Budget 0-20k Low power PC for download & HD Movies

W

warewolf4586

Adept
  1. What is your budget?
    • What I intend to assemble shall not be breaking bank.. but will try to restrict within 30K
  2. What is your existing hardware configuration (component name - component brand and model)
    • CPU - AMD Phenom II X2 555
    • Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H
    • GPU - None (MSI R4850 stopped working recently)
    • RAM - Corsair 2X2GB 1333 DDR3
    • Monitor - Viewsonic 22inch
    • PSU - Corsair VX450
    • Storage - WD 2TB Green 5400 rpm
    • Sound Card - Asus Xonar DX
    • Keyboard + Mouse - Logitech Wireless
    • Speaker - Altec MX6021
    • Cabinet - CM690
  3. Which hardware will you be keeping (component name - component brand and model)
    • planned to transfer few components
      1. Sound Card - Asus Xonar DX
      2. Keyboard + Mouse - Logitech Wireless
      3. Speaker - Altec MX6021
  4. Which hardware component are you looking to buy (component name). If you have already decided on a configuration then please mention the (component brand and model) as well, this will help us in fine tuning your requirement.
    • not decided (Confused after reading various similar forums)
  5. Is this going to be your final configuration or you would be adding/upgrading a component in near future. If yes then please mention when and which component
    • Yes, Final.
  6. Where will you buy this hardware? (Online/City/TE Dealer)
    • Nehru Place
    • Open to online purchase
  7. Would you consider buying a second hand hardware from the TE market
    • Yes
  8. What is your intended use for this PC/hardware
    • Browsing
    • HTPC
    • Download rig, 24x7 operation
    • Watching HD movies
  9. Do you have any brand preference or dislike? Please name them and the reason for your preference/dislike.
    • Like Asus from previous use
  10. If you will be playing games then which type of games will you be playing?
    • N/A
  11. What is your preferred monitor resolution for gaming and normal usage
    1. Desktop - 1920 x 1200
  12. Are you looking to overclock?
    • No
  13. Which operating system do you intend to use with this configuration?
    • Windows 10
Intent is to have a power efficient & compact (mATX) system for 24X7 usage & a powerful one for casual Gaming.
Not sure if this is also a possibility that I just add a graphic card to the current setup, attach it directly to my TV (40" Full HD) and have it running low powered when required.
Also saw options like RPi, Intel NUC, but I atleast primarily want to use my sound card (so PCIe slot required) and speakers with the 24X7 setup so enjoy good sound with Movies, etc.

Thanks in advance !
 
Intel NUC - even the NUC5CPYH (which is <10K) will happily do- Period
If you want to get good sound, I am not sure what speakers you use but the onboard audio out should be clean enough for most entry-mid level speakers
If you need multiple channels or are really fussy about audio, Use the TOSLINK out from the NUC

Edit: I see you have the Altec MX6021 , no disrespect meant to your speakers - but you really don't need anything beyond the vanilla audio out from a modern Intel board
 
superczar said:
I see you have the Altec MX6021 , no disrespect meant to your speakers - but you really don't need anything beyond the vanilla audio out from a modern Intel board
Click to expand...
In that case i wud happily go for NUC...
but do today's intel board surpass Xonar ? i don't think so..
I have heard sound out from on-board audio from this 2 years old Mobo and this xonar.. same speakers sound different..

and if that is the case.. i wud rather prefer raspberry pi 3 !
 
the Rpi doesn't have a very clean audio line out so i wouldn't recommend the rpi unless you are doing some sort of conversion outside the Rpi
If you really want good audio, the best option for you is some form of a dedicated bitstream conversion (e.g. via HDMI into a receiver that does the conversion or TOSLink into a receiver for DTS/AC3 passthrough if dts-hd is not on your priority list)
Having said that, your current speakers would do just fine with the stereo out on a new gen intel board vs the xonar..
 
  • CPU - Intel Core i5 6400 -14000,
  • Motherboard - Gigabyte H170-D3H -9500,
  • GPU - Wait for AMD RX 480.
  • RAM - Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB 2400Mhz -2500,
  • PSU - Antec VP550P -3700.
  • TOTAL -29,700.
 
Hi All

Thanks for your suggestions.
I think i was not able to clearly convey myself when I went for this thread last time.
I wish to assemble a Desktop with smart power consumption model (I hope motherboards and processors of current gen. shall do so).
So, machine shall be able to run on low power if it's ON for whole day, and take out more power only as per the load on machine. (I hope that is already the case, my bad if i was not even clear on it)
Primarily the machine will be used as a media center for 1080p display on 42" TV, and as a download machine.
I do not foresee any heavy gaming to be done. Maybe very casual Racing games, not heavy graphics.
For faster booting an SSD will be must.

Also, in recent turnout of events, I had to swap my machine with an older setup placed at my hometown, and my entire setup has changed :p
Now I have with me :

1) Motherboard: MSI P45-C51 motherboard
2) Processor: Intel core2duo E7200
3) Ram: 1GbX2 DDR2
4) Graphics: Local VGA Card
5) PSU: Intex Local
6) Cabinet: Local
7) Keyboard+mouse+soundcard+speaker+HDDs) same as earlier

I would me more than happy if I could retain anything from above.
But I believe i have to change atleast the PSU and cabinet to have a smooth and smart power input to machine.

Suggestions plz..

I'll probably hit Nehru place (New Delhi), this weekend or the next one.
Meanwhile, if anything is required to be bought online, this time can be used for the same.
 
Desktop's are not power efficient. Just switching on the PSU will take around 200+Watts of power. 24/7 use will bring up your electric bill by up to 300 a month depending on what the unit rates are.

NUC looks like the winner here to me. Either that or buy separate power saving components to do each job properly. Example- an Android TV to watch HD movies along with an amp+DAC for audio. For 24/7 download, use a pogo plug pro or RPI 2. All these items are around 4k each. So 12k +-2k. You can use the wireless keyboard and mouse. You might need to buy an external portable hdd for downloads. That's another 4.5k. All of these use just around 4-5W of power. If you want to save space and for user friendliness, the NUC ticks all the boxes.

Also forgot to mention that the E series processor idles at around 85-90 Watts. I have one of those stored in the box. The Intel NUC OTOH probably takes around 15-35 Watts. This is just my opinion. If your main objective is to save power, then the old machine is not the right choice.
 
I have quite a few SFF systems running full time
- The NUCs are extremely power efficