A daily use low-wattage PC for surfing, music, 5.1 movies

yacoub · Post by **yacoub** » Mon May 26, 2008 3:16 pm

As I no longer game much anymore, I've been thinking about building a small footprint PC with energy-efficient, quiet parts to be my primary rig for daily use, which generally consists of surfing websites, watching movies, and listening to music. This would replace the gaming-oriented rig I currently use that is really overkill for daily use.

The first question of course is if it's worth spending hundreds of dollars to build a more efficient PC if it's not really going to affect electric usage much even over the long term.

In the meantime, let's discuss the build considerations a bit.

With the understanding that it needs sufficient computing power to perform those functions, the remaining key factors of the build would be:

Energy Efficiency
Acoustic Silence
Small form factor

When it comes to storage, SSD is way out of the normal budget range, but perhaps in a couple years if/when they become more affordable it would replace whatever HDD is selected for the initial build. HDD-wise, a single drive should be sufficient as running the OS and movies or music on the same drive is not going to tax a modern 7200rpm drive, where as for gamers or graphic designers they might want their programs and/or swap disk to be located on a physically-separate drive for performance. One disk chosen for its acoustics and performance, and for its storage space dictated by the quantity of media the user owns. (Some users may have their media on a network or external drive and thus are left with only acoustic and performance factors to consider.)

The GPU is subject to the monitor being powered and the media/content being utilized. (i.e. does it need HDCP support? will it be upscaling and converting content? what resolution is the display?) In my case, the existing monitor it would be connected to initially has a display resolution of 1680x1050, though there is a possibility down the line of something as large as 2650x1600, which would require Dual DVI capability on the GPU selected.

The speakers in my case are 5.1 Logitech Z-680s (DTS, DDL, etc). I currently run an Auzentech XPlosion 7.1 DTS card with the ability to connect it to the Z-680s via digital S/PDIF or optical Toslink. With smaller form factor it's likely the onboard sound will need to be used, even though that generally sacrifices some CPU cycles for sound processing that a peripheral card would handle itself. Given that movie playing is a primary use for the machine, 5.1 sound and the ability to process DTS and DDL is a must. If the onboard sound cannot do this, the motherboard and the case must be appropriate to fit a PCI (or soon PCI-E) Auzentech or Creative soundcard.

The case size should be determined by the components selected, and should not dictate the build itself, else it would force a compromise on the other primary goals of energy efficiency and silence. Some worthwhile considerations would be the number and location of fans and the airflow path in the case.

The CPU is probably the place to start, because that will determine the motherboard selection.

The RAM selection is essentially one of the last things to determine, as it is determined by motherboard compatibility first and foremost. Capacity would be a minimum of 2GB for smooth sailing regardless of OS selected.

The media drive(s) (CD, DVD, BluRay) are also a low priority choice since they are the same regardless of AMD or Intel, AMD or NVidia, etc, and are driven purely by performance and acoustics.

The power supply should not be a difficult matter either, considering this is not a multi-CPU or multi-GPU build with high-end gaming performance parts. The energy efficiency goal means that any 400-500 watt PSU should easily suffice, with the primary goals for PSU selection being energy efficiency and acoustics. For acoustics it is often better to get slightly more PSU than needed so that it is running at a lower percentage of max capacity and thus won't be as hot and won't need to speed up its fan.

What other considerations or parts would be worth discussing?

Myth! · Post by **Myth!** » Mon May 26, 2008 8:46 pm

300W PSU should be ample, and would be more efficient than a 400-500.

Dual link DVI means you can't have a half-height VGA card (unless the mobo has Dual-Link) so your case will be full height slots.

Hifriday · Post by **Hifriday** » Mon May 26, 2008 9:42 pm

In terms of "worth" I think that will really depend on if you personally appreciate the smaller and quieter computer. The energy savings depends on your PC habits and local cost of electricity, but compared with other appliances in most homes, I'd say PC plays a pretty minor part.

Nowadays there are a plethora of options for small, quiet, energy efficient PCs that meet your usage requirements and to me it's a balance between budget, size, and quietness. In terms of low power consumption, there are plenty of prebuilt and DIY PCs that will idle in the 20-40W range.

You didn't mention your OS preference, but if you are willing to go with Linux, you can go to the extreme in terms of SFF, complete silence, and lowest power consumption with something like the Zonbu, Linutop, etc. for around $300. I believe they will support up to 1920 res? They won't playback HD, but SD should be no problem. If you must have 5.1 sound though, it might take some looking to find a USB 5.1 sound with linux drivers. You will need to add an external USB HDD as well unless you already have a home server/NAS.

If you are willing to spend more money, there are plenty of Mini-ITX boards/systems for basically any CPU and plenty of options. Of course there is also the Mac Mini which although not silent is relatively quiet and a very decent setup if your budget allows.

If you are on a tighter budget, there are the D201GLY2 mini-ITX boards from Intel and the upcoming atom based mini-ITX boards with onboard CPU in the $70-90 range. There are also some slightly larger budget SFF barebones that are reasonably priced; Acer L100, Asus Pundits, Shuttle's new budget KPC for $99 with 945G motherboard, 5.1 sound, case, and PSU, etc. However these machines do tend to be louder especially those without external PSU. They can be quieted, but expect to put in more money for "quiet" parts.

