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Budget SFF help

T

Techun

n00b
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
10
So I have built a computer in the past (watercooled and overclocked) so I know a lot of the basics, but that was back in the socket A days. I'm looking to get back into the custom pc thing with a small HTPC to tinker with. I'm trying to do under 300-350. Here is a copy of a post from another forum.

I'm looking a shuttle barebones kit, or something cute and small to keep in my living room with my tv as it's only monitor.

shuttle KPC K45 $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856101064

E5200 2.5ghz 2mb (this is what I need help on!) $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116072

I'm basically looking for a processor that will do everything I need from it quickly and keep everything smooth. I won't be playing intense games on this computer at all.

2 gigs of 667 ram $30

500 gig sata HDD $55

tv tuner card $20

I have a cd/dvd drive already..

This gives me a very cheap, but non upgradeable system, that comes in under 300 total (which I could do for christmas)

This looks like it could work too, it's a little big and more expensive, but it has spidf in and out (useful for me) and pci16, more ram slots (probably wont go over 3 gigs though, as the fourth would be a waste)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856110062
Does anyone know if this case has a cpu cooler built into it? Can I get an OEM cpu?


also what are some things you can do with HTPCs? I just got the itch to tinker with something and this seems like a good idea to learn about stuff. I also want to be able to set up a network where I can watch videos/tv stored on the HTPC on my laptop via wireless or something cool
 
Fixed link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856110062

I got one of those when they had the $50 rebate a while back. Its pretty much ok. I'm running an older e6300 with an aftermarket cooler, 1 HDD, DVD burner, 2x1GB RAM, 8600GT and a tuner card. It is a nice secondary/backup machine. I could stack my 2 K45's on top of each other and together they'd be a bit taller than this Asus. Also the K45's are a lot less deep than the Asus.
 
I'm guessing it's not possible to find a cheaper/better combo buying the case, psu, and mobo seperately?

priorities
$300-350 > size > power
 
EDIT: Its doable, sorta. Just gotta make some hardware cuts and or prepare to spend a bit more. After a few minutes on the egg, I had these parts lined out totaling $368 before shipping and trying to maintain quality.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144162

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227189

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131288

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116063

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815116007

It really depends on what you want outa the hardware and how long you want it to last to meet your requirements.
 
Freezebyte said:
EDIT: Its doable, sorta. Just gotta make some hardware cuts and or prepare to spend a bit more. After a few minutes on the egg, I had these parts lined out totaling $368 before shipping and trying to maintain quality.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144162
Click to expand...

I LOL'd when I clicked this link: The PSU bundled with that Apevia is in no way shape or form a quality PSU. Apevia makes/bundles pretty shitty PSUs. My proof:
XQPack's Included 420W PSU
Apevia ATX-AS500W-BL
Apevia Warlock Power 900W
Aspire Beast 680W Power Supply

Anyway OP, I wouldn't go with the Shuttle KPC if you want quiet computing, especially since it'll be next to your TV. The fan in the KPC's PSU is pretty loud, even at low loads.

Here's an alternative build:
AMD Athlon X2 4850E CPU - $60
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H AMD 780G mATX Motherboard - $80
Kingston KVR800D2N6/2G 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $23
Western Digital WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $60
Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU - $50
Silverstone SUGO SG02B-F Black mATX Case - $60
---
Total: $333 plus tax and shipping

Now you havent told us what you're planning to use this PC (hint hint) for so I'm going to assume that the X2 4850E is enough for your needs. Now the main reason I went with AMD is due to the fact that 780G chipset is only available for AMD CPUs. Now the 780G chipset is awesome because the onboard video can decode most if not all of HD content. Therefore, you see less CPU usage if watching Blu-ray or HD-DVDs and free up the CPU to do other tasks. To get the same level of HD playback with an Intel setup, you'd have to spend another $100 or so.

In addition, unlike Intel motherboards, the Gigabyte 780G motherboard can output 5.1 channel audio through HDMI. Most Intel motherboards can only output 2.1 channel audio through HDMI.

But if you don't plan on HD content or just love Intel more, here's an Intel build:
Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 CPU - $83
Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 Intel G31 mATX Motherboard - $53
Kingston KVR800D2N6/2G 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $23
Western Digital WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $60
Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU - $50
Silverstone SUGO SG02B-F Black mATX Case - $60
---
Total: $329 plus tax and shipping

As for what HTPCs can do, here's a few things that they can do:
- Act as a PVR
- Act as a MAME station
- Allows you to watch downloaded content on your TV, rather than a computer monitor.
 
