Getting used to slower... or... "going green".

[alyarb]

You want to overclock
You want to future proof
You want to run DC projects
You want to do all three while having a system that uses almost no power.

It will also run BOINC when doing nothing, needs to stay cool when loaded and be under $150.

 

[Ranulf]

The 1037U would probably do the basics you've listed just fine. I've yet to finish setting up a 1037U that was originally meant to be a basic NAS and now will be a HTPC but it seems solid.

Ditto what 2is said. Cheap, fast, quality. Pick two. If you're going itx, you pay for futureproof or save with less power usage/cpu power. Overclocking seems pointless in this situation IMHO. I'd say just get a window AC unit and enjoy the cool breeze.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, I've re-formatted. I removed Windows 7, put on Linux Mint 17. (Btw, it supported the AMD video and HDMI audio no problem out of the box, which is a nice development.)

I also flashed to a new BIOS update, that had been released, since I had purchased them.

Then, I carefully put the component parts away, and boxed them up. Hopefully I can sell them to someone that just needs a web-browsing Nettop.

So, NO MORE C-70 APUs! Yay!

Back on my Gateway Slimline with G630, and NV GT430. Back to my buttery-smooth scrolling in Waterfox, even with internet radio playing (and not skipping).

You're right, life is too short for Brazos in 2014.

Next up, to install my CyberPower UPS software, so I can get a reading on how much power this PC + screen is actually taking up.

Edit: 72-80W, for my G630 rig with 8GB DDR3-1333, NV 430GT, and a 24" Westinghouse 1080P HDTV. Not super-great, but not horrible. Without the GPU, I would probably be under 55W.

Edit: 148W, under OCCT PSU Test full CPU + GPU load. Still, not too bad.

Edit: Nice that the computer waits for me, rather than the other way around.

 

[cbn]

Edit: After looking at the Passmark scores, it seems worthwhile for future-proofing purposes to go with the G3258.

$75 Intel G3258 @ Newegg, $60 @ MC

Here is another price point for you:

Pentium G3258 (with three Red 120mm case fans)

$49.99 After rebate with free shipping at Tiger Direct:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...?EdpNo=9116213

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, the experiment with the C-70 NanoPCs was officially a bust. I thought it was cool to bolt your PC to the back of the monitor, but oh how slow. Too slow.

I've decided that I don't like Windows 8, either. I was getting ATI driver not responding errors with my i3-3240 and 7790 card, and CoreTemp RC6 crashes Windows 8's UI (it stops responding). Windows 7 64-bit is fine with CoreTemp though.

So I factory-restored my Win8 AIO PC, and the Lenovo i3-3240 PC, and plan on getting rid of them, along with my BNIB i3-2130 PC too.

I've got one of my Q9300 @ 3.0 rigs in my 2nd computer desk, doing some BOINC on the CPU, and not the GPU (because it overheats when I use it). CPU temps get as high as 79C in CoreTemp. Probably needs a good dust-off. According to my CyberPower UPS, it takes as much as 260W, under full CPU load + monitor. Ugh.

But I did turn my bedroom A/C down to 66F, and now the living room is a bit more comfortable, even with the PCs running.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I've decided that I don't like Windows 8, either. I was getting ATI driver not responding errors with my i3-3240 and 7790 card, and CoreTemp RC6 crashes Windows 8's UI (it stops responding). Windows 7 64-bit is fine with CoreTemp though.

Did you run 8.1? Because 8.1 has fixed a lot of that kind of issues. Besides if you're running vanilla 8 you don't get support for WDDM 1.2 with new AMD drivers, vanilla 8 uses the same WDDM 1.1 driver as 7. Whereas 8.1 has a WDDM 1.3 driver available.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Did you run 8.1? Because 8.1 has fixed a lot of that kind of issues. Besides if you're running vanilla 8 you don't get support for WDDM 1.2 with new AMD drivers, vanilla 8 uses the same WDDM 1.1 driver as 7. Whereas 8.1 has a WDDM 1.3 driver available.

No, because the 8.1 update requires the Windows Store, and the Windows Store requires a Microsoft ID.

Edit: It seems I was mis-informed?

 

[TeknoBug]

Yeah Skype is god awful even on my i7, my mother has issues with Skype on a triple core Athlon II.

Anyways, my i5 3550 is excellent on power consumption, AND it has VT-d (really nice for virtual machines) and I threw the GTX750Ti in there, full system consumption is around ~180W while playing a game. I also undervolted my i7.

And about getting "used to" a slower system, with laptops I went from a dual core 2.4GHz laptop down to a 1.5GHz quad core laptop and it feels slightly snappier probably due to a better GPU although I also threw in a SSD.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

No, because the 8.1 update requires the Windows Store, and the Windows Store requires a Microsoft ID.

No, 8.1 installs just fine without a Microsoft ID. I've done it several times from a local account without issues.

