Build It: A First-Class Gaming & Media PC for the Living Room
Get Gaming on an HTPC
I don't want to watch cable TV. I don't want to use a controller. I just want to watch 3D Blu-rays and frag people with a mouse and keyboard, all on a box that fits on my entertainment center. Is that too much to ask?
We’ve built our fair share of home theater PCs in the past, with all sorts of different use cases in mind. Our August 2010 HTPC was a stunner built for 3D, with passively cooled GPU, CPU, and PSU, as well as a four-channel CableCard tuner and Blu-ray 3D support. In June 2011, Gordon tried to make a small-form-factor HTPC that could cut out the previous build’s bulk (and CableCard) while still supporting Blu-ray 3D. Both of those rigs handled their respective tasks well, but what if I don’t care about cable but do care about gaming? This month’s task is to create a kick-ass gaming rig in an HTPC form factor—one that can handle modern games, as well as 3D Blu-ray and Dolby TrueHD audio, without sounding like a jet engine.
The Right Tools for the Job
When building a PC for the living room, the first thing to consider is the chassis. After testing many cases, including Lian Li’s PC-P50 and Silverstone’s oldie-but-goodie CW02, I settled on the Silverstone GD06, a microATX case with three 12cm cooling fans, front-panel USB 3.0 ports (with internal header!), and two hot-swap SATA bays. The other cases were roomier, but I wanted to keep the footprint as small as possible.
The videocard needs to be able to handle Blu-ray 3D and support HDMI 1.4a for true lossless HD audio. That’s the easy part. It also has to have the power to play today’s games, and the GTX 560Ti has that. MSI’s Twin Frozr II version is speedy, factory-overclocked, quiet, and doesn’t draw a lot of power. For Blu-ray playback, we’re hitting up an old favorite: Plextor’s PX320-SA.

The GD06's front panel latches when not in use to prevent miscreants from waltzing off with your drives.
We’re not crippling this rig with an Atom or Fusion board. Asus’s Maximus IV Gene-Z combines a powerful Z68 gaming platform with easy overclocking, two PCIe x16 slots, onboard 6Gb/s SATA, and X-Fi-branded onboard audio using Realtek codecs. Intel’s Core i5-2500K brings four unlocked processors at 3.3GHz.
I picked a speedy 6Gb/s SATA SSD for an OS drive, and a large-capacity drive for media storage. The case’s front hot-swap SATA bays make it easy to add more storage later.
| Case | Silverstone GD06 | $130 |
| PSU | Silverstone Strider Essential ST70F-E 700W | $85 |
| Motherboard | Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z | $180 |
| CPU | Intel 3.3GHz Core i5-2500k | $220 |
| Cooling | Stock Intel Cooler | $0 |
| GPU | MSI Twin Frozr II GTX 560 Ti | $240 |
| RAM | 2x 4GB Corsair Dominator DDR3/1600 | $100 |
| Optical Drive | Blu-ray Combo Drive Plextor PX-B320SA | $110 |
| SSD | 120GB Corsair Force GT | $220 |
| HDD | 3TB WD Caviar Green | $115 |
| OS | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (OEM) | $100 |
| Total | $1,500 |
![]()
Bonn Sotto
January 21, 2012 at 6:38pm
I just finished building this rig. I want to connect this to my av receiver but I'm having no luck. Any thoughts on HTPC being connected to an AVR?
