On the subject of graphics cards, I'd definitely buy a dedicated one although I have noticed that a lot of the integrated ones (as is being said) can perform as well as low end dedicated. I was going to budget approx 100-120 quid for one which I think probably gets something reasonable off this list:
If you can stretch your budget a bit, you may well find a bargain Radeon HD 7850 which is a very good card. Failing which, I believe the HD 7790 or the 560Ti offer some very good bangs (ooer!) for the bucks.
That's what I found, too. Played video/streamed music great...GUI was oftne painfully slow (even if I changed it to a low-fi one) and sometimes hung.
Anyone have any comments on buying something like the Lenovo SFF 58p for a HTPC base?
I'd think that, although temptingly cheap, it comes across as a little bit underpowered, and of limited upgrade potential. So long as you're happy that you just want it for playing back video files and DVDs, with only the occasional use for other tasks, it'll probably be up to the job though. I'd be tempted to stick a bit more RAM in as well as upgrading the hard drive, especially if you want to run an modern OS and stream HD video from websites.
I'd think that, although temptingly cheap, it comes across as a little bit underpowered, and of limited upgrade potential. So long as you're happy that you just want it for playing back video files and DVDs, with only the occasional use for other tasks, it'll probably be up to the job though. I'd be tempted to stick a bit more RAM in as well as upgrading the hard drive, especially if you want to run an modern OS and stream HD video from websites.
I just want it to run the latest versions of XBMC. I'm not that interested in the top end skins for it, either - just want something solid that will play what I throw at it MKV, FLV, MP4 (inc full HD) through HDMI. Sound over HDMI but also to a stereo amp (no surround sound here!).
Otherwise, streaming from NAS (MP3, FLAC).
I don't do a lot of streaming live movies/TV so I think it's OK if it can't do this.
If this'll do what a Revo RL80 will do (even if I have to stick a 20 quid silent card + SSD in), then that's fine.
1. The CPU benchmarks about 50% better than the AMD system, and the GPU over 100% better. That's at stock speeds too, and I'd guess that you'd be looking to overclock it to further improve that advantage.
2. You could do without the cooler and thermal paste if you don't want to overclock it, but otherwise everything else looks reasonable. You could perhaps go with a cheaper PSU as well, but seeing as you can get a decade or so out of a good one, spending a little more isn't a bad thing.
3. No, I doubt you'd save much by shopping around; Amazon are usually competitive, although you might sometimes get better deals from places with limited stock.
1. The CPU benchmarks about 50% better than the AMD system, and the GPU over 100% better. That's at stock speeds too, and I'd guess that you'd be looking to overclock it to further improve that advantage.
2. You could do without the cooler and thermal paste if you don't want to overclock it, but otherwise everything else looks reasonable. You could perhaps go with a cheaper PSU as well, but seeing as you can get a decade or so out of a good one, spending a little more isn't a bad thing.
3. No, I doubt you'd save much by shopping around; Amazon are usually competitive, although you might sometimes get better deals from places with limited stock.
Great stuff - thanks for the advice and confirming the choice.
I was talking to my mate at work today about the cooler etc and not overclocking so I think I'll stick with the stock one. I've had the stock intel job on this Core 2 Duo for years and the thing doesn't run up too often and is still quiet so I think it'll do the trick.
Comments
If you can stretch your budget a bit, you may well find a bargain Radeon HD 7850 which is a very good card. Failing which, I believe the HD 7790 or the 560Ti offer some very good bangs (ooer!) for the bucks.
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
I'd think that, although temptingly cheap, it comes across as a little bit underpowered, and of limited upgrade potential. So long as you're happy that you just want it for playing back video files and DVDs, with only the occasional use for other tasks, it'll probably be up to the job though. I'd be tempted to stick a bit more RAM in as well as upgrading the hard drive, especially if you want to run an modern OS and stream HD video from websites.
I just want it to run the latest versions of XBMC. I'm not that interested in the top end skins for it, either - just want something solid that will play what I throw at it MKV, FLV, MP4 (inc full HD) through HDMI. Sound over HDMI but also to a stereo amp (no surround sound here!).
Otherwise, streaming from NAS (MP3, FLAC).
I don't do a lot of streaming live movies/TV so I think it's OK if it can't do this.
If this'll do what a Revo RL80 will do (even if I have to stick a 20 quid silent card + SSD in), then that's fine.
I've done a bit of sniffing around again and checked what it would cost to build vs what I was going to buy, if I had some of the upgrades on offer.
The hardware is as follows:
Asus P8Z77-V LX ?84.96
Akasa AK-CC4007EP01 Nero 3 CPU Cooler ?24.52
Intel 3rd Generation Core i5-3570K ?172.53
Arctic Silver 5 3.5g Thermal Paste ?6.05
Coolermaster Elite 334U Mid Tower ATX Case - Black ?35.09
Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 Vengeance 8GB ?57.96
Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti Nvidia Graphics Card ?84.96
Corsair CX750 Builder Series CX 750W ATX/EPS 80 PLUS Bronze PSU ?68
Windows 7 Professional SP1 OEM ?47
Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5 inch SATA Solid State Drive ?76
I have an old HD I can put in it plus a remote NAS so internal PC storage isn't a big issue. I also have a DVD ROM for it.
Now, this comes to about ?657 but if I got this ready built, it would be ?800.
I've taken a look back at some suggestions posted and there is a big difference in price, here...so, I've got a couple of questions...
1. Realistically, how much more powerful (quicker) is this going to be than going down the suggested AMD route?
2. Are there any components there that are clearly unnecessary or overkill?
3. Are there any components there that could be purchased for significantly less? (I think they're all sourced from Amazon as shown)
Thanks for any comments....
2. You could do without the cooler and thermal paste if you don't want to overclock it, but otherwise everything else looks reasonable. You could perhaps go with a cheaper PSU as well, but seeing as you can get a decade or so out of a good one, spending a little more isn't a bad thing.
3. No, I doubt you'd save much by shopping around; Amazon are usually competitive, although you might sometimes get better deals from places with limited stock.
Great stuff - thanks for the advice and confirming the choice.
I was talking to my mate at work today about the cooler etc and not overclocking so I think I'll stick with the stock one. I've had the stock intel job on this Core 2 Duo for years and the thing doesn't run up too often and is still quiet so I think it'll do the trick.
Best get my hand in my pocket now....