New HTPC or PS3?
 

Alright so I've been doing some consideration and I've come to think it's time to either drop my HTPC & get rid of my xbox and just get a PS3 to handle my media/gaming needs or I've also considered building a completely new HTPC, one that can support a full size GFX card.

Here's my current HTPC:

Motherboard: M3A78-CM
Processor: AMD Athlon X2 7850 BE
Case & PSU: Inwin BL631 Low Profile Case
HDD: 1TB WD Green
Video: ATI Radeon 4350
Ram: generic 4gb
CD/DVD: Blu Ray Drive (LG)
Wifi: Wireless N

Basically I have this and an XBOX 360. I never really play my Xbox 360, but I'm starting to get more into some games, mostly steam games for now but I wouldn't mind playing them on the PS3 either. I have a controller for my computer so games aren't that difficult to setup for a controller, so an HTPC wouldn't be a big issue. One thing though is to upgrade to a better HTPC, after selling my current rig & xbox I'm probably looking at spending $300+, whereas if I go with the PS3 I'd actually end up with some money in my hand to buy some good games. I already have a powerful PC in my room with a TB of space and can easily stream video from it to the PS3 so I'm thinking maybe this would be best.

Opinions would be appreciated.

Current HTPC I'm looking at building:

Case: Silverstone GD05B Black
Motherboard: P8H67-M LX Rev 3
CPU: Core i3-2100
Ram: Ripjaws X Series 4GB
HDD: 1TB WD Blue
PSU: 600W ModXStream Pro
GPU: EAH6850 DirectCU Radeon 6850 1GB v2

Not planning to OC the CPU or do anything too crazy. I figure this media system would last me a few years, I've owned the previous one for 2+ years now. Time to upgrade! Also I'm curious if it would be worth it to switch to the intel system or just keep me AM2+ system and buy a Phenom II x4 955 BE instead? Assuming the board supports the Phenom II

You are aware you would not need such a powerful graphics card at all for HD playback, actually the SB 2100 is suppose to have no issues at all provided you have an H series motherboard (the lower end G520 processor is the only one that doesnt have hardware acceleration). By down grading to onboard graphics you could drop down the power supply as well and save yourself quite a bit of money.

The Asus E35M1-M Pro claims to be able to 1080p hd playback with HDMI 1.4, allowing you to get the mobo,cpu, and onbord gpu for around 150$ (helping you save quite a bit of money). LCDGuy is building an htpc and using that board, had I known about it I'd of used it myself as well.

I'm looking for an all around solution, hence the video card & surrounding setup so video games can also be played at my leisure.

Well your current rig is lots for an HTPC so you hardware choices only concern your gaming needs.

You mean the AMD AM2+ 7850 BE system?

The i3 system is what I'm looking at building.

looking good,except get an antec earthwatts or seasonic(built) psu :)

that little i3 will kick arse. not gonna clock,unfortunately,but even at stock its gonna make a killing :)

Is there a specific reason why I should look at those PSUs? They are a bit more expensive and non-modular.

because they are better.

if you want modular,get ready to shell out for a proper psu :)

Yes. One of my HTPC's runs a athlon II 445 IIRC with on board 3xxx graphics and plays blurays perfectly. TBH probably the smoothest running of my 3 HTPC's, the other two being C2D's. On paper the AMD is the lowest power machine too.

I know. What I'm saying is that what you have is fine for HTPC duties (which I would consider just playing media... movies, music, etc). Any step up won't do anything better on the HTPC side of things but if you need it for gaming then go for it. My only advice is to pay attention to cooling solutions. Silence is a big priority for an HTPC. And FWIW I use corsair PSU's in my HTPC's for that reason. I don't know how quiet the PSU you have picked out is but all 4 of my corsairs (2x400W 1x450W and a 650W) are dead quiet.

M3A78-CM supports even the Phenom II X6 just make sure you update the bios first to latest version. you could keep the platform, just change the cpu and the videocard. the 785G chipset plays bluray just fine no hiccups, just as info. As a sidenote, any modern gaming pc will perform also the HT part just fine.