![]()
lylzhy
January 09, 2012 at 5:09pm
Gateway 101974 Laptop Keyboard
http://www.gateway-laptop-keyboard.com/Laptop-Keyboard/Gateway-101974.html
Gateway MX8710 Laptop Keyboard
http://www.gateway-laptop-keyboard.com/Laptop-Keyboard/Gateway-MX8710.html
Panasonic DE-A66 Battery Charger
http://www.batteries-charger.co.uk/Battery-Charger/Panasonic/Panasonic-DE-A66.html
Panasonic SV-AS10 Battery Charger
http://www.batteries-charger.co.uk/Battery-Charger/Panasonic/Panasonic-SV-AS10.html
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 Battery Charger
http://www.digital-camera-battery-charger.net/Charger/Panasonic/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-ZS5.html
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 Battery Charger
http://www.digital-camera-battery-charger.net/Charger/Panasonic/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-ZS7.html
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS4 Battery and Charger
http://www.buy-battery-charger.co.uk/Battery-Charger/Panasonic/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-FS4.html
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS7 Battery and Charger
http://www.buy-battery-charger.co.uk/attery-Charger/Panasonic/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-FS7.htmll
![]()
ness64
December 02, 2011 at 5:11pm
I wish I could build this, but I can't find the case becasue I live in Malaysia. Somehow, all the other parts are down here. I probably need to look harder. But this is a great build anyway! But the only changes I would make is to bump the 2500K to a 2600K, and bump the 560 Ti to a EVGA GTX 580 3GB. I just want a PC which has power in a small size. But the only problem is that things are more expensive down here. :-(
![]()
AreWeNotMen
November 30, 2011 at 1:08pm
I had used a laptop for an HTPC, and was ready to move onto something a bit better that could do gaming as well.
I was also looking for a project to do with my kid. I scaled back the hard drive storage because of the cost, and got an MSI R6950 Twin Frozr iii instead of the Nvidia card. The Nvidia seemed to have a high post-installation failure rate on Newegg. The 6950 had power connectors on the top, though. It was a snug fit once I put the cover on the machine.
The SSD is a nice luxury. but is probably overkill.
I also bought a cheaper blu-ray drive (from Asus, on sale), and bought the TMC software blu-ray player on sale for $50. That let me retire the stand-alone blu-ray player I had.
The noise is tolerable from the machine. I don't think there is room for an aftermarket cooler unless you go with the Hxx from Corsair or some other low profile unit. The stock fan was workable for me, as I am not overclocking right now.
I have an HDHomerun unit connected to it via ethernet. Works great for off-the-air recording. Also, found a cheap PCIe 802.11n card for networking.
The case is very cool looking. Routing the cables was the biggest hassle with this build. It was my first new build in about 6 years, but nothing too difficult.
This how-to worked for me. I had a lot of fun putting it together.
![]()
roger becken
November 19, 2011 at 12:01am
Great blog! All the latest developments in the field of computers and technologies are given here elaborately
![]()
roger becken
November 18, 2011 at 11:58pm
Great blog! The contents of this blog are great and it helps to stay updated with the latest developments in the field of computer and technology! We as a <a href=http://www.credit-land.com>credit card </a>company are benefited a lot!
![]()
krom
November 17, 2011 at 9:46am
Not that I have a great preference either way, but I wouldn't mind the option, what is a comperable AMD graphics card? Also do any of the AMD cards allow for 3D BD or just the Nvidia cards. A nice build.
![]()
erraticfocus
November 08, 2011 at 5:12pm
Motherboard Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z
$180
Seriously? $180 I'd love to know where you can get this board from at a price less than $240!!!
![]()
ddz49
November 08, 2011 at 6:18pm
Um...Newegg...for $170, actually. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131759
![]()
strangelove9
November 08, 2011 at 7:00am
I'm not too stoked about the idea of leaving the stock cooler on - it's small and noisy. But, on the other hand, this chassis is less forgiving than "regular" (vertical) towers.
What's a good aftermarker cooler (preferrably with a 12 cm fan, or thereabouts), that's also not bulky, and fits into such a case?
![]()
Vatigu
November 08, 2011 at 2:29am
Realistically I'd say this machine is kind of overkill, if you wanted a pc that can game and do HTPC duties grab a 35ft hdmi cable and run it from your office to your tv, and set up a wifi based mouse/kb combo, then set up some hotkeys to swap between HTPC TV-out profile and your single desktop profile.
First that handily eliminates the issue of needing a small sleek enclosure grab a hafx for all it matters.
Secondly it completely negates the sound of your GTX 560 TI/leafblower while media'ing and you _could_ game on your TV, or you could also just as easily hook up the headset and game at a desk in a comfortable pose without using your couch as a mouse-mat.
