2009-08-14, 14:58
Here in the UK the GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H is actually more expensive than the zotac board mentioned before... is it worth just going for the latter instead? Only supplier for the gigabyte here in UK is $162...!
MacLeod_1980 Wrote:Ok start with a small MB:What are the +'s of going with the E7400 over the E5400? It's a chunk more expensive and will only mean I'll have to slightly compromise of other things. On one thread I'm being suggested the latter.
GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 HDMI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813128363
Nice CPU with 64 bit support, so you can do over 3GB or RAM if you feel.
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819115206
Good RAM
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6820231098
A nice case with a good enough PSU. This is really personal pref, but here are some:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811147098
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811129039
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6811108106
HTPC Specific cases:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLis...icro%20ATX
And then a harddrive of choice, go with green for power efficiency and silence.
My suggestions, minus the HD, will run you anywhere from $350-400 shipped.
Kieron Wrote:What are the +'s of going with the E7400 over the E5400? It's a chunk more expensive and will only mean I'll have to slightly compromise of other things. On one thread I'm being suggested the latter.
http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Components/c...cat/Core-2
Cheers
Kieron Wrote:Here in the UK the GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H is actually more expensive than the zotac board mentioned before... is it worth just going for the latter instead? Only supplier for the gigabyte here in UK is $162...!
Kieron Wrote:Wake-on-USB..? What's that? Does that mean I won't be able to turn it on via IR remote... please dont tell me that!?!
Kieron
ion_man Wrote:The E7400 is faster than the E5400. Unless you want to use your HTPC for transcoding and playing recent games, you won't need the extra speed.
Kieron Wrote:Don't mean to stupid but what does 'the new revision is imminent' mean? So the latest version you can? If so how do you tell/where do you buy?I think what he means, by imminent, is it has not been released yet - you should research and see if you can find a release schedule.
Kieron
Kieron Wrote:Don't mean to stupid but what does 'the new revision is imminent' mean? So the latest version you can? If so how do you tell/where do you buy?
Kieron
MacLeod_1980 Wrote:Well if you think that is a suitable process I would suggest getting a lower end MB, cause there is no need to pay for a FSB speed you are not using.
From a quick search, there is not much out there for doing that though - the slower FSB are cheaper, but larger. Generally older.
If you do go for a lower CPU, then you may want to get a GPU. With a high end CPU you dont have to rely on vdpau.
ion_man Wrote:An E5200/E5300/E5400 with a Nvidia 9300/9400 board makes a lot of sense, no one says you have to make use of the highest FSB supported by the board, those boards offer a lot more than just a specific FSB speed.I love you! Spot on, exactly what I wanted to hear haha
And you will be hard pressed to find a decent board that supports only 800Mhz FSB these days anyway.
The E5xxx cpus are more efficient and cheaper than the E7xxx, so why pay for something you don't need?
Even with a high-end cpu it makes sense to use VDPAU as the GPU is a lot more efficient at decoding HD video than the CPU (and besides any current Nvidia GPU supports VDPAU these days so you would have to look specifically for an old GeForce 6 or 7, but why would you want that?)
On the other hand a separate graphics card doesn't make sense for pure HTPC use at it uses more power, generates more heat (and noise if actively cooled) and the extra power is not needed for HTPC use.
If you are a hard core gamer and want to use your HTPC for the latest Windows games, that's a different story then.
To sum it up, I think the article I mentioned is spot on with regards to the current most suitable components for a good Linux HTPC for XBMC or also for MythTV.
Any more powerful cpu would be a waste (unless you need it for transcoding) and any cheaper boards would have other limitations you wouldn't want.
Kieron Wrote:So what would you recommend in regards to motherboard and CPU - please bear in mind I'm a brit so newegg etc. don't ship here,
Kieron Wrote:I'll get it from ebay UK or ebuyer I think.
Kieron Wrote:Yeah I'd only do it if I got the manafactuer warranty with it. I usually buy from eBuyer, who are exceptional with returns.
Thanks for the suggestions I'm going to go ahead and buy soon. Might try and wait it out for the Zotac!
Kieron