 

[Homeles]

No, 8.1 installs just fine without a Microsoft ID. I've done it several times from a local account without issues.

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, I made a decision. I picked up two of these (Tax free weekend in my state):

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-15-...&skuId=7288011

Sucks that the RAM and battery aren't removable, but it was only $229.99, and it includes a DVD-RW drive, which is getting rarer these days, especially among budget laptops.

Celeron N2830, 4GB, 500GB. Hopefully, they won't be too slow for Skype.

Planning on possibly setting them up with wireless keyboard / mouse, and keeping the lid closed, and outputting over the HDMI to my Westinghouse 24" HDTVs.

I guess I kind of figured that for the same price as a VivoPC, I could get a complete laptop. (Granted, the VivoPC has a 1007U in it, and these are N2830.)

Edit: Seems adequate performance for surfing this forum.

Edit: Skype performance isn't too bad either. Uses roughly 50-55% CPU time @ 2.00 Ghz.

Edit: Now I'm thinking that I perhaps should have gone for the 1007U-based VivoPCs. I finally hooked one of these laptops up to my 24" HDTV / monitor, and it works alright, although slightly laggy. The problem is Skype calls. The webcam is, of course, front and center up on top of the screen lid, and in order to see the 24" screen, I have the screen lid closed, and the laptop outputting only over the HDMI port. So I have to open the lid, change the display setting (Winkey+P), and then use the laptop screen for the Skype call. Screwing up my window arrangement on my 1080P desktop on the 24" screen. Oh well. What a PITA. I didn't think this through, I guess. I could get an additional webcam, or I could ditch the separate 1080P screen, and just use the 15.6" 1366x768 laptop screen. But the laptop only has two USB ports, so I would need to get a USB hub as well as a webcam.

 

[Blue_Max]

Can I recommend the 35W i3 processors? Almost indistinguishable performance difference from their big brothers at twice the wattage. If it weren't for the fact I need MORE threads, not less, I'd go back to one right now! They've got half-decent graphics these days, too!

There's some great strides in low-electricity video cards and hard drives as well, usually with more-than-acceptable performance. You don't have to sacrifice everything to go green!


OOPS... you meant in the lappy world. Well, same thing applies. Hope you're okay with the performance of the unit you've chosen... return it if you're not, but tell us (me!) your opinion... I'm thinking similar thoughts. A smaller screen is not only nicer to carry around, but will use less power to display it.

 

[Sattern]

As time goes on I feel processors and other parts become much more efficient so it does't really matter whether you buy an energy saving part, they are just naturally optimized to use less juice.

 

[Puppies04]

I'm a nut for SSDs, and I'd probably particularly adamant with using one with a low power CPU, so I'd personally swap the hard drive on the ASUS for an SSD, even if it was something small like 64GB or less.

I'm a nut for SSDs aswell because they are fast. If you want to talk about saving power/money then assuming 24/7 usage you are going to have to run the machine for about 50 years to recoup the money you saved swapping from a HDD.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, I used the laptop connected to the 24" HDTV / monitor again, for the first time in a couple of weeks, and it's mostly acceptable. Scrolling is far from buttery-smooth, but I put that at the fact that Bay Trail-M only has like 4 EUs in the IGP. Haswell GT1 has like 10, I think. Either that, or the lack of memory bandwidth, I'm not certain.

 

[Idontcare]

I'm a nut for SSDs aswell because they are fast. If you want to talk about saving power/money then assuming 24/7 usage you are going to have to run the machine for about 50 years to recoup the money you saved swapping from a HDD.

Saving money is nice, reducing environmental footprint is nice as well. Sometimes you can't do both at the same time.

Personally I enjoy not having to listen to the clatter and whine of spindle-drives, there is something to be said of the silence that solid-state provides.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Saving money is nice, reducing environmental footprint is nice as well. Sometimes you can't do both at the same time.

Personally I enjoy not having to listen to the clatter and whine of spindle-drives, there is something to be said of the silence that solid-state provides.

I installed an X25-M in someone's 1155 rig, and it makes noise. Very strange.

 

[MeldarthX]

Larry; AMD 7600 APU; msi mini itx mb with wifi; 8 gig 2133; Inwin BQ655 *I think* kingston 256 gig ssd *ssd I already had otherwise would of gotten kingston 120 gig ssd* Parts with the 120 kingston; was 210 pounds; case was 60 pounds......win 8.1 pro 30 pounds; *bought a working key*

300 quid system with 120w mini psu; thing won't go over 90w ever; will play games solidly 1440 by 900...can't do 1080p very good; but also will run solidworks for my engineers.

Its also vesa mountable its fast; quiet and sips power. I built it for meeting room; it will sit right behind the tv there with wireless keyboard and mouse.

