maybe it helps David1337.

The Node 804 is a great case as well, there's lots of good choices out there.

[david1337]

Hi again admin89

You advised me to wait with my new HTPC project.
Some time has gone now, would this be a good time to start the project? :-D