New uATX/mini-ITX computer for my dad.

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Valis

Valis

Member
Jan 8, 2001
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So the time has come to get my dad a newer computer (old one is a PIII). So I was thinking about a i3/i5 or Athlon II E, but after some research I find out that the only the Athlon II E consumes 45w whereas the i3/i5 needs a whopping 73w minimum. The Athlon II is also a lot cheaper. So it's either a Athlon II X2 or X4. Dunno if he needs quad, but I like them a lot more than the dual cores. Win XP Pro and Win 7 dual boot will be installed on this machine.

Here are the ones I've been looking at:

AMD X2 240e, 245e and 250e AM3 and
AMD X4 600e, 605e and 610e AM3

So I'll need a mini-ITX motherboard recommendation and maybe CPU / cooler combo that goes well with one of the 2 chassis I have found. RAM and HDD will either be Kingston, Corsair, OCZ, WD or Samsung 250-500 GB. The motherboard needs vga out since the current big TFT screen he has, only has that option.

I have these 2 cheap and nice mini-ITX chassis to chose from, but I don't know
which one has the best cooling and placement of HDDs, etc. Maybe someone here knows?
http://www.in-win.com.tw/products_pccase_series.php?cat_id=1&series_id=67
http://www.chieftec.eu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=461&Itemid=694&lang=EN#

Or if I should skip all of that and buy a Asrock Atom 330 Nvidia Ion.
http://www.inet.se/artikel/1969261/asrock-ion-330ht-svart

So tell me what you think and recommend. :)
 
Valis

Valis

Member
Jan 8, 2001
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Come to think of it, the VGA can be achieved by using a DVI -> VGA adapter.
 
Zap

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
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81
The Intel dual core socket 1156 CPUs actually consumes very little power. You can easily build a system that draws under 40W with it for the entire system. They "rate" their CPU wattage based on the highest speed CPU in the whole lineup running at full load. Under most typical desktop usage (web/email/word) the CPU is essentially idle.

The other thing is that since the IGP and Northbridge are built into the Intel CPUs, the motherboards draw a lot less power than their AMD counterpart.

And no, your dad does not need a quad no matter how much you like 'em, especially if he's coming from a Pentium III.

And no, don't get him an Atom with ION. It will probably be just fine, but that one time he goes to run something and it chugs will probably ruin his day. Even the lowest end socket 1156 CPU (Pentium Dual Core G9650) or the lowest end AMD dual core (whatever it is) will be much better without using much more power (all 3 will probably idle near the same).

What is your budget? See post #3 at this thread for my suggestions on a really nice $600 SFF build (with reasons why I choose components).
 
Zap

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
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Seconded on the Zino. Current deal has an Athlon II x2 dual core with 4GB DDR3 and a discrete AMD Radeon graphics card. Full system with DVD burner and 64-bit Win7 and warranty for $500.
 
E

Emulex

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2001
9,759
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just picked a dc7900 with 1.5 years warranty remaining (nbd onsite) for $184 , 4gb, core2quad 9400, dvd burner, printer port??,ATI HD 2400 XT - small form factor.

will make a fine htpc - xbmc, 7pro media center, etc. business class gear not bubble-gum dell junk.

$500 for an athlon II x2 dual core? wow. how do they compare to c2q9400? my $300 (brand new) core2quad 8400 asus essentio(8gb,geforce gt220) i just got (poor warranty 1 yr if you can contact them) can software decode anything you can throw at it. 4K video even.
 
T

ther00kie16

Golden Member
Mar 28, 2008
1,573
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Emulex said:
just picked a dc7900 with 1.5 years warranty remaining (nbd onsite) for $184 , 4gb, core2quad 9400, dvd burner, printer port??,ATI HD 2400 XT - small form factor.

will make a fine htpc - xbmc, 7pro media center, etc. business class gear not bubble-gum dell junk.

$500 for an athlon II x2 dual core? wow. how do they compare to c2q9400? my $300 (brand new) core2quad 8400 asus essentio(8gb,geforce gt220) i just got (poor warranty 1 yr if you can contact them) can software decode anything you can throw at it. 4K video even.
Click to expand...

mind sharing where you get these deals?
 
Zap

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
7
81
Emulex said:
$500 for an athlon II x2 dual core? wow.
Click to expand...

Yep. The pricing you quoted must be some hot deals because a quick search doesn't find anything like that at those prices. However, the price I quoted was right on Dell's web site for a tiny (7.8"x7.8"x3.4") and attractive system without looking for deals or coupons at all. However, if I were to look for a deal, I'd wait until there's another Dell Outlet coupon and snag one for under $300. If there was a current coupon code, would be $277 for one with a dual core AMD, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, DVDRW and full factory warranty. $210 for a single core version, but I wouldn't go that low.
 
Valis

Valis

Member
Jan 8, 2001
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Maybe the Intel combo can draw less power, but the fact remains that it's a lot more expensive than the AMD one.

Anyway, I have also considered a mATX one, it costs less, and is easier to use. has 4 DIMM slots, a few PCI/PCI-Es and I can move it to any chassi in the future. Plus I can use 3.5 HDD and a 5.25 DVD driver (which I have a stack of in a box in the basement from throwaways over the years).

How about this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813128439R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128445

In a case like these, plus a CPU (Athlon 600e) and some DDR3 (Kingston HyperX) 2-4GB.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147098
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811108106
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811108178
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811108065

That'll run up to about $306 + a CPU cooler ($30-50), which is fine I guess. :)

If you have an intel mATX low power combo, I'd be interested.
 
Valis

Valis

Member
Jan 8, 2001
197
0
76
Homerboy said:
What does he use it for? Browsing and email? Just get the Asrock.
Click to expand...

Yes, mostly. But, he has started to watch things like TV-Series, shows, documentaries. He's got a 30" TFT screen, so I think he might need a bit more for some of those 720p vids.
 
Homerboy

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,890
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Valis said:
Yes, mostly. But, he has started to watch things like TV-Series, shows, documentaries. He's got a 30" TFT screen, so I think he might need a bit more for some of those 720p vids.
Click to expand...

ION can decode HD content.
That's the beauty of an Atom+ION for an HTPC.
 
Zap

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
7
81
Homerboy said:
ION can decode HD content.
That's the beauty of an Atom+ION for an HTPC.
Click to expand...

Flash is pretty idiot-proof now because as long as you are on latest version of Flash and latest graphics drivers, it just works. However, other software isn't as straightforward. I fiddled with software recently and no matter what I did, the GPU acceleration stayed greyed out and couldn't be enabled but Flash GPU acceleration worked fine. Still, every now and again someone comes around asking for help because it just won't work on their systems.

With CPU decoding, stuff just works.
 
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