In my books this is the most elegant solution for this kind of problem, assuming you have the capability of fishing the HDMI cable from your office space to your media space.
Ultimately I think this unit defeats the purpose of an HTPC as it's usually supposed to be a sort of thin client streaming media from your server or saving media to said server.
![]()
Wingzero_x
November 08, 2011 at 12:58am
I guess you haven't heard, but onboard audio sucks and it's even stupid because it's not 9.2 surround
Well that's what I heard any way.
![]()
limitbreaker
November 07, 2011 at 7:08pm
who in their right mind would spend 1500$ for a HTPC? i understand its for gaming also but it's kind of overkill. Most people (me) would build their HTPC out of spare parts. Get your butts off the couch and go use your 1500$ on a nice vacation! your HTPC can wait until you can salvage a pc from spare parts!
![]()
Wingzero_x
November 08, 2011 at 1:24am
Especially considering all the options out there that cost less than a third of that. As much as I love my PC games, the reality is they don't always make the jump to the biggest screen in the house gracefully. Not to mention I just don't believe they've ever made a keyboard and mouse good enough to beat a dedicated controller while sitting back on the the sofa.
![]()
Engelsstaub
November 07, 2011 at 6:47pm
I love the chassis.
Wish it came out to around a grand, but the parts are worth it I suppose.
Does anybody know a good way to play a BluRay on Windows Media Player that doesn't involve spending a hundred bucks on some "codec" shit? I absolutely loathe CyberLink's crapware. Also don't want to always have to circumvent BD DRM to watch a movie I own...although I will.
![]()
robluft
January 01, 2012 at 8:17pm
A few options come to mind...Zoom Player, DAPlayer, UM Player, and ole' faithful VLC. Test them out and see which one works best with your rig since I've found some do better than others depending on hardware configurations.
![]()
dgrmouse
November 07, 2011 at 4:54pm
MSI’s Twin Frozr II uses roughly twice as much power as the system's CPU. I'm not saying it should be disqualified, but you really shouldn't let NVidia off the hook so easily. Either it's time for a die shrink and more efficient graphics cards, or it's time for onboard graphics in a lot more applications.
![]()
ness64
December 02, 2011 at 4:53pm
I agree that there should be more energy-efficient graphics cards. The fact that we only know of one planet that can support us doesn't help too. But ONBOARD GRAPHICS? This is a gaming PC/HTPC. Onboard graphics, although it has been improving, just doesn't cut it in a PC for this purpose. If this was a regular HTPC, then onboard graphics would be a-okay.
![]()
Righteous Fury
November 07, 2011 at 2:30pm
And what if i want all the blu-ray goodness, gaming goodness AND want to flip over to to some cable goodness as well?
![]()
ddz49
November 07, 2011 at 5:05pm
Then you would add a CableCARD. The Maximus IV Gene-Z is a microATX motherboard, not a Mini-ITX one.
![]()
Slurpy
November 07, 2011 at 2:27pm
I like how $220 was dropped on an unnecessary, if nice to have, SSD, while replacing the stock Intel cooler with something quieter wasn't deemed necessary. It's not super-noisy, but if I had to choose, I'd rather deal with regular HDD load times than the extra noise.
Of course, running with the OS on an SSD means no clicking noises. . .
![]()
MastaGuy
November 07, 2011 at 3:40pm
The most expensive HDD at 500gbs on Newegg is $100
It's incredible that all these companies weren't smart enough to put their factories where it doesn't get floods (China)
![]()
510Gamer
January 24, 2012 at 6:57pm
Did you just say there are no floods in China...are you serious?
This is from 2011 alone, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_China_floods
Cmon bro.
![]()
TechNinja49
November 07, 2011 at 1:22pm
You guys could have found some cheaper RAM, but overall it's looking good! I have but one question left: can it run Crysis? :P
![]()
lordfirefox
November 30, 2011 at 3:50pm
Read closer next time it says 2x 4GB.
That's two 4GB modules. That's 8GB at $99. That IS cheap.
And lets not forget the Ram Prices have been dropping daily.
The same kit now totals for $79.99 on NewEgg.















