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Want to build energy-efficient HTPC to record cable (Ceton card) and playback 1080p stuff

post #1 of 7
8/11/12 at 7:19pm
Thread Starter 
I've currently got an old Dell Inspiron 530 (Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600) that I put a Ceton card in and maxed out the RAM, but it constantly fights me on everything, from drivers to constant audio problems. Anyhow, my new HDTV needs audio over HDMI so this is a good time to upgrade the HTPC.

My main concern is electrical power consumption. My electric bill is absurd doh.gif

I've got a newish case I can use newegg from an office PC that I'm no longer using.

This HTPC is used for:
  1. Recording Comcast cable with the CableCard via a Ceton PCI-Express card
  2. Playing back all manner of video files through Windows Media Center (.avi, .mkv, ripped DVD's, etc)

That's all it's used for. No gaming. I just need reliability, audio over HDMI, and the lowest power consumption I can get for a reasonable price.

I'd put my budget under $300. I'd love to stay as cheap as possible.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, it's GREATLY appreciated.
Edited by wantonsoup - 8/12/12 at 2:39pm
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post #2 of 7
8/12/12 at 6:46am
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Cheapest option would be to use the listed mobo and RAM, buy a Sempron 140/145 ($20-30) and a cheap HSF (OEM gets very loud), a better PSU (the one you have listed is not efficient at all) and a cheap HD4350/5450 GPU and you should be able to do what you need.

A CX430 for $25 AR could handle all your power needs (but build quality is not quite what it should be, some have issues with cap squeal and others (including me) had noisy fans).

This Cooler works great and is quite (and is only $9.99 AR).

Here is a 5450 for $20 AR (but I have seen them as cheap as $10 on sale AR).

Sempron 140's come up all the time in the FS forum here for $20-25.
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post #3 of 7
8/12/12 at 9:50am
Thread Starter 
Thank you very much! I'm curious - wouldn't performance and power consumption be vastly reduced with a newer mobo and Intel Bridge processor? I want something that'll last me a few years. Like I said I'm happy to spend a little if it gains me rock solid video and recording performance and is great on power consumption.
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post #4 of 7
8/12/12 at 10:11am
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For the lowest price, what I posted is lowest, and is still energy efficient (the Sempron is a 45w CPU and the 5450 is like 15-20w max).
A new MB and i3 would also work and would be just as efficient (maybe a bit better depending on which exact CPU and board you get), but you would need a new board, CPU and RAM, along with the new PSU and HSF, so probably 2x the price.
Performance would be "better" but you would probably not see any difference in real world use.
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post #5 of 7
8/12/12 at 12:40pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks - let's put my old stuff aside (My partner just reminded me that we stopped using it because it was constantly power cycling so something isn't working in those parts and I don't want to risk re-using any of it for this HTPC)

What would fit the bill? I've considered a Sandy Bridge Celeron but I'm concerned it might be overtaxed a bit playing back Blu-ray files. I was thinking I could go with a G540 or maybe a G630, and that way I'm working with an LGA 1155 mobo if I want/need to upgrade down the road. What do you think?

I'm assuming, blindly I'll admit, that with a new cpu/mobo I won't need a GPU? I'm not sure if that's true. But I know newer chips have decent video processing and I'm not going to be gaming on this. I'm concerned about too much heat as the Ceton tuner card puts out a lot of heat. My big need is audio on the HDMI for this new HDTV.
Edited by wantonsoup - 8/12/12 at 2:51pm
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post #6 of 7
8/13/12 at 4:39am
If you are thinking of changing MB, CPU and Ram.

Your best bet would be AMD FM1 setup, far superior fusion tech.

But I think to many people try to over complicate their HTPC. Think about it, most smart phones will play HD video these days.

P.s. Welcome to the OCN family grouphug.gif
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My current project
(18 items)
 
Children Gaming
(13 items)
 
Wife PC
(13 items)
 
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
1055T 4.2Ghz @ 1.475v GA-990FXA-UD3 SLI GTX570 Patriot Gamer 8Gb Kit 1599Mhz 9-9-9-24 
Hard DriveCoolingCoolingCooling
120Gb SSD + 30Gb SSD + 2Tb HDD XSPC RX240 Koolance PMP-500 XSPC EX240 
CoolingCoolingOSMonitor
Rasa CPU block 2x EK- Universal blocks SLi Win 7 Ultimate Acer 24" LCD 
KeyboardPowerCaseMouse
Logitech G19 OCZ ZX 1000W 80+ Gold Antec 4U22EPS650 Logitech G700 
Mouse PadAudio
Razer Galiathus X-Fi Titanium 
View all
CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Phenom II x4 955 ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 GTS 450 G.Skill 1600Mhz 
Hard DriveOptical DriveOSMonitor
Western Digital 2 Tb green something recycled Win7 Ultimate Acer 18" 
KeyboardPowerCaseMouse
Logitech mx5500 seasonic 430w Antec Two Hundred Case v2 Logitech M-RCL 124 
Audio
cheap speakers 
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CPUMotherboardGraphicsRAM
Phenom II X4 B55 @ 3.8Ghz Stable GA-870A-UD3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 Kingston Hyper X 2,000Mhz 
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post #7 of 7
8/13/12 at 6:40am
Thread Starter 
I'm concerned because the tuner card is recording 4 HD streams at the same time. I don't want a processor that can't handle that.
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