Budget HTPC with No HD audio + casual gaming

[prashantkl]

Hi, i am planning to build a budget htpc without hd audio and for casual gaming.

Purpose of this build:
1)Watching movies in 1080p withoud hd audio(bitstreaming not required..dts 5.1 will do )
2)Casual gaming...its not my current requirement ...in future i may do(my brother wants to play racing games only...NFS
3)downloading

The set up I have:
1)Samsung 46" LED TV with no optical out
2) onkyo TX-Sr 307 ..no support for hd audio including 5.1 speakers

the components I have shortlisted:

motherboard Asus M4A88T-M LE 4300
Processor AMD athlon ii x260(rs 3k) or athlon ii x3 440(3.5k)
Ram gskill 2gb*2 DDR3 1333 1.2k
Cabinet zebronics flair w/PSU 2k
HDD seagate 2tb 3.9k
graphics card ?? any suggestions ..casual gaming budget <4k

Please suggest If I could go ahead with this config?

I plan to purchase online only..as prices in my local city..hyd are pretty higher

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

I would recommend to skip the graphics card as it is your future requirement. Divert the saved money to a good solid power supply. I recommend SeaSonic S12II or Corsair CX430. At a later point of time, when you really require light gaming, plug in a dedicated graphics card and you will be good to go. 880G should be more than enough for your current HTPC requirements.
If you can spare more money then go for Sapphire 100287VGAL Radeon HD 5670. it costs 4K exactly and should be alright for all recent games at alteast medium settings. However i must advice to atleast get a Corsair CX430 with this card.

 

[prashantkl]

thanks for your suugestion. Ok, skipping graphics card for now....does zebronics flair fit a standard PSU? As per your suggestion, I am planning to get corsair cx 430 v2 @2.2 or FSP saga ii 400 @2k

BTW..if at all i play at max 720p does the onborad graphics suffice??

Thanks again for suggestions.

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

no the zebronics flair will not fit a standard PSU. FSP SAGA is also good. The onboard graphics chip is more than sufficient for all 1080p out there. By playing at 720p you mean games then onboard will not be sufficient. Expect to churn out playable frame rates only at 1024x768 and all low/medium settings.

 

[prashantkl]

Can anyone please suggest a cabby in the lines of dimensions of my receiver(WHD 435 x 151.5 x 329 mm) which can accomodate a std PSU?

If not, I may be going with mid tower cabby to be placed beside my subwoofer(WHD 230 x 425 x 412 mm). Any suggestions?? budget ~2k excluding PSU

I prefer a complete black cabby without coloured lines...just matching my wood work
Thanks

 

[jsanand]

Prashant...do visit parklane area in secunderabad...There is a market in the basement where prices are pretty decent. Indicative nehru place prices:

http://www.costtocost.in/list/pricelist.pdf

 

[prashantkl]

Thanks for the info..I'll be visiting in the weekend.

 

[vaibhavyagnik]

if budget is not at issue, checkout silverstone cabinets from primeabgb.com. They almost look like any AVR.