Budget Low Power 24/7 PC

jc00k

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Jan 30, 2013
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10,510
Hi, long time lurker, first time poster here. I'm building for the first time to replace my inherited 10 years old Pentium 4.

Approximate Purchase Date: Feb-Mar 2013

Budget Range: $500-$600 (cheaper is always better though)

System Usage from Most to Least Important:
1. File logging
2. Watching some home made 1080p video and YouTube's HD videos
3. Web surfing

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers, OS, Optical Drive

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, pcpartpicker.com

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1024x768 at the moment, 1920x1200 in the coming months

Additional Comments:
1. As stated in the title, I want a low power PC since it will be running almost 24/7. The lower the better.
2. I want a long lasting PC (at least 5 years). In the past, overheating has been my main problem. So I hope my PC can run cooler this time.
3. It will run Ubuntu or Linux Mint. But I might change it to Windows 7 or 8 in the future.
4. I'm willing to break my budget as long as it can give me a reasonably lower power consumption compared to the budget increase.

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I have tried to gather up the parts that might work for me. Don't hesitate to change anything that I have listed here, even if I have to change the whole thing.

Processor: Intel i3-3220 3.3GHz $130
I'm also open to AMD, but from what I've read, theirs are more power hungry.

Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 LGA 1155 Intel B75 (MicroATX) $60
I want USB 3.0 to be natively supported by my motherboard, with at least either HDMI or DisplayPort present. I've considered some Mini-ITX too, but can't find a good match.

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $30
I have two concerns here. First, whether I should go low voltage like the Kingston LoVo series. Second, should I go higher with 8GB of memory? I'm thinking for my current needs, 4GB should be sufficient. But in the coming 5 years it might be not. Some may say just get 4GB now and add another 4GB later. But my mobo almost certainly will only support 2 slot.

Video Card: None
My overheating problem in the past had always struck the video card. So I'm a bit concerned whether the integrated Intel HD 2500 Graphics will go under early because of running 24/7 and viewing 1080p videos. Is this possible? Should I just get a cheap video card so it'll be easier to replace in case it died?

HDD: Western Digital Green 1TB SATA 6.0Gbps $80
I'm avoiding SSD at the moment because it's still too pricey. I don't really need a huge amount of space, but I like that this drive has SATA3 and big cache. On another note, would 2.5 inch drive be better for my build?

Case: Corsair Carbide 200R ATX Mid Tower $50
I was trying to find a MicroATX case since my mobo is MicroATX, but can't find any that's cheap and nice. Basically, I want the case to have USB 3.0 and audio jack on the front panel. Tool-less, cable management, and card reader would be nice too, but not necessary.

PSU: Cooler Master GX 450W 80 Plus Bronze $60

TOTAL: $410

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Any help and suggestion will be very well appreciated. Thanks :)
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
That green hard drive will bottleneck your system. Get a Caviar Blue instead as it runs at 7200 RPM.

The integrated graphics really aren't meant to be a substitute for a dedicated GPU. If you want to get a low cost one I'd recommend the Radeon 7750 as it has HDMI output.

And then for power supply Cooler Master PSUs have horrendous reliability issues. Go with this instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151074

If you want an MATX case get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352009

Also - B75 has ports that you will never use, it would be better to get an H77 motherboard, but get something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303

If you want the full size board I recommend: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157302
 

jc00k

Honorable
Jan 30, 2013
23
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10,510
That green hard drive will bottleneck your system. Get a Caviar Blue instead as it runs at 7200 RPM.
By bottleneck do you mean it will cause my system to be unable to run 1080p video? Because that's the only heavy duty task I will run on this system. I won't play any games at all.


The integrated graphics really aren't meant to be a substitute for a dedicated GPU. If you want to get a low cost one I'd recommend the Radeon 7750 as it has HDMI output.
Again, is the Intel HD Graphics 2500 won't be enough to run 1080p? Or perhaps it's straining the Intel HD too much so it might kill it sooner? Otherwise I'm not interested in dedicated graphics.


And then for power supply Cooler Master PSUs have horrendous reliability issues.
Thank you for the heads up. Well noted.


I've considered this case, but those mesh will be hard to clean. Plus no USB 3 on the front panel.


Also - B75 has ports that you will never use, it would be better to get an H77 motherboard, but get something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303

If you want the full size board I recommend: But]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157302
But those two boards are more expensive. So what's the point?
 
1: The green drive won't actually stop you doing any of the things you want to do here, might just feel a bit slow when loading programs.

