Budget CPU for budget HTPC build..

[cebalrai]

Thanks everyone. Would that case for for both mini AND micro itx?

The case is only M-ITX. It's itty-bitty, about the size of a PS3. The ITX motherboard I linked is perfect for it. Four USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, and eSATA? ASRock (which is ASUS) quality? Yes please.

One other thing to remember. Llano APUs love fast RAM because that's what they use for video RAM. Grab DDR3 1866 or 1600 if you can - it's not much more expensive than the DDR3 1333. Just remember you may have to manually set it to its listed speed in your BIOS (though my last ASRock board didn't require it).

 

[SirJangly]

Thanks Now I must see if I can afford the extra $$ for llano :X

 

[cebalrai]

Thanks Now I must see if I can afford the extra $$ for llano :X

It's a mere $69.99 with free shipping:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103955

 

[SirJangly]

Yes, but I am excessive and looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103951

 

[cebalrai]

Yes, but I am excessive and looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103951

Depends on how much gaming you think you'll be doing. For HTPC use you wont get any improvement with an A6 over the A4. But it does have twice as many Radeon cores, so...

 

[SirJangly]

Well, the most I would play is league of legends. Also, I don't know if it matters, but I would not be using this to play bluray discs, just media files and possibly streaming Amazon Video/ Netflix or similar services.

 

[cebalrai]

Well, the most I would play is league of legends. Also, I don't know if it matters, but I would not be using this to play bluray discs, just media files and possibly streaming Amazon Video/ Netflix or similar services.

That's an older game, right? ~2 years old?

 

[SirJangly]

That's an older game, right? ~2 years old?

Yes runs off the warcraft 3 engine. I realized that with the money saved I could buy a discrete gpu. What options would fit in a mini itx case?

 

[sm625]

If you check Slickdeals regularly you'll soon find a $300 sb notebook.I'd rather get that over a mITX box. Might even cost less too and can take it on the road

 

[cebalrai]

Yes runs off the warcraft 3 engine. I realized that with the money saved I could buy a discrete gpu. What options would fit in a mini itx case?

I think you need to figure out exactly what you want to do here.

If your goal is to build a machine to play hi-def videos and Legends then you're going to be golden using the Llano APU. No discreet video card is necessary, though you could easily definitely drop one in there at a later date if your needs change. Llano should run Legends perfectly well.

Desktop Llanos don't make a lot of sense once you start adding in discreet GPUs and not using their inherent graphics. At that point you're just building an Athlon II computer with a needless price markup. (though the A6 and A8 models have twice an Athlon's L2 cache, however it's still not worth it). And of course the semi-exception is building an A8/A6 machine and using dual graphics. Dual graphics doesn't work with older DX9 games though, which Legends is (or is it DX10?)

 

[cebalrai]

If you check Slickdeals regularly you'll soon find a $300 sb notebook.I'd rather get that over a mITX box. Might even cost less too and can take it on the road

He'd also be stuck with ~50% of the graphics power.

Here's a HP recert for only $550: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834158073

- A8 mobile processor
- 6 GB RAM
- Blu-Ray
- USB 3.0
- Radeon HD 6750 discreet GPU, with dual graphics


I think that's a really good deal. Tremendous even. Wow. Maybe I should buy it... lol...

 

[SirJangly]

I think you need to figure out exactly what you want to do here.

If your goal is to build a machine to play hi-def videos and Legends then you're going to be golden using the Llano APU. No discreet video card is necessary, though you could easily definitely drop one in there at a later date if your needs change. Llano should run Legends perfectly well.

Desktop Llanos don't make a lot of sense once you start adding in discreet GPUs and not using their inherent graphics. At that point you're just building an Athlon II computer with a needless price markup. (though the A6 and A8 models have twice an Athlon's L2 cache, however it's still not worth it). And of course the semi-exception is building an A8/A6 machine and using dual graphics. Dual graphics doesn't work with older DX9 games though, which Legends is (or is it DX10?)

So, it sounds as if the AMD offering is more future proof than the intel? That alone tips the scales, despite the increased costs..

 

[aphelion02]

No, in terms of future proofing the AMD chip loses completely. In a few years the llano will be quite mediocre both in terms of cpu and gpu performance, whereas a i3 or i5 will still have decent CPU performance and you can always spend anywhere between $50-$200 for state of the art GPU performance.

 

[SirJangly]

No, in terms of future proofing the AMD chip loses completely. In a few years the llano will be quite mediocre both in terms of cpu and gpu performance, whereas a i3 or i5 will still have decent CPU performance and you can always spend anywhere between $50-$200 for state of the art GPU performance.

So do you suggest the celeron? I see the the FM1 board is somewhat redundant...I'm guessing that you mean the 1155 socket will be around much longer? Sorry if I seem a bit ignorant with all this, and to be honest, I doubt I would see much performance difference unless I went with the e-350 Despite that, I'd feel better knowing my hard earned money was spent wisely..

 

[cebalrai]

No, in terms of future proofing the AMD chip loses completely. In a few years the llano will be quite mediocre both in terms of cpu and gpu performance, whereas a i3 or i5 will still have decent CPU performance and you can always spend anywhere between $50-$200 for state of the art GPU performance.