You want some; quiet; cheap and fairly powerful this really works well. I had several things to consider; one: it had to be mini itx; so ruled out a few things. I was looking at going with 5350 APU; that would or ran office fine; done skype etc; but wouldn't run solidworks well enough. Same with low end Intel cpus; their on board graphics just die when trying to do that.

Higher end Intel; possibly; but they are priced far out of my third and final consideration; boss said it had to be cheap. 300 quid for system that can do everything it can...I am impressed; very impressed with 7600 apu....

if I can sneak some pics I will..

 

[Idontcare]

I installed an X25-M in someone's 1155 rig, and it makes noise. Very strange.

That's not a testimonial against SSD's, that's a testimonial that something is wonky with either that particular X25-M (I own one and it is dead silent) or their PSU.

Either way, IMO its not something to ignore.

 

[ShintaiDK]

I have found its better to go green in incremental steps. Rather than to try get the full package right away. Then you also vote with your wallet the proper way and force companies to work towards the desired goal rather than talkig large shortcuts.

The same thing applies with sizes and why we have so many MiniITX options now for gamers and power users.

My next step for example is a 148 or 165W GTX970/980 to replace my 195W GTX680. The GTX680 will be given away as well.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Well, I switched back from the N2830 Bay Trail-M laptop, to my G3258 / H81M-DS2V combo build, with 8GB of DDR3-1600 (running at 1400) RAM, and an 80GB X25-M G2 drive. I must say, it is MUCH snappier, web-browsing. Scrolling is as smooth, or even smoother, in Waterfox 32.0, as compared to my other desktop, a G630 SB Pentium with a GT430 128-bit video card. The G630 has a 2TB Seagate Hybrid drive, and the G3258 has a SATA2 SSD, as I mentioned.

Best of all, the G3258, OCed to 3.8Ghz, and running DC 24/7, along with the Westinghouse 24" HDTV monitor, reads in my CyberPower PowerPanel UPS software, at 79-82W total, for both tower and monitor.

Quite the power savings, compared to my remaining Q9300 @ 3.0, with 9600GSO 96SP card, doing DC on all four CPU cores, and that's drawing 240-244W.

Edit: Suspending BOINC, with internet radio playing, using some slight CPU, CoreTemp reports 14.2W used, PowerPanel reports 52W for both PC + display.

CoreTemp reports 52W (pretty-much the 53W TDP) used, when crunching 24/7.

Edit: Oh, PSU in this box is an Antec EarthWatts 500W. A little overkill, but it's what I had on hand. I want to get a 450W Gold Modular PSU eventually for this box and its twin.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817194110

Edit: An update. I had reason to pull out the EarthWatts 500W PSU and put it into my Lenovo i3, to diagnose whether or not the 7790 crashes I was having in that box were due to the 350W NAXN PSU (they weren't).

So I put in a Rosewill Stallion 400W PSU into the G3258 rig.

A little disappointed at the power consumption numbers shown by my UPS now. 108-112W, instead of 79-82W. An increase of 30W at the wall, just from changing out the PSU. I don't know if the EarthWatts was 80Plus, but it was certainly more efficient than this Rosewill, even at such low loads.

 

[BSim500]

Well, I switched back from the N2830 Bay Trail-M laptop, to my G3258 / H81M-DS2V combo build, with 8GB of DDR3-1600 (running at 1400) RAM, and an 80GB X25-M G2 drive. I must say, it is MUCH snappier, web-browsing.

Yup. Intel's "Big cores" Pentium's on up) still make the best "green" general usage CPU's. They simply feel a lot faster than the Atom's / Kabini's - greatly reduced annoyances when web browsing, and don't draw that much more under load per task due to "hurry up and wait" (ie, they'll switch back to idle mode much earlier).

At the power consumption range you're currently in (50-90w), my old Antec Earthwatts hovered around 72-78% efficiency. Upgrading to a Seasonic G360 (lowest wattage Gold full ATX PSU) boosted that to 85-88% efficiency - the equivalent of knocking another 8-10w off. And if you haven't already done so, try under-volting the Pentium by -0.05-0.10v to knock another 5-10w off of load power consumption (though 82w inc monitor is already superb).

If you're going "extreme", try and do everything on just 1x SSD, and next time you upgrade RAM go for the LOVO type stuff (1.25-1.35v) which can gain another 2-3w. Beyond that, there's not much you can do to save power other than turn it off. :biggrin:

 

[DominionSeraph]

There are still people who use Failfox?
Download Chrome.

 

[NTMBK]

There are still people who use Failfox?
Download Chrome.

Oh you mean the increasingly bloated, frequently unstable piece of junk that tries in run itself in the background permanently?

(I'm seriously thinking of jumping back to FF.)

 

[mrmt]

That's not a testimonial against SSD's, that's a testimonial that something is wonky with either that particular X25-M (I own one and it is dead silent) or their PSU.

Either way, IMO its not something to ignore.

+1. Still have one X25-M and it's dead silent too.