2: HD 2500 is completely fine for your purposes, the HD 4000 graphics on the HD 3225 would be nice though.

3: Coolermaster have a few questionable PSU's yeah, the GX series isn't that great as far as I'm aware. Here is a MUCH better PSU at the same price. 80 PLUS gold too so uses less power.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151117

4: Here is another mATX case, it has positive air pressure and dust filters so dust shouldn't get in.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163186

5: A B75 board is fine for you, it is basically H77 without a couple of features you probably won't use.


EDIT: Here's something at the top end of your budget but should be perfect. Would feel a lot faster, be quieter and should shave the power consumption down to about 90-100W from the PSU and 100-110W from the wall. Your current build would be more like 110-120W from the PSU and 130-160W from the wall.

Intel Core i3-3225
2x4GB Crucial Ballistix 1600Mhz 1.35v C9
ASRock B75M-GL
(HD 4000 graphics)
Samsung 840 250GB
SilverStone SST-PS07B
SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W

Brings you to $567 on Newegg

 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
By bottleneck do you mean it will cause my system to be unable to run 1080p video? Because that's the only heavy duty task I will run on this system. I won't play any games at all.

No it will just run slower than a regular hard drive. 7200 RPM is generally the standard for hard drives - the Caviar Blue I mentioned is actually $20 cheaper and faster than your original pick.

Again, is the Intel HD Graphics 2500 won't be enough to run 1080p? Or perhaps it's straining the Intel HD too much so it might kill it sooner? Otherwise I'm not interested in dedicated graphics.

It will be enough, but at some point you should consider a low end GPU otherwise it may shorten your CPU's life span considerably if you plan to run your system 24 / 7.

Thank you for the heads up. Well noted.

Yeah this is a major issue if you look it up on Hardware Secrets or Jonny Guru. Cooler Master will often lie about the voltage output on its' power supplies.

4: Here is another mATX case, it has positive air pressure and dust filters so dust shouldn't get in.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811163186

Silverstone makes great cases with lots of high quality materials but they can get really expensive.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Right that's understandable. That Fractal Design case with the mesh panels probably isn't the best choice for that.
 

Aristotelian

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Jun 21, 2012
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Celeron G550 should be fine for video playback. I just saw on another thread that Microcenter has it in-store for $35, an amazing price. That would save you $100 that you could spend on better PSU, case, and motherboard from a name brand.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


How is MSI not a name brand? :heink:

And why would you go that cheap on the CPU? At least get an i3 then you won't have to buy a new system for a while.
 

Aristotelian

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Jun 21, 2012
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Well, he says "cheaper is always better" and says specifically his need is for video playback, not editing. He'd be saving $100 for very little noticeable difference in the tasks mentioned. Just throwing it out as an option.

Nothing against MSI, I have just thought of them as a budget brand. Just making the point that saving $100 on the SPU would let him splurge in other areas.
 
I would not trust Intel's HD2500 even for 1080p video. You can get a $144 i3-3225 which has HD4000, OR you can get a $50-$60 Ivy Bridge Celeron and a $35 (or less) HD5450 or GT210 for graphics.
If you'll be doing any editing, get the stronger CPU. If not, the weaker CPU with a low-end discrete card will make a lot more sense for you.
The Seasonic G360 would be a great, efficient PSU for this build.
Edit: The ASRock H77 Micro-ATX is a nice board, but the one I just got for a new build has the anomaly that one of the fan headers will not control a 3-pin chassis fan, even though the documentation and BIOS say it will; manually set to a speed of "1" it goes nearly full speed. Fortunately, it WILL control a PWM fan properly, so you'll need to get one of that type or use only a single low-speed rear fan (on the other header, which works) if you'd like quiet while watching your movies.
 
It's hard to say exactly what you need to play 1080P video. Plenty of people do it on an AMD E-350 fine, yet it won't work on my E-450. Plenty of people have Pentium G620's in a HTPC and do it fine on HD 2000 graphics yet you're saying HD 2500 isn't enough. It seems like it might be a bit more CPU bound than most people realise, again it's hard to say though.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Yeah why not just get an A10? That might be a more ideal solution:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4 ATX FM2 Motherboard ($86.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($70.17 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $493.09
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-30 17:39 EST-0500)
 

Aristotelian

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Jun 21, 2012
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Depending on poster's preferences, E350/450 might not actually be a bad choice. Nobody can beat that chip for power consumption, which is his top criteria. Doesn't it max out at like 12W?

