Further to our earlier guide to build the optimal home theater PC for HD video, we are continuing the series in search for the ideal HTPC gaming setup for components available in 2010.
This setup requires much more CPU performance, more memory and the best video card you can afford. Graphics card is particularly important and it is easily the most expensive component in the setup. Large graphics card also puts requirements to the case selection as you need to go for a full size ATX case to fit the card inside the case.
Case
SilverStone ATX Media Center/HTPC Case LC17B
After a long research, Silverstone LC17B looks like an excellent choice as the case. It is affordable compared to many other good quality ATX cases. It has received very good ratings in various places and it has enough room for a large graphics card. The case looks elegant and simple as there are no additional buttons or holes. This Silverstone case has excellent cooling while still staying quiet, so it is suitable as the case.
CPU
Intel Core i7 860 Processor 2.80 GHz 8 MB LGA1156
We chose a processor that is suitable for both performance demanding games and editing AVCHD videos. The i7 860 is very good choice for its high performance and low power consumption. Thanks to the turbo boost technology, during game play, processor is able to use more performance and then drop the speed automatically if you are e.g. browsing internet or reading emails.
Motherboard
ASUS P7P55D-E Pro – LGA 1156 – Intel P55 – ATX Motherboard
Similarly to our previously built optimal HTPC for HD video, we chose the Asus P7P55D motherboard for the Core i7 860 processor. This motherboard supports USB 3.0 and SATA 6, so you are well equipped for the future technologies as well. P55 boards are regarded as easy to install and they have excellent board layout.
Graphics Card
EVGA nVidia GeForce GTX260 Core 216-55nm Superclocked 896 MB DDR3 2DVI PCI-Express Video Card
In general, gaming graphics cards are very large in their size. This is the biggest constraint why you need to go for a bigger HTPC case to fit the gaming graphics card inside. GTX 260 requires a lot of power, so we needed to choose the Corsair 750W power.
Together with the GTX 260 graphics card this HTPC setup will guarantee impressive 3D Mark results right out of the box. Although this is not the newest graphics card, it still provides excellent performance. In addition, it is much cheaper now compared to when they arrived to the market.
Power
Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750-Watt Power Supply compatible with Intel Core i7 and Core i5
Corsair 750TX looks and feels very high quality product. When you see the product, you just know that it is good. Naturally Corsair’s great packaging has something to do with the good first impression as well. It comes with all the needed connectors by default. Some users have reported some heating issues, but with the larger ATX HTPC case you will not have any issues with more powerful power.
Memory
Corsair XMS3 4 GB 1600Mhz Dual Channel Core i3 i5 i7 DDR3 Memory
While minimum amount of RAM should be 4 GB, we recommend buying 8 GB, so that insufficient amount of RAM will not become issue on some games. Corsair’s memory is designed for Intel i3 i5 i7 series and its good for p55 motherboard, so it is a good choice for this HTPC setup.
Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 7200RPM Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda hard drives has been reported to be slightly quieter than Samsung Spinpoint, so we chose this hard drive to the gaming setup. The hard drive is really fast one, too. 1 TB is minimum nowadays, so if you do not plan to get an external network hard drive to the HTPC setup, you could consider getting two of these hard drives.
Blu-ray Drive
Samsung Blu-Ray Internal Drive with Lightscribe
As Blu-ray drives are available for under $100 nowadays, it is a must choice. Samsung SHB083L provides great value for a low price. Blu-ray playback has been reported to be excellent and it looks good, too.
As a summary, we built a HTPC setup for gaming without limitation in our budget. This HTPC does not come without a hefty price tag, but if you are looking for the best HTPC setup for gaming, I do not think you will be too far off with this one. The key point to remember is to choose a larger ATX HTPC so that the gaming graphics card fits well inside the case.
If this HTPC gaming setup feels too much for your needs, have a look at our optimal price to performance system guide for the HD video or view our popular list of the most purchased HTPC components by our readers.