[Soul_Est]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oohms /img/forum/go_quote.gif Saving money on power bills by spending it on a new computer is kinda a false economy. That said, its pretty easy to build a cheap low power pc - If you don't game or do a lot of CAD/real time 3d rendering it doesn't matter what graphics you have. - SSD's are useless for slow pcs like atoms If you are travelling, consider an eee box + upgrade the hard drive to something bigger, otherwise i would get any atom board, a pci sound card (since it looks like you want to use it for music), a 2TB hard drive and a cheap case for it all.

I'll give you that one on the economics but I tend go without upgrades (not add-ons) to the core system for a long time (only just replaced the memory in my 3 year old MacBook bumping it to 3GB). The ION would be for playback of h.264 encoded 720p or 1080p video and possibly for use with MythTV later on. I tend not to go with pre-built systems as I never could get what I really wanted (but that may change).

Quote:

Originally Posted by J.Pocalypse /img/forum/go_quote.gif Spec wise, it's sounds a lot like my Asus Eee PC 1201N. At half the price of your build. A good 4GB RAM upgrade is going to cost me $80. I already own a 1TB HDD.. Done.

Sounds very good and the extra display (I hope to run a 1080p capable monitor off of it) will definitely come in handy for the multimedia work I plan to do in the near future. Portability would be excellent.
How good is the system at playing back high definition video using PureVideo or VDPAU? Have you tried doing audio production work on it? How's the heat dissipation and battery life? I'm curious about this system outside of the reviews I've read before.

 

[oohms]

If you are after H.264 playback, i would definitely go with an ion based system... the gpu decoding makes a huge difference to playback performance

 

[Hybrys]

I've got a system setup on NCIX.com based on the nVidia Geforce 9300 / C2D E6600.

1 2 TB WD Green.
4 GBs of G.Skill ram. (2x2)
Lightscribe DVD burner.
Mini ITX case with front eSATA/USB.
Zotac GF9300-G-E mobo with onboard WiFi, Optical and Coax audio out, and HDMI video out.

All for ~$615, AFTER tax, and AFTER shipping+ExpressRMA insurance. Approx twice the power output with little power input. (PSU tops at 120w. Shouldn't go past 80w.) Let me know if you want the links.

 

[Soul_Est]

Just posted up some of my research as promised. Please let me know if anything is off so I can correct. I'd like this thread to be a resource to others as well.

@Hybrys:
That's beyond the performance I had envisioned at that power level!

I'd love to have those links. Thank you! Hope you enjoy the RAM disk thread.

 

[Hybrys]

Here's a link to a picture of the case, because NCIX doesn't have one up.
HEC Group USA | 8K01BB

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=42147
Pricematched with: Buy Compucase [8K01BBA20SAFX] Compucase 8K01BB MINI-ITX Slim Desktop Case Black Slim 1X5.25 Slim 1X3.5INT Front USB Audio eSATA

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=49100
Pricematched with: Intel Pentium E6600 Dual Core Processor 3.06GHZ LGA775 2MB L2 Cache 45NM 65W Retail Box - DirectCanada

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=46916
Pricematched with: Newegg.ca - ZOTAC GF9300-G-E LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9300 HDMI Mini ITX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=22586
Pricematched with: Buy G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=36130
Pricematched with: Newegg.ca - Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EADS 2TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...7dpje3KcSbEHuA

Additional options:

65w Quad Core (Wouldn't recommend it for a media/light work machine): Add $150
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...ufacture=Intel
Pricematched with: C2 QUAD PROCESSOR Q8200S LOW - BX80580Q8200S BX80580Q8200S

BluRay disk player + DVD writer: +$100
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=37347
Pricematch with: http://www.directcanada.com/products...E%20TECHNOLOGY

Problems to be fixed:

The case actually won't accept the Lightscribe drive. I see now that it SAYS 5.25 slot available, but it means slim ODD. New drive or new case. (New case could mean better graphics card is available down the line, but higher PSU input. Slim ODD might increase costs, will check.)