Nothing wrong with i3 as a choice here, but poster's main concern is low power, not performance. The question is what is the lowest consuming chip that can accommodate 1080p playback.

Are you sure all settings are correct on your E450? Most things I have read say that it should do playback fine (the main problems I have seen are for streaming Netflix). Even Intel Atom chips are supposed to be good for playback purposes. I strongly considered E350 for a budget HTPC, ended up going with Celeron just to be safe.
 

jc00k

Honorable
Jan 30, 2013
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10,510
Oh wow, thanks for all of the replies guys. That's a lot of inputs. A bit confused now :pt1cable:

OK, let me clarify some of my needs:
1. I don't edit videos.
2. This build is not my main PC. So I don't need performance from it.
3. I'll use this system mainly for collecting some data from my network. It'll involve a lot of constant writing on the disk, about 500MB of data per hour. I check and clean the data weekly.
4. I'm really concerned about my electric bill. I don't mind pricier parts as long as it has lower power consumption, because then it'll be cheaper in the long run.
5. I want a smooth 1080p video playback. Why? First because I'll watch them occasionally. Secondly it acts as a benchmark to how my system perform while surfing the web in the coming future, because websites and browsers are getting heavier (e.g. ten years ago my Pentium 4 can surf the web pretty easily; now it's dragging its feet)

Poster's main concern is low power, not performance. The question is what is the lowest consuming chip that can accommodate 1080p playback.
Damn straight.

---

With all that said, let's check back all of the parts again.

Processor: Intel i3-3225 was my first choice. I can't find it in my local stores though, hence I picked 3220.
I'm not sure about A10-5800K. 100W is significantly higher than 55W. What's its advantage over 3220? Here they're pretty much on par.
jmsellars1 also mentioned A10-5700. How does it fare against 3220?

Motherboard: jmsellars1 suggested ASRock B75M-GL but it has no HDMI or DisplayPort. I'll stick with my MSI if it's good enough.

Memory: LoVo anyone? Good or bad?

Video Card: I'm reaaallly concerned about this. If I use integrated graphics, will my needs cause the GPU to die early and thus take the CPU with it? That's the question that will determine whether I use integrated or dedicated graphic.

This really scares me:
It will be enough, but at some point you should consider a low end GPU otherwise it may shorten your CPU's life span considerably if you plan to run your system 24 / 7.
HDD: WD Blue spins at 7200 RPM. Faster means more heat right? I don't like heat :non:

Case: I'll keep the Silverstone in mind.

PSU: The choice now is between SeaSonic SSR-360GP 360W and Corsair CX430 V2 430W (cheaper alternative I just found). Voice your choice please.

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http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/ 375 with a decent case that can be placed just about anywhere.
@delta5, your link is not working. Can you fix it? Thanks
A low-wattage Celeron (35W) with a low-power graphics card (HD5450 or GT210) will probably pull no more than 50W-60W from the wall (with an efficient PSU, like the Seasonic G360).
Will it play 1080p smoothly? What's others thought on this?

Thanks for all the replies so far guys. Looking forward to some more enlightenment.
 

Aristotelian

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Here is a lengthy thread on AMD E350. You can get one of these integrated into the motherboard for under $100. jmsellars1 may beg to differ, but everything I have seen indicates playback is smooth unless you are streaming in Flash:

http://techreport.com/review/20401/amd-e-350-fusion-apu-on-the-desktop/18
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1336785/amd-e350-as-htpc

So I think AMD E350 would be your cheapest and lowest power option. Especially since you are only watching occasionally and for benchmarking purposes, I don't see any reason to go up to i3.

Still, the i3 is also very efficient, especially if you underclock it or get a "t" model with the underclocking built in:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i3-2100t.html

So if your budget allows for it and you want the extra performance, go for the i3. If you are frugal, go for E350. And if you are in between, go for G550.
 

I added the bold. It's the reason I don't think the E350 will be quite enough. Something like an i3-2120T however, will be.
I frequently use low voltage RAM. Although it saves an insignificant amount of power, it runs cool, and puts less stress on the IMC (Integrated Memory Controller). G.Skill is my usual choice.
I don't know that using integrated video will cause a CPU to die early, especially if neither are overclocked. External cards are pretty easy to replace though.
The Seasonic is superior to the Corsair in every way. Most importantly, it is more efficient, and uses better parts. Unlike their high-end models, the Corsair was built by CWT, not Seasonic.