htpc build

[herm0016]

I had a old amd 4000+/x800/nforce4 and it seems the MB is messed up. its 4 years old and use to serve as 3d modeling/music/schoolwork/everything else. Now i am a working man and i use it for music, movies, and torrent hooked up to a 28in lcd in my living room and the lappy on the coffee table is internet, i don't do much else unless i am using my beast of a work lappy.

it has been suggested to me to go ATOM to save a little energy. I would like to use the 4850 i have and there is a supermicro board with pci-e x8 that may work, I would also like a sound card that has discrete outs. low noise is also a requirement.
other parts i have:
ati 4850
earthwatts 480watt
sata hard drives
dvd/cd burner
enlight rack mount server case 3U ( fits in audio rack) I may upgrade this if i end up with atom and a small board to an htpc type case on a shelf in the rack. any case you really think it worth it? everything is black.

any suggestions?

budget is pretty flexible, but i would like to keep it around $300 not including case.

 

[herm0016]

http://www.compsource.com/ttec...=X7SLAHO&vid=428&src=F

supermicro board

 

[heyheybooboo]

The MSI Media Live DIVA 7.1 is an excellent option but appears to be poorly implemented with wacky support. The 780g chipset is quite efficient especially when coupled with a 45w CPU.

It's surprising the motherboard has not done well because MSI has been releasing Top Notch stuff with great support the last few years.

The issue with the Super mobo above is that is an old Intel 945 chipset and when coupled with the Atom it screws the pooch on energy efficiency and does not offer H264/Blu-Ray hardware acceleration. It has the PCIe-x16 slot you need for your mobo, however. The issue is the Atom will not push the HD 4850 very well, anyway.

The Zotac Ion ITX is a favorite but does not offer the power needed for your video card or the PCIe slot.

So that brings me to the Sempron 140 Sargas / Gigabye 785g AM2+. The combo is all of $97, 45w 1Mb L2, should fit in your Enlight 3U, might unlock, has your PCIe x16 slot, uses cheaper DDR2, etc.

The question then becomes whether you should bite the bullet and snag the Gigabye GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 with maybe the Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 kit. The extra $50 over the AM2+ above seems like a good investment to me but you may see it differently.

Now, whether MSI will roll out a 785g AM3 'Media Live DIVA 7.1' is the $64k question. I imagine one is coming but who knows when?

One thing you should count on: Upgrading for TrueHD & DTS-HD MA Bitstreaming. Your best path may well be to replace your HD4850 with a Radeon "Juniper based video card" which AMD will offer sometime in November (hopefully with TrueHD & DTS-HD MA bitstreaming).

Hope all this did not confuse you too much ... to add more confusion: the Realtek ALC889A audio chip on the Gigabyte motherboards will provide content protection for your 'protected media pathway'.


You will be tested later - 😀

 

[herm0016]

wow....

lots of helpful (and a little overwhelming) info!

that 2nd gigabyte looks pretty cool. the case i have will fit full atx also, but if i do upgrade the case to something a bit prettier the board will probably have to be micro-atx.

the zotac's look nice, but i am concerned that they will not have enough power to do the video decoding and such, while running torrent or other programs.
I am planing on giving windows 7 a go on this too. is this a valid concern?

is it worth it to go to a 65w duel core over the 45 single?

 

[alyarb]

there is no reason stressing out over a 20 watt difference in CPU when you're going to just drop a radeon 4850 into the system, and if you really want to use the 4850, i would assume it's for gaming, and then you will want that second core.

if you aren't gaming, just sell the radeon and use the onboard 785G video.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: alyarb
there is no reason stressing out over a 20 watt difference in CPU when you're going to just drop a radeon 4850 into the system, and if you really want to use the 4850, i would assume it's for gaming, and then you will want that second core.

if you aren't gaming, just sell the radeon and use the onboard 785G video.

The only thing --- I think is if the OP makes the transition from the HD4850 ---> HD5xxx 'Juniper' the idle/2d power consumption of the video card will drop like a 'rock'. From the #'s I'm seeing total system power consumption at idle may be in the 55-65w range (depending upon the # of hard drives the OP may add). That's quite impressive for a system that includes a discreet video card (which probably represents a third of total power consumption).

Originally posted by: herm0016 ~~~
is it worth it to go to a 65w duel core over the 45 single?

How's your Karma? 😀

There is a good chance the Sempy will unlock to a Regor Athlon II X2. If you do not want to take that chance the Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz will cost you an extra $25 (plus the combo deal) and maybe 5w at idle.

I just got my combo in today. I'll let you know how it goes - LOL.