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A low-wattage, quiet, cheap build?

post #1 of 21
10/23/11 at 8:26pm
Thread Starter 
I'm a college student renting with $100 included in the rent for utilities. My current rig is my sig rig, and as you can see it pulls a lot more power than I need for most daily activities. I rarely play PC games that require the absolute maximum this rig can output. The reason I use this over my laptop is primarily because I prefer my large screen to the small laptop one.

Can you guys help me find cost-effective, low-power components that will help offset the overage in utilities I've been getting? I will likely be spending no more than 300 or 400 on it, probably less considering I won't be getting a discrete GPU. I will also be looking for deals/used parts to reduce the cost.

The main goal is low power draw, but I don't want something sluggish. Do you guys have any suggestions for components that fit the bill?

Thanks
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post #2 of 21
10/23/11 at 8:31pm
probably a i3 sandy bridge build, they have incredibly low power usage. and almost any newer low-mid end card is gonna get petter power-perfrmance ratio then an old card like a 5750
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post #3 of 21
10/23/11 at 8:33pm
1. Based on the reasoning provided, there's absolutely no need to build a low-wattage system.
2. NO OVERCLOCKING!
3. Replace your current PSU with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...thwatts%20500D

Done.
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post #4 of 21
10/23/11 at 8:34pm
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Your laptop hooked up to your monitor.
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post #5 of 21
10/23/11 at 9:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hertz9753 View Post
Your laptop hooked up to your monitor.
Seriously considering this. Laptop is pretty new so should handle required tasks fine. The only thing keeping me from doing this right now is one of the reasons my laptop is still fast is because it isn't nearly as bogged down with software as my desktop is. The laptop is nearly factory condition still, minus the bloatware that came on it.

I'm going to go check if Walmart has a cheap VGA to DVI or HDMI to DVI adapter right now actually, when I get back I'll compile a list of the bare essentials in terms of software. This will work nicely I think.
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post #6 of 21
10/23/11 at 9:16pm
How much do you go over every month? Is it really that much to spend money to try to save money?

I think getting a higher efficiency PSU will make the biggest difference, tbh. Video cards use very little power when theyre not stressed.
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post #7 of 21
10/24/11 at 7:12am
Besides using the notebook...

1) Replace the PSU. Diablotek are crap in quality and efficiency. Radeon 5750? If you don't have any upgrade plans for it, then you can get by with a nice 300W Seasonic that is 80Plus Bronze efficiency for $40.

2) Replace CPU/mobo with Sandy Bridge of any kind, and run at stock speeds. Your graphics card on a Sandy Bridge platform would probably idle around 40-50W and probably 120-160W in games.
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post #8 of 21
10/24/11 at 7:19am
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If your not doing anything more than browsing and such, your not using much power anyway. Just make sure cool n quiet is turned on and turn the computer off (or at least put it to sleep) when not in use.
I agree with the others, only purchase you need to make is a new 80+ PSU.
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post #9 of 21
10/24/11 at 7:19am
Just replace the cpu with a sempron 145. TDP is only 45w. $40.00
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post #10 of 21
10/25/11 at 2:25am
why not get this, ( a no fan gpu, you can play games, in silence)

6850 silent


http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?...f53ca286980fe9


6670 silent


http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-6670ULT
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