EPTComputer for watching HD movies? - Page 2
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Madoga
Netherlands471 Posts
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JingleHell
United States11308 Posts
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jacosajh
2919 Posts
H61 Mobo - $60 4GB DDR3 RAM - $32 HD5450 - $40 Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 HDD - $55 DVD/CD Burner/Reader - $19 XION HTPC Series XON-810PCB-RD icro ATX / Mini ITX Slim Desktop Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case w/ 450W Power Supply - $65 Total = $406 Some things you can do to save money: 1. Drop the HD5450, use integrated graphics, and get a discreet card later on; the Core i3 is powerful enough to give you HD playback 2. Change from the 2100T to 2100, G840, or even G620 (see note) 3. Get a smaller HDD 4. Change the HTPC Case/PSU/Keyboard combo Sims 3 doesn't require a lot. My gf's 1.6Ghz Dual Core, 3GB RAM, integrated graphics plays it. It just takes a day and a half to load. Note: The reason why I suggested a Core i3 2100T is because it uses way less power, which would be nice if you're using this HTPC all day downloading torrents and such. Similarly, there's a G620T. And be careful taking SOUL's advice. I'm not going to nitpick at everything he says, but the important thing I think I need to point out is... Just because you can, doesn't mean you have too. Or that it's the best buy for your money. I can go buy an overpriced Pentium 4 system on eBay right now and use it as an HTPC, but that won't be optimal for obvious reasons. | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
On July 12 2011 01:30 jacosajh wrote: Note: The reason why I suggested a Core i3 2100T is because it uses way less power, which would be nice if you're using this HTPC all day downloading torrents and such. Similarly, there's a G620T No, the listed TDP is 35W versus 65W, but actual power consumption isn't that different, both at idle and at load. Patricularly, i3-2100T compared to the Pentium models is a pretty small difference in power consumption. You can check more reviews, but as a start: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/pentium-g850-g840-g620_8.html#sect0 http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1202-page6.html edit: granted, at those power draws, I'd suspect that some measuring devices wouldn't be so accurate. But with the same power supply and other components used except for the CPU, I expect that if there's some error, it should be fairly consistent, making the relative values reasonably indicative of what's really going on. You can also close the gap by just undervolting a normal non-T or non-S processor. | ||
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jacosajh
2919 Posts
Not going to lie, I didn't even read the whole thing (your links), the charts are pretty self-explanatory. Hopefully, I didn't miss anything important. I guess I'll read them later when I have more time. | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
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JingleHell
United States11308 Posts
On July 12 2011 05:17 Myrmidon wrote: Charts are enough. Suffice to say, there's nothing particularly magic about the low-power variants. They're just configured with a bit lower frequencies and voltages, and I think they give you a slimmer (i.e. worse, but will fit in even slimmer cases) heatsink? It's the same technology--I don't think they bother changing the design, using less leaky transistors for lower power consumption and less performance, and things like that. It's probably just shitty binned chips that couldn't handle stock clocks well, so they ramp it down a little and act like it's a feature to make money off them. Not that I'm cynical or anything. | ||
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Boblhead
United States2577 Posts
DVD BURNER: Dvd Burner $18.99 MEMORY: 2x1gb ddr3 1333 $27.99 MOBO: Micro atx MSI mobo $69.99 CPU: Pentium g620 2.6ghz 2x256kb L2 cache, 3mb L3 cache $77.99 GPU: Evga 520 1gb ddr3 $64.99 HDD: HDD $39.99 PSU: 350 watt psu 80 plus bronze certified $41.99 Total: $341.93 usd | ||
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JingleHell
United States11308 Posts
GT 430 is actually better than GT520 for HTPC, according to this, and about the same price. Cheaper AMIR. Although apparently the 6570 is slightly better overall for ease of use. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130656&cm_re=gt_430-_-14-130-656-_-Product | ||
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Bambipwnsu
Canada698 Posts
On July 12 2011 05:19 JingleHell wrote: It's probably just shitty binned chips that couldn't handle stock clocks well, so they ramp it down a little and act like it's a feature to make money off them. Not that I'm cynical or anything. LOL "green chips" sup I'm slightly confused is this a HTPC or just a computer to watch movies on once in a while? Its connected to a 17"? | ||
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jacosajh
2919 Posts
On July 12 2011 05:17 Myrmidon wrote: Charts are enough. Suffice to say, there's nothing particularly magic about the low-power variants. They're just configured with a bit lower frequencies and voltages, and I think they give you a slimmer (i.e. worse, but will fit in even slimmer cases) heatsink? It's the same technology--I don't think they bother changing the design, using less leaky transistors for lower power consumption and less performance, and things like that. Ahhh, I see where I asked about this somewhere else, and was comparing the 2100T to a i5 750. For some reason, I thought it was being compared to a 2100 when someone said it would use way less power. Just re-read and got some clarification. Either way, I still think the 2100 is a good buy for an HTPC. Better than an Athlon II X2 anyways. | ||
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Cmon
38 Posts
I get the idea from all of you guys, mainly the processor/vga/mobo combination Thanks again all  | ||
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jacosajh
2919 Posts
On July 12 2011 05:23 Boblhead wrote: Just built a similar pc for a customer for a web browsing/ movie watching pc, cept he gets his movies from a home server, regardless he says it performs well and transfers files to and from very fast. He had a $400 budget saved him around $60 - 80. DVD BURNER: Dvd Burner $18.99 MEMORY: 2x1gb ddr3 1333 $27.99 MOBO: Micro atx MSI mobo $69.99 CPU: Pentium g620 2.6ghz 2x256kb L2 cache, 3mb L3 cache $77.99 GPU: Evga 520 1gb ddr3 $64.99 HDD: HDD $39.99 PSU: 350 watt psu 80 plus bronze certified $41.99 Total: $341.93 usd Just a quick note on this. -There's no case, so that'll be extra. -The cost difference between 2GB and 4GB RAM is like $3~5 so you might as well get 4GB RAM. -If you're building an HTPC with intentions of saving media on it, you might as well get a 1TB HDD. A Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB is only $15 more for 2x the HDD. Of course, if you want to save money, then it's no problem to get a cheaper HDD now and add-on later. | ||
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