I agree, however not completely. If Shag wants to do the HTPC thing and lowish-end gaming thing, Llano will still be perfectly fine in a few years. If he wants a serious gaming machine I'd agree go Intel or see how Bulldozer checks out.

Desktop Llano makes sense in a limited segment of builds. It's a good choice for HTPC and light gaming rigs. Also the A4/A6's that are showing up are decent options for general use machines (not so much the A8).

Mobile Llano's are looking good for light gaming laptops. I'm more than satisfied with my A8-3500M laptop. But as soon as you decide you require a discreet GPU in a desktop, Llano stops being worth it. If driver maturity helps the dual-graphics option look a little better I suppose it could make it a tiny bit more attractive, but right now it's not the greatest (though apparently it works well with WoW).

The thing that bugs me about the A8-3850 part is that I really feel it's overpriced. $140 is too much. $120 makes it waaaay more attractive... They'll come down in price soon enough, but right now they're selling out (partly because of supply issues) so we'll probably have to wait until December or so....

 

[QuantumPion]

I was just looking at upgrading my HTPC as well. I was planning on going with
Intel SB Celeron g530: $57
ASRock H61M-GE: $63
http://detonator.dynamitedata.com/c...com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147099Rosewill R363-M-BK case: $50
2x2 GB DDR3: $30
Total: $200 even

 

[pauldun170]

what would a htpc be doing that a llano or hd2000/3000 gpu could not handle? I know alot blame the intel graphics for having the 24fps bug, but other than that I can't see what would be inadequate about it? I don't know I use onboard 4250 graphics for my htpc and it does just fine, I guess I'm not a hardcore htpc user

So far I haven't seen any show stoppers using the i3-2100\hd2000
No driver issues and 1080 mkv files have played no problem.
Plenty of folks are using the g620 for their htpc.

Might come down to motherboard?

 

[QuantumPion]

So far I haven't seen any show stoppers using the i3-2100\hd2000
No driver issues and 1080 mkv files have played no problem.
Plenty of folks are using the g620 for their htpc.

Might come down to motherboard?

If you are going to spend that kind of money on the processor, you might as well spend $10 more to get the i3-2105 which has the hd3000 gpu.

 

[pauldun170]

I was just looking at upgrading my HTPC as well. I was planning on going with
Intel SB Celeron g530: $57
ASRock H61M-GE: $63
Rosewill R363-M-BK case: $50
2x2 GB DDR3: $30
Total: $200 even

from the link I posted..

Option 3: Celeron Sandy Bridge:
Intel Celeron G540 - $67
Intel Celeron G530 - $57
These are yet another option for HTPC by Intel for the most budget conscience builder or those on a strict budget. They have a 2MB cache as opposed to a 3MB for the Pentium SB and 4MB for the i3. All the Sandy Bridge processors, including these budget offerings, can bitstream HD Audio and can handle 1080p video with ease. Picture quality for the HD3000, HD2000 and HD1000 (the latter of which is found in these chips) is the exact same for 1080p HTPC use.

 

[SirJangly]

from the link I posted..

Thanks guys. Because of a discount I have had available at newegg for a while, the intel setup was $130 while amd was $195. Because of the difference in price I went with the intel and have enough money to get a discrete card. Now, to find the best bang for the buck video card

 

[pauldun170]

If you are going to spend that kind of money on the processor, you might as well spend $10 more to get the i3-2105 which has the hd3000 gpu.

Depends...
i3-2100 is $99 at Microcenter (where I got mine) so its $34 price difference.
In my case, I had an hd4830 so it wasn't worth it. I did initially consider it before I remembered I had perfectly good discrete card lying around.

For someone else who doesn't live near a microcenter and doesn't have a discrete card, the i3-2105 is still a tough sell even with a $10 price difference.
The hd3000 sucks for gaming and the Hd2000 covers everything else. The only compelling reason to go with the 2105 over the 2100 seems to be to say "I have a the HD3000 with my i3-2100 so I get to play 5 year old titles at low resolutions on medium while that guy has to play them on low"
Not that there is anything wrong with that...

I also have a couple of computers and the i3-2100 is basically something to keep everyone else from hopping on my gaming box.

"Here...your email and itunes is setup on that new PC over there. Same goes for <insert movie\tv series\>. Now go away...you're gonna get me killed"

 

[pauldun170]

Thanks guys. Because of a discount I have had available at newegg for a while, the intel setup was $130 while amd was $195. Because of the difference in price I went with the intel and have enough money to get a discrete card. Now, to find the best bang for the buck video card

What did you end up getting and how much do you want to spend on a vid card?

 

[pauldun170]

keep in mind while your shopping
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,3018-7.html

 

[SirJangly]

What did you end up getting and how much do you want to spend on a vid card?

The celeron g530 I'd like to spend ~$50-$60 on the card..

 

[SirJangly]

The celeron g530 I'd like to spend ~$50-$60 on the card..

It'd have to work within this case and power supply

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001H0BA24