Looking for a cheap, low power mATX s1156 combo.

[Valis]

For i5 and integrated graphics, H55, 57 or Q57 I guess. MSI, ASUS or Gigabyte preferred. Low Power consumption is one of the issues here.

But seeing how the cheapest i5 costs €150 and one AMD Athlon X2 E goes for €50-60, it's kinda hard to go with the Intel.

The MSI H55M-E33 is really cheap here now. €50-60
http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=1&prod_no=1956

 

[Zap]

H55 will be cheapest of the bunch, and they all take about the same amount of power. I've used one of the MSI H55M boards and it worked fine. Couldn't get it to wake up out of S3 STR with USB mouse/keyboard, but it would wake up fine with the power button.

 

[Valis]

Did you ever try if it worked with a PS/2 keyboard? I see no SP/DIF out on the I/O, is there any jumpers or such? In case one needs that.

 

[biostud]

what will you be using it for and why does it need to be really low power? Usually it's the other components GPU/CPU that eats the main amount of power?

Skål!

 

[Zap]

I did not try with PS/2 keyboard and the system went to my mother, so no longer in my possession.

 

[Valis]

That's what I mean, low power CPUs and the mobo with it. It's going to be used for normal things like web surfing, e-mail watching online and offline movies.

I need it to be low power to be cool and quiet. Also in a smaller micro ATX case. Just a requirement of this particular computer.

 

[Zap]

The system I built for my mother would fit your requirements. Under idle conditions it would draw around 35W from the wall. Loads (like playing HD video) were IIRC around 42W. This was the MSI X58M (again, forgot which exact model as I think MSI makes several) with an Intel Pentium Dual Core G9650 (lowest end s1156), 2GB dual channel DDR3, 40GB SSD, multi card reader and an optical drive powered by an FSP 80+ 300W PSU. System feels as snappy as my overclocked Core i7 975 (probably due to SSD), creates little heat and makes very little noise. It was a slim case so I stuffed it behind the LCD monitor so it takes pretty much zero desk space.

 

[Valis]

So you don't think an i5 (sayi5-650) with H55 is a equivalent combo to that? Slightly higher power consumption, but with good 3rd part cooler that wouldn't be much of a problem.

Or why not i3-530/540, they surely must run rather cool too, and they are just a little more than the G9650.

 

[Zap]

You said "low power." Anything can be made to run cooler with a better heatsink. While most of the dual core CPUs are "rated" at the same TDP, the lower end ones draw measurably less power in actual use (albeit very little).