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Cheap htcp / light webserver

D

Danimal1209

Senior member
I am looking for a build for mostly htcp use but I will also start getting in to using it as a webserver. Mostly for fun and being able to access my files/movies wherever I am.

I would like to have something SFF, but I will take standard atx mid tower if needed.

I have 800mhz ram and a hard drive that I can use. I also have an atx sized psu(IDK if sff psu's are different sizes). I also have discrete graphics cards but would like to use onboard if I could, if it is a SFF anyway, since they're not low profile, but neither is the ram.

I was looking at a micro atx am3 board and that $40 sempron, but will this handle HD video ok? at 1080p? Will onbaord gfx on a cheap mobo handle 1080p?

What would you guys suggest? I am trying to keep it as cheap as possible. I will only being using it for those two tasks, nothing else.
 
An Intel G530 is $50. A MB shouldn't be more than $50 for something basic. It'll run like a dream. The integrated vid in the chip does 1080P just fine.
 
boomhower said:
An Intel G530 is $50. A MB shouldn't be more than $50 for something basic. It'll run like a dream. The integrated vid in the chip does 1080P just fine.
Click to expand...

This.

The G530 is the best very inexpensive/budget CPU on the market, and for what you want it's perfect. It sips power, produces very little heat, yet it's quick for most tasks and the IGP will handle decoding of 1080p video just fine.

If you're gonna view HD videos on your monitor, then you'll only need a motherboard with DVI and you can get a good one for a meager $50:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138332
 
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i chose to go e350 setup myself. i wanted to save as much power as possible, and even though the g530 has very low draw at idle the e350 is even lower. but if you are planning on doing anything that might require desktop speed then definitely go g530... because you really wont be saving that much power if you box is at idle most of the time.
 
One of the main issues with Atoms/Bobcats is they dont hold the power to decode on CPU if parts or all HW acceleration is missing. It works fine today, but what in 1-2 years?

We already seen alot of VIA boxes and early Atoms go out on that account.
 
wirednuts said:
i chose to go e350 setup myself. i wanted to save as much power as possible, and even though the g530 has very low draw at idle the e350 is even lower. but if you are planning on doing anything that might require desktop speed then definitely go g530... because you really wont be saving that much power if you box is at idle most of the time.
Click to expand...

The G530 is 3-4x faster than the E350, though. In performance/watt it's better as well.
 
Danimal1209 said:
I would like to have something SFF, but I will take standard atx mid tower if needed.
Click to expand...

I don't know if this adds to the discussion, but here are the cheap, small cases on Newegg and TigerDirect:
Code: 
STORE         FORM       CASE                     PSU    LENGTH   VOLUME   COST
Newegg        Mini-ITX   APEX MI-008              250W   12       524      $66
TigerDirect   Mini-ITX   APEX MI-100              250W   12       524      $57
Newegg        Mini-ITX   APEVIA X-FIT-100         250W   12       292      $50
Newegg        Mini-ITX   Thermaltake VL52021N2U   200W   13       576      $75
Newegg        Mini-ITX   Rosewill RS-MI-01        250W   13       577      $55
Newegg        MicroATX   IN WIN BL647.300TBL      300W   14       711      $80
Newegg        MicroATX   IN WIN BL631.300TBL      300W   14       711      $75
Newegg        MicroATX   Rosewill FBM-01          0      14       1,316    $35
Newegg        MicroATX   Rosewill R379-M          300W   17       849      $52
Newegg        Mini-ITX   IN WIN BP655.200BL       200W   12       495      $58
TigerDirect   MicroATX   Apex TX-381              300W   16       1,843    $50
TigerDirect   MicroATX   Apex DM-387              275W   16       783      $60
TigerDirect   MicroATX   XION XON-810P-Red        450W   14       580      $49
TigerDirect   Mini-ITX   Apevia X-Fit-100         250W   12       387      $42
TigerDirect   Mini-ITX   Apevia X-Fit-200         250W   12       387      $57
TigerDirect   MicroATX   HEC 7K09BBA30 7K09       300W   15       842      $70
Measurements are in inches or cubic inches
 
I dont know why everyone wants to use the weakest processor made for Sandy Bridge. I think I would choose a processor just a little faster for HTPC. What happens when it starts to slow down as all computer systems do sooner or later?

What happens when you want to install an Antivirus program or a firewall? What about encoding video? Just some suggestions.
 
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LOL_Wut_Axel said:
The G530 is 3-4x faster than the E350, though. In performance/watt it's better as well.
Click to expand...

my power company doesnt care about how many ipc's my cpu is giving me for every watt used though. you could say the same thing about an i7 chip compared to the g530 im sure, but that adds another $10 or so to your monthly bill and that all adds up with a quickness.

if all youre doing is watching tv or movies, and wanting to leave the box on 24/7 then it makes sense to get the lowest power consumption parts possible.

and to say the e350 is a slouch or even newer atom boards, thats just misleading. i just setup an e350 server in fact, (thanks again merill), and its a screamer for the 30w its running on! i dont notice any difference from my i3 htpc in fact.... not when you run spindle drives! ive been having a blast setting this thing up. it has 6 harddrives in it! (probably 2x the power draw the actual pc uses 😛 )
 
E350 / Atom both have problems with CPU-only HD decoding like Netflix. If you want 1080p support for cases where software decoding is needed, you want the G530.
 
wirednuts said:
netflix uses silverlight and it supports gpu acceleration. i have no problems watching hd video with my e350 server on netflix.
Click to expand...

Netflix has gotten better over the past 12 months or so with supporting GPU acceleration, but the Silverlight GPU acceleration architecture is still fundamentally flawed. For whatever reason, MS chose not to allow the Silverlight client to choose to enable GPU acceleration, instead it reports capabilities back to the server which then must make a decision as to whether or not the client is allowed to do the acceleration. The upshot of that is that Netflix has to specifically write code to detect and validate whether or not a client is able to use GPU acceleration.
 
piasabird said:
I dont know why everyone wants to use the weakest processor made for Sandy Bridge. I think I would choose a processor just a little faster for HTPC. What happens when it starts to slow down as all computer systems do sooner or later?

What happens when you want to install an Antivirus program or a firewall? What about encoding video? Just some suggestions.
Click to expand...

Point 1: The G530 is not the weakest Sandy Bridge processor. That honor falls to the G440.

Point 2: All machines will be slow sooner or later. You have to spend over double money on a Core i3 2100 to get anything close to double the performance. That's not a good value when a G530 and mobo can be had for less than the cost of a Core i3 by itself. When the machine starts to feel slow, you just buy the $50 Haswell Celeron and $50 H81 mobo.
 
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