Update:

Found a regular DVD burner, but you'd have to order it from TigerDirect.ca. Slim DVDRW drives that aren't made for laptops are hard to find cheap. o.o There's also a bluray disk player combo DVDRW burner there, but it's $100 more. Not a bad option if you don't have a BD player, though.

 

[Soul_Est]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hybrys /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's a link to a picture of the case, because NCIX doesn't have one up. HEC Group USA | 8K01BB http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=42147 Pricematched with: Buy Compucase [8K01BBA20SAFX] Compucase 8K01BB MINI-ITX Slim Desktop Case Black Slim 1X5.25 Slim 1X3.5INT Front USB Audio eSATA http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=49100 Pricematched with: Intel Pentium E6600 Dual Core Processor 3.06GHZ LGA775 2MB L2 Cache 45NM 65W Retail Box - DirectCanada http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=46916 Pricematched with: Newegg.ca - ZOTAC GF9300-G-E LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9300 HDMI Mini ITX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=22586 Pricematched with: Buy G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=36130 Pricematched with: Newegg.ca - Western Digital Caviar Green WD20EADS 2TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Buy the Samsung SN-S083C Internal Slim DVD Burner at TigerDirect.ca Additional options: 65w Quad Core (Wouldn't recommend it for a media/light work machine): Add $150 http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...ufacture=Intel Pricematched with: C2 QUAD PROCESSOR Q8200S LOW - BX80580Q8200S BX80580Q8200S BluRay disk player + DVD writer: +$100 NCIX.com - Buy Silverstone TOB02 Slim Blu Ray BD-ROM DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer Black W/ Spare Silver Bezel - TOB02 In Canada. Pricematch with: Silverstone TOB02 Slim Blu Ray BD-ROM DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer Black W/ Spare Silver Bezel - DirectCanada Problems to be fixed: The case actually won't accept the Lightscribe drive. I see now that it SAYS 5.25 slot available, but it means slim ODD. New drive or new case. (New case could mean better graphics card is available down the line, but higher PSU input. Slim ODD might increase costs, will check.) Update: Found a regular DVD burner, but you'd have to order it from TigerDirect.ca. Slim DVDRW drives that aren't made for laptops are hard to find cheap. o.o There's also a bluray disk player combo DVDRW burner there, but it's $100 more. Not a bad option if you don't have a BD player, though.

That is a great setup Hybrys and I'll definitely be checking this out come tax time and possibly changing/building the case and getting a better CPU heatsink + fan for optimal cooling.

I tested out puredyne earlier today and it has been very easy to use. I'm still working on getting JACK to run at the lowest latency without xruns but everything is working well. Anyone who's looking for a Linux distro to use for multimedia production and playback should check this out.

 

[Hybrys]

The problem with trying to find a good HSF is that you probably want to go with a low-profile case, thus you need to find a low profile fan... Which is proving harder than easier.

If you can instead undervolt the CPU, passively cool it with a heatsink/some good paste (AS5 = awesome), and install a REALLY good internal fan with a low DB rating, and high CFM rating, you'd get a more optimal setup. (Nevermind saving 2-10W by opting out of two fans inside.)

Ideas sub 70mm:
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=38979&...re=Thermaltake
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=26840&...=ZALMAN%20TECH

Going passive under 70mm would seem to require something special made... Lame. Either way, low profile is the way to go, unless you get a cube box or handmade, then you could go passive, which would be better on power, and for a media-based setup.

 

[Soul_Est]

You just reminded me of something: Linux-PHC + PHC-Tool
Together they are the equivalent of RMClock for Windows. This along with cpufrequtils should give me some control over the speed and voltage to cpu runs at. Should be able to reach some nice relatively low temperatures by using them both.

I've looked into the two solutions and I'm going to go with the Thermaltake as it is the best of two. I'll post an update of the system before I post my research for Windows.
Thanks for all your help.

Any Linux users out there care to comment on the research I've posted in my second post?