I recently got interested in quiet computing after looking into upgrading my noisy P4 based system. My requirements are modest. Old or mainstream games (Sims 2, COD4 low detail) as well as some Illustrator, Photoshop and minor video editing. I also watch a lot of DVD quality movies. I'm thinking of using these parts:
Sempron 140 - 45watt TDP, can be overclocked, can be unlocked.
Asus M4A785-M - Cheap. Decent overclocking. Low power 785 chipset. Allows for overclocking of the IGP (I don't want to have to get a discrete card).
2 DDR2 800 sticks - Dual channel, unimportant.
160GB SATA I have lying around
DVDRW I have lying around
Micro Atx case I have lying around
All of this has already been decided, I think. The only thing I'm really not to sure on is the power supply. I originally thought of a 120watt Pico, but was having second thoughts, and considering an Antec Earthwatts 380. What do you guys think?
PSU for a basic needs system...
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FartingBob
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A 120w PicoPSU would be sufficient for this.
If as you say you want to do some basic photo/media editing and encoding, and with the general cheapness of AMD CPU's might i suggest you upgrade the sempron (if you havent already purchased it. If you have ignore the rest of the post
).
Its not a bad chip, i use one in my file server and have had to use it on occasions when my mainPC is out of action and it does fine for general work.
I would suggest getting a Athlong X2 240. Its pretty much the cheapest Dual core chip. It costs about £15 more than the sempron but its pretty much twice as fast, while consuming only a few watts more (except under load, but it'll still be within your 120w PSU limit with the rest of your componants).
Heres a review of the Sempron 140 which also kindly has the 240 to compare to. Much better for photoshop type things and gaming thanks to having 2 cores instead of 1.
If as you say you want to do some basic photo/media editing and encoding, and with the general cheapness of AMD CPU's might i suggest you upgrade the sempron (if you havent already purchased it. If you have ignore the rest of the post
).Its not a bad chip, i use one in my file server and have had to use it on occasions when my mainPC is out of action and it does fine for general work.
I would suggest getting a Athlong X2 240. Its pretty much the cheapest Dual core chip. It costs about £15 more than the sempron but its pretty much twice as fast, while consuming only a few watts more (except under load, but it'll still be within your 120w PSU limit with the rest of your componants).
Heres a review of the Sempron 140 which also kindly has the 240 to compare to. Much better for photoshop type things and gaming thanks to having 2 cores instead of 1.
@Vicotnik
Price is the only deciding factor between the Asus motherboard I am getting and an MSI/Gigabyte one.
It's good to hear the Pico would work. What do you mean by tinkering? You can just plug it in like an ordinary PSU, right?
@Bob
Nothing has been purchased. In New Zealand a 240 will set me back ~$95, almost double that of a $50 140. If I find the unlocked core unstable, I can always upgrade later, but currently I'm restricted by my limited money.
Price is the only deciding factor between the Asus motherboard I am getting and an MSI/Gigabyte one.
It's good to hear the Pico would work. What do you mean by tinkering? You can just plug it in like an ordinary PSU, right?
@Bob
Nothing has been purchased. In New Zealand a 240 will set me back ~$95, almost double that of a $50 140. If I find the unlocked core unstable, I can always upgrade later, but currently I'm restricted by my limited money.
Earthwatts
I have a couple of the Earthwatts 380's, great PSU. Quiet, efficient, and low cost. If your case will hold a ATX PSU then a no-brainer vs the Pico and an external brick. Also, huge assortment of cable ends: SATA, IDE, Molex, etc. a serious shortcoming of the Pico.jrryfwlr wrote:The only thing I'm really not to sure on is the power supply. I originally thought of a 120watt Pico, but was having second thoughts, and considering an Antec Earthwatts 380. What do you guys think?
My 2 cents.
The barrel connector that comes with the Pico is not ideal. It will work, especially if it's a very low powered system like the one you will use, but I would still recommend replacing the barrel connector with something beefier. I use a mate-n-lock 15A connector.jrryfwlr wrote:It's good to hear the Pico would work. What do you mean by tinkering? You can just plug it in like an ordinary PSU, right?
A normal ATX PSU is easy to use, but the efficiency is not that great (compared to the Pico) and it's not fanless.
I don't wanna scare you away from the Pico, but if you should run into problems like a low +12V rail it helps if you can use stuff like a soldering iron and a multimeter.
I love the PicoPSU, both my main system and my file server are powered by Picos, but they are perhaps not for everyone. If you consider lack of cable ends a serious shortcoming you might find setting the whole thing up to be too much hassle.