I’m in that situation that I’m going to build a HTPC/Server, it will be placed in my living room running 24/7.
So it has to be quiet and low power consumption.
It has to have HDMI out-put.
It will properly be running Win7 or Windows Server 2008 with some VMware on.
My first thinking was buying a ATOM based ITX motherboard
ZOTAC ION ITX F
WD Caviar Green WD15EARS 1.5 TB or
Samsung SpinPoint F2EG Desktop Class HD154UI 1.5 TB
Kingston HyperX 2 x 2 GB - Some spare I don’t use right now(actually got 4x2GB).
Aopen S 135B
Well that setup is pretty easy to make and it’s quiet and pretty low power consumption.
But I’m not sure the atom CPU is enough for me.
So I was thinking building a system with
Celeron E3300 1 MB
ZOTAC GeForce 9300 - Micro Atx
WD Caviar Green WD15EARS 1.5 TB or
Samsung SpinPoint F2EG Desktop Class HD154UI 1.5 TB
Kingston HyperX 4 x 2 GB
My biggest question is will it be possible to underclock/undervolte the Celeron E3300, so my systems max peak doesn’t hit over 60Watt?
And ofc keep it quiet at the same time?
If others have better ideas for Performance vs. Power Consumption, feel free to tell
HTPC/Server Atom vs Celeron ?
Moderators: Ralf Hutter, Lawrence Lee
FWIW, my main system is under 60W at full load:
Intel E5200 @ 2.2Ghz and 1.0V
Thermalright HR-01 Plus with Scythe Slipstream 800rpm @ 5V
Gigabyte G31M-ES2L (mATX)
2 Gb stick of Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 RAM at default timings
PW-200V with 60W brick
OCZ Vertex 60Gb SSD (OS drive)
I suspect with your CPU and a bit of underclocking and undervolting you should be able to reach your goal - just make sure your mobo has good undervolting options.
Alternatively, you may want to look at the lowest power Clarksdale i3. Underclock and undervolt that a bit further if necessary and you should be able to fit within 60W.
Intel E5200 @ 2.2Ghz and 1.0V
Thermalright HR-01 Plus with Scythe Slipstream 800rpm @ 5V
Gigabyte G31M-ES2L (mATX)
2 Gb stick of Kingston HyperX DDR2-800 RAM at default timings
PW-200V with 60W brick
OCZ Vertex 60Gb SSD (OS drive)
I suspect with your CPU and a bit of underclocking and undervolting you should be able to reach your goal - just make sure your mobo has good undervolting options.
Alternatively, you may want to look at the lowest power Clarksdale i3. Underclock and undervolt that a bit further if necessary and you should be able to fit within 60W.
Actually, the most difficult part of the OP's set-up is spin up of the 3.5" drive (regardless if it's green) during boot. Western Digital's specification mentions a peak of 1.75A on the 12V rail which equates to ~21W. I'd peg that at 15W real-world but that's still quite a bit.JamieG wrote:OCZ Vertex 60Gb SSD (OS drive)
The OCZ Vertex 60GB uses considerably less power at 2W likely coming from the 5V rail.