HTPC / Light Gaming upgrade for ~$300?

[JoeTLieb]

I'm having problems with an older socket 478 intel PC. I'm pretty sure it's the mobo (see "dcom/rpc trouble reinstalling XP:MCE")
I've been wanting to upgrade for a while anyway. I'd Like to be able to play Mass Effect2/Bioshock2 on my HDTV with average settings, and if possible with a micro-atx board in a HT case. I'm not really sure how far I need to go to accomplish that. Will a low end micro-atx LGA 775 board and cpu with a HD4550 1GB do the trick? I can reuse my os-XP:MCE, monitor, HDD, and DVD drive.
here's a quick summary of what I was thinking, any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
mobo ~ $50 (random micro atx)
cpu ~ 65 (E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache)
ram ~ $50 (2x1gb ddr2 800)
video card ~ $40 (MSI R4550-MD1GH Radeon HD 4550 1GB 64-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16)
case ~ $60 (nMEDIAPC Micro ATX Media Center case)
total = ~$265
still need to find a good wireless keyboard mouse with a decent range, 5ft+, any suggestions?

[Force Flow]

I've been very satisfied with this wireless keyboard on my HTPC:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-035-_-Product

Good bang for your buck compared to the $80 brand-name stuff out there. However, I have not tested it extensively with gaming. I imagine it would work fine, as I haven't noticed any delays other than when you first wake up the keyboard and mouse after a long period of inactivity.

[glc]

Recommended motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131387

Try the onboard HDMI video before buying a video card.

You are also going to need a power supply.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371023

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by glc Recommended motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131387 Try the onboard HDMI video before buying a video card. You are also going to need a power supply. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371023

I don't think any type of integrated graphics can handle Mass Effect 2/Bioshock 2 at average settings, even the HD4550 is probably too slow. I would go with a HD4650 since it has a pretty good amount of performance.

Here's a good parts list for around $270 and the case comes with a pretty decent power supply:


IN WIN IW-BK623.BN300BL 0.6mm SECC Steel MicroATX Desktop Computer Case 300W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811108092
$69.99

HIS H465FS512H Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161303
$49.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-5300PHU2-2GBNT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231108
$42.99

ASUS P5KPL-AM EPU LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131615
$54.99

Intel Celeron E3200 Wolfdale 2.4GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E3200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116265
$49.99

Subtotal: $267.95

[glc]

I don't think I'd trust only 300 watts with that card.

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by glc I don't think I'd trust only 300 watts with that card.

I've built a few HTPC computers with HD4650 and had no problems with 300W. If you use the power supply calculator, you will find that the system would use about 265W at full 100% load and with 30% capacitor aging (this is probably not going to be reached in the lifetime of the computer), so 300W should be more than enough, especially since InWin power supplies are based off FSP design.

[ryuk999]

lol at first I didn't believe a 4650 could play a game that just came out so well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeioIAf56fg

[JoeTLieb]

Thank you all for your advice. I just got my old pos up and running, I guess it was a conflict with pre-sp2 xp:mce and my mobo drivers. After I got sp2 on there everything went fine.
I'm probably going to wait a little longer and see how much I can save up in the next couple of months and maybe I can afford a real upgrade.