HTPC Build Help

[admiralnorman]

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

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor (Purchased For $0.00)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master GeminII M4 58.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.92 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M OC Formula Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($125.91 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Crucial M4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($154.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Silverstone ML03B HTPC Case (Purchased For $0.00)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($66.66 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (OEM) (64-bit) (Purchased For $0.00)
Case Fan: SilenX IXP-52-11 18.0 CFM 80mm Fan ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: SilenX IXP-52-11 18.0 CFM 80mm Fan ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: SilenX IXP-52-11 18.0 CFM 80mm Fan ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: SilenX IXP-52-11 18.0 CFM 80mm Fan ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech K400 Wireless Slim Keyboard w/Touchpad (Purchased For $0.00)
Other: Ceton InfiniTV 4 PCIe - 4-channel Internal Cable TV Tuner Card for CableCARD (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $430.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-07 13:43 EDT-0400

Questions I have are about the WAF. This thing needs to be quite. Real quite. Are there better fans/cpu cooler i should be buying? Also any advice outside the box is also appreciated!

I also have this 4k path that I'm considering. I would have to be very successful at selling some things to afford it:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/X7HzHx

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Crucial M4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Dual FTW ACX Video Card (2-Way SLI) (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Dual FTW ACX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($359.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (OEM) (64-bit) (Purchased For $0.00)
Keyboard: Logitech K400 Wireless Slim Keyboard w/Touchpad (Purchased For $0.00)
Other: Ceton InfiniTV 4 PCIe - 4-channel Internal Cable TV Tuner Card for CableCARD (Purchased For $0.00)
Other: TCL LE50UHDE5691 50-Inch 4K Ultra HD 120Hz LED TV ($449.99)
Total: $1479.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-07 13:43 EDT-0400

Questions on this one would be if anyone has used this case as an HTPC before? Also the same as above about fan noise and such. Also, the TV, i'm aware of the issue with HDMI 1.4 only supporting 4k at 30hz. Is it a big enough deal to avoid this TV?

This is my first post, so please let me know if I'm doing something wrong. And thanx in advance!

[adam1991]

What you're doing wrong is combining the two functions onto one piece of hardware.

If you'll be recording TV and you need high acceptance of a DVR system from other such as your family, stop right now. Just rent the cableco equipment, and set yourself up a dedicated gaming rig.

If it's for yourself only and you're willing to accept the inevitable tradeoffs where the DVR function always loses, continue on. No doubt with a gaming rig (that's the worst extra to throw on a WMC system) you'll be fiddling and twiddling with it and by extension you'll be fiddling and twiddling with your DVR box. If the machine is down because of something, or restarting, no doubt it will be at the worst possible TV moment.

Windows Media Center is happiest and most reliable when it's the only thing running. Doing other things with the computer will unseat that reliability.

[cwinfield]

2 Things:

Combining a HTPC with gaming is going to be a tradeoff between stability aka WAF and performance . For noise your best bet would be to get water cooled GPU card. Temperature will become a problem for a internal tv tuner, you may want to get a network attached solution.

[Scallica]

I won't have a dedicated place for my gaming PC. However, I do already have a HTPC. So I'm thinking I'll combine the two

Don't.

[admiralnorman]

What you're doing wrong is combining the two functions onto one piece of hardware.

If you'll be recording TV and you need high acceptance of a DVR system from other such as your family, stop right now. Just rent the cableco equipment, and set yourself up a dedicated gaming rig.

If it's for yourself only and you're willing to accept the inevitable tradeoffs where the DVR function always loses, continue on. No doubt with a gaming rig (that's the worst extra to throw on a WMC system) you'll be fiddling and twiddling with it and by extension you'll be fiddling and twiddling with your DVR box. If the machine is down because of something, or restarting, no doubt it will be at the worst possible TV moment.

Windows Media Center is happiest and most reliable when it's the only thing running. Doing other things with the computer will unseat that reliability.

Roger that suggestion. I do currently game on my HTPC sporadically. But because I hardly ever, that's probably why it hasn't been a big deal. I wonder if I should instead consider putting the gaming PC in the basement, and then relying on Steam Stream. Its relatively new, and I've only tried it out a couple times. But from what i saw it seemed awesome.

Also, if you have any suggestions on quiet cooling it'd be appreciated.

[admiralnorman]

2 Things:

Combining a HTPC with gaming is going to be a tradeoff between stability aka WAF and performance . For noise your best bet would be to get water cooled GPU card. Temperature will become a problem for a internal tv tuner, you may want to get a network attached solution.

I am seeing that it is really frowned upon to combine these two functions. I'll abandon the second build for sure. Any suggestions on fans and coolers is still appreciated.

[admiralnorman]

I won't have a dedicated place for my gaming PC. However, I do already have a HTPC. So I'm thinking I'll combine the two

Don't.

lol, alright. I'm thinking of trying out Steam Stream. One way or another, I'll get gaming on this thing with stability. But i'm taking all the warning to heart, and heavily focusing on the DVR function.

Still any suggestions on coolers and fans is still appreciated.

Edit: I would edit the OP to reflect this, but it seems that I can't figure out how.

[Scallica]

Edit: I would edit the OP to reflect this, but it seems that I can't figure out how.

We don't allow the editing of posts after 1 hour. I modified the original post.

[hooraah]

I would say its more a case of 'don't DVR on your gaming rig' rather than 'don't game on your HTPC'.

I'll echo what everyone else said about reliability being key, and not to eff around with the DVR because you will make everyone in the house upset when you reboot during a recording or other such nonsense.

On the other hand, I have steam installed on my HTPC, which has a low-end, dedicated, passive GPU. It can play very low end games (Telltale's Walking Dead ran fine and was fun to play on the TV). I have Steam installed, and if I want to, I can do in-home streaming from my gaming PC. So far, thats shown to not impact reliability, but I game on it very infrequently to be able to say for sure.