Stop calling SFFs HTPCs. If you are looking for something that is "Home Theater Personal Computer" there is another section for it. They are different things, though some people have loaded HTPCs. If you are looking at advice on home theater set ups with a computer, then this is not the section. If you are looking for an entire new modern system for $300-350 incl OS, then... that would be near impossible.

And as Danny said, and as we keep posting in Gen[H], what [tf] are you using it for? Just movies? No games?
 
It will be a movie player, browser, light game/emulator player, music player, and just a computer for anyone to use. (I'm in college, people stop by)

I like AMD a lot, my last processor was a 2600+ that I ran at 2.7ghz daily, I think I might do your AMD combo.
 
Will be no problem for what it's used for then. I don't like AMD a lot, but they dominate in the HTPC market.
 
Techun said:
It will be a movie player, browser, light game/emulator player, music player, and just a computer for anyone to use. (I'm in college, people stop by)

I like AMD a lot, my last processor was a 2600+ that I ran at 2.7ghz daily, I think I might do your AMD combo.
Click to expand...

For those uses, the AMD setup is more than enough.
 
well HDMI is a big plus, as my tv has HDMI, and it seems to be a pretty quality board, so I might go with all these components. I know you shouldn't skimp on the PSU, but is there a better option for less, like the OCZ?
 
Techun said:
I know you shouldn't skimp on the PSU, but is there a better option for less, like the OCZ?
Click to expand...

Well, the EA500 has lost the Free Shipping since I posted it last night. So get this PSU for $10 cheap but with free shipping:
Antec Earthwatts EA380 380W PSU - $40

The EA380 380W PSU will be enough for that HTPC. And don't bother with OCZ. A bit too lazy to go in depth but I would not trust any of OCZ's offerings right now, especially at the low-end.
 
Techun said:
I'm not really trying to pinch pennies that much, just 2 years ago OCZ was all the rage with the 520 watt PSU, and it's on sale, and it's sleeved.
Click to expand...

are you thinking of the corsair HX520?

OCZ =/= Corsair.
 
No, I'm pretty sure the most popular PSU during the socket 939 times was the OCZ 520w, at OCForums atleast. I could be mistaken.

Can anyone else offer some insight into whether to get the OCZ 500 or the Antec 380? It seems I might not get the rebate on the OCZ even if I turn it in, but it is more powerful.


edit, the OCZ powerstream 520w was what I am remembering
http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/powerstream520/ps520.htm
 
I'd go with the EA380. The StealthXStream 500W is a based on a very iffy PSU platform, the FSP Epsilon. Considering that the platform ranges from good to bad very often, it's just best to avoid that platform altogether.

@ Techun
Yes the OCZ 520W SLI was a decent PSU. But their current offerings are very low quality.
 
Guys I can't tell you how excited I am. I haven't had a desktop to tinker with for a long time, and I just read this article about my future cpu/mobo combo.
http://hothardware.com/Articles/AMD-780G-Chipset-and-Athlon-X2-4850e-Preview-/?page=1

At load, with a graphics card it only drew 155w at the outlet, so that means the system's only drawing about 128w from the PSU when using another video card, so I'm going to go with the Antec PSU since I don't need 500 watts :)
 
There is a deal I am hoping to get in on this friday, to get a Phenom X4 9750 4MB 125W for within my budget, but I'm wondering a few things.

This will be much, much faster than my proposed 4850E X2 45W correct?
This will be much, much hotter than my proposed proc?

Can I undervolt and underclock the X4 and still get much better perfomance while trying to stay pretty quiet? Can a SFF case handle a 125W processor?
 
The Phenom X4 9750 will be faster than the X2 4850e, but not entirely based on raw power. The two additional cores could be used for offloading background programs/services -- and that could help reduce system slowdown. The Phenom, however, will run considerably hotter than the X2 as well (125W vs. 45W -- you can do the math... ;) ).

It's been a while since I've played with an AMD-based motherboard, so I can't say whether or not you could underclock/undervolt the Phenom enough to offset its potential heat and noise issues. If that's a huge concern of yours, you would be better off going with the X2 4850e instead.

As for whether or not the SFF case can handle the Phenom, it depends on the particular case you have/you're getting, as well as how the case fans (and other cooling mechanisms) are set up. For example, you may have heat issues with the Phenom inside the SUGO case that you wouldn't have in, say, the Cooler Master Elite 340.
 
Well it's going to be hard to get it, so I'm going to try to get it. Worst case scenario I water cool it, I still have my block and rad from my last computer :p
 
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