If you are willing to go mATX form factor, maybe in one of those cube SFF cases or maybe even an open board, there are also plenty of choices. A nf7050 or 780G mb with a low-end AM2 processor will even get you HD and can be run very quietly.

If you are willing to go with second hand equipment like a PIII, PM, P4, etc, you can probably get a complete system for under $100. An old laptop, or HP's ePCs that are relatively small, have external PSU, and cooled by single 80?mm fan.

Again there are plenty of options and here are only a few suggestions. In terms of the CPU, I think nearly all lower-end chips have sufficient computing power and are easy to cool quietly so I wouldn't start narrowing my selection here; any low end AM2, Intel's E2xxx, PIII, Via. If having a very quiet system is important, then one that supports undervolting/underclocking via the mb or software in windows.

For PSU, if SFF AND low noise are important then I would say the only way to go is with an external PSU and DC/DC convertor combo. Some barebones come with this otherwise there are the PicoPSU, PW200M, etc. I haven't seen any SFF that can run quietly without such a PSU setup as most internal PSU's have small fans that just can't be run quietly and provide enough airflow.

For storage you didn't mention how much space you need. If you have no home server/NAS, and need large storage >500GB maybe a WD GP drive. Otherwise for 40-160GB a 2.5" notebook drive is quiet enough for most systems (ones that don't have head parking clicks...) and very power efficient. Booting off flash or CF will be silent and negligble power consumption, but it maybe a hassle to setup plus you will still have to add an external HDD.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Tue May 27, 2008 1:27 am

X2 4050e ( 2,1 Ghz ) 4450e ( 2,3 Ghz ) and 4850e ( 2,5 Ghz ) would be perfect choice as they take 45W power and yet have lot's of power to run programs etc. I think they are your best bet as of now. Pair them 780G motherboard and you don't need to get discrete graphics, but you can use integrated unless you're heavy gamer, which you do not sound to be.

Bluefront · Post by **Bluefront** » Tue May 27, 2008 2:12 am

You're looking for something that doesn't exist, because you haven't set any priorities. Energy usage could be a priority..... if it were a VIA-based system would do it. Mine draws 20-25w max. Silence could be a priority..... such low current draw produces little heat, and requires a minimum airflow, not to mention the absolute quietest PSU, a PICO. Such a system is quite capable of surfing, playing music, watching DVDs.

Cost saving.....problematic. Most VIA boards are relatively expensive, compared to other low-end offerings. Could the extra cost be made up over a few years of usage? Doubtful. But there is the benefit of "I'm doing all I can to save energy", and damn the cost of doing so.

So..... set a priority. Really there's nothing that's going to be completely satisfactory. My VIA system works just fine, but it's not fast, and has other limitations. But it's quieter and more energy efficient than most setups out there. And it can be built on your kitchen table any way you'd like.

yacoub · Post by **yacoub** » Tue May 27, 2008 3:21 am

Then there's also the potential priority of stability/compatibility, which when reading user reviews of many of the microATX boards over the last couple years on NewEgg or even on technical forums like Anandtech or SPCR, really steers the buyer away from many of them.

I think the first step is to find out exactly how much power my current PC is really using, to determine if it's even significant compared to the rest of the electrically-powered devices in the home.

ps - interesting signature quote

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Tue May 27, 2008 4:50 am

For acoustics it is often better to get slightly more PSU than needed so that it is running at a lower percentage of max capacity and thus won't be as hot and won't need to speed up its fan.

this is not really the case any longer, as the top fanned PSUs (corsair HX/VX, Enermax Modu) keep the fan at a minimum level up to 200/300W, which is way more than you will ever need for a build like this. given the twin demands of energy efficiency and small form factor, a picoPSU must merit consideration.

first step is to find out exactly how much power my current PC is really using, to determine if it's even significant compared to the rest of the electrically-powered devices in the home.

probably not. fridge-freezers, air con, washing machines and tumble dryers can be in the multi-kilowatt usage, whereas a PC would have to be flat out to break 200W.

Post by **CA_Steve** » Tue May 27, 2008 9:01 am

As you won't be gaming, get a motherboard with on-board gpu. If you ever want to move up from 1600x1050, you can always add a card later.

Gillian Seed · Post by **Gillian Seed** » Thu May 29, 2008 2:57 pm

jaganath wrote:

first step is to find out exactly how much power my current PC is really using, to determine if it's even significant compared to the rest of the electrically-powered devices in the home.
probably not. fridge-freezers, air con, washing machines and tumble dryers can be in the multi-kilowatt usage, whereas a PC would have to be flat out to break 200W.

You are of course correct, the tumble dryer etc use substantially more electricity when they are 'doing their thing'. But my fridge manages to only use ~110kWh per year, since the compressor doesn't run continuously. My PC on the other hand seems to eats up kWh, so far this week my PC has managed to consume 4.8kWh! That's going to be around 250kWh for the year, probably more once I add a nice graphics card. Substantially more than my fridge.