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tezza1982

tezza1982

tezza1982

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Joined
11 Jun 2012
Posts
122
Hi guys, just wanted some opinions on a build, I have specific needs though as I need the following from the build

> To serve as a HTPC - I need it to play full HD stuff butter smooth
> To serve as network storage box
> To serve as a decent PC for browsing / programs etc
> As it will be allways on I need low power consumption


I was looking at the AMD APUs so Im looking at this build

ASRock FM1 A75M ITX MB
AMD A4-3400 2.70GHz APU
Bitfenix Prodegy Mini ITX Case
2 x 4gb Corsair 1333 ram
120 Corsair Force 3 SSD boot
Corsair Builder Series CX 430W PSU

I allready have windows and a 1tb seagate barracuda

Whats your thoughts? Would you make any changes? I was looking at a core I3 but they both have the same 65 watt power draw and from what I read the APUs integrated graphics are far superior, whats your thoughts?

Thanks Guys

TC
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128N/EU) £85.99
1 x Asus P8H77-I Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MiniITX Motherboard £83.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Arctic White £64.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £43.98
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (AX3U1600GC4G9-2G) £38.99
Total : £422.03 (includes shipping : £11.75).



Modular PSU with enough power to run a decent GPU for gaming later if you wanted to.

The i3 has quicksync support which improves video encoding speeds. If you are ripping your DVD collection to the rig this will help a lot :)
 
tezza1982 said:
I wont be video encoding, I picked the AMD APU as its far superior in terms of integrated graphics
Click to expand...

You could get away with the G840 easily then. Download the latest drivers for the mobo, they worked to improve the IGP performance.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus P8H77-I Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MiniITX Motherboard £83.99
1 x MSI HD 6850 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £83.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Arctic White £64.99
1 x Samsung 64GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC064D/EU) £55.99
1 x Intel Pentium G840 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £53.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £43.98
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (AX3U1600GC4G9-2G) £38.99
Total : £440.02 (includes shipping : £11.75).



You don't need the 6850 i just put it in to make a point. As you are worried over power consumption. The CPUs can idle, so it doesnt run at full speed drawing the full power output. When you need it to work the speed will automatically increase :)

This mobo comes with lucidmvp software. The rig can use the IGP instead of the 6850 to save power. If you want to play a game the GPU will kick in and the IGP is used to boost the performance. If you don't want to game at all you can obviously ommit it but there is a growing trend for quality free to play games. I can suggest a few if you are interested.

You don't really need 8GB of RAM but as the mobo only has 2 RAM slots and the price difference wasn't massive I went for the 8GB, I trust you have a 64bit OS anyway?
 
Why would I want discrete graphics for a media centre?

Why do you insist on intel are you a fan boy or something,

Im not an expert but that last suggestion with a G840, discrete graphics card and 8gb ram for a media centre/ htpc sucks for what I said I originally wanted,,,
 
tezza1982 said:
Why would I want discrete graphics for a media centre?

Why do you insist on intel are you a fan boy or something,

Im not an expert but that last suggestion with a G840, discrete graphics card and 8gb ram for a media centre/ htpc sucks for what I said I originally wanted,,,
Click to expand...

Well i find that rude to be honest. I'm asking questions to see what you need it for and showing suggestions to keep your options open.

I actually run an AMD phenom 555BE as a HTPC, there is no fanboy argument to be had! I used a nvidia 460 GPU (6850 is on par) to make it gaming capable and much better than any current games console, cuda support helped my CPU with video encoding. If you don't want it to play games, take out the 6850 as i said in the last post.....same for the RAM.

Intel rules the roost at the moment. The Llano IGP is better as it's gaming capable just about. The intel IGP is adequate for HD video playback. The 1155 socket can take a wide range of CPUs sandybridge and ivybridge, I also explained the clever use of the IGP and power saving properties.

YOUR BASKET
1 x MSI E350IA-E45 AMD Hudson M1 DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £89.98
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Arctic White £64.99
1 x Samsung 64GB SSD 830 Desktop Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC064D/EU) £55.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £43.98
1 x Kingston Blu 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9AD3B1K2/4G) £23.99
Total : £293.03 (includes shipping : £11.75).



If all you want is a media centre and a basic PC with low power consumption then consider the Hudson setup. If you want a Llano setup fair enough......you put 8GB of RAM in your spec so why knock me for doing the same?
 
Last edited:
tezza1982 said:
Whats your thoughts? Would you make any changes?
Click to expand...
I would get some 1600MHz RAM - if you do decide to play some games, even low level games, the IGP uses the RAM as graphics memory. The faster the better (to a certain point)
And 1600MHz isn't much, if any, more than 1333.

If you're planning on hosting your media files on there you'll need more space than 1TB before long. Maybe look @ a 2TB?

honosuseri's PSU choice is a nice one. It is modular so you won't have your case cluttered with cables your aren't using.

Oh and maybe look @ a 3rd party cooler instead of the stock AMD one. their not the quietest :)

olivier renault said:
I thought the i3 could do HD 3D playback?
Click to expand...
You are right it can.
 
R088ieS86 said:
I would get some 1600MHz RAM - if you do decide to play some games, even low level games, the IGP uses the RAM as graphics memory. The faster the better (to a certain point)
And 1600MHz isn't much, if any, more than 1333.

If you're planning on hosting your media files on there you'll need more space than 1TB before long. Maybe look @ a 2TB?

honosuseri's PSU choice is a nice one. It is modular so you won't have your case cluttered with cables your aren't using.

Oh and maybe look @ a 3rd party cooler instead of the stock AMD one. their not the quietest :)
Click to expand...

I agree with 1600mhz RAM. Lifetime warranty so makes sense to get the best speed for the price. As he is not using the K series APU any overclocking has to be done via the CPU FSB, upping this overclocks the RAM faster than 1333mhz. My 555BE is @4.1Ghz (idles at 800mhz) and the 1600mhz Kingston genesis RAM is running at 1446mhz.

Any overclocking on llano not only improves the speed of the CPU but it also boosts the IGP aswell. The K series has a better IGP and is multiplier unlocked making life easier for overclocking, obviously a aftermarket heatsink would be necessary to help keep temps down and reduce noise by switching from the stock fan.

The FM1 socket is limited and a dead socket, as I said you had more options on the 1155 socket. This makes it easier to upgrade the machine if you want it to be more powerful in the future.

If you want Llano then maybe this

YOUR BASKET
1 x Samsung 128GB SSD 830 Notebook/Apple Series SATA 6Gb/s KIT with Norton Ghost - (MZ-7PC128N/EU) £85.99
1 x ASRock FM1 A75M ITX AMD A75 Chipset (Socket FM1) DDR3 ITX Motherboard £64.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Arctic White £64.99
1 x AMD A4-3400 2.70GHz (Socket FM1) APU Processor (AD3400OJGXBOX) £46.99
1 x Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 500W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £43.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) £23.99
1 x Akasa AK-CC4007EP01 Nero 3 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/1155/1156/1366/2011/AMD AM2/AM2+/AM3/FM1) £23.99
Total : £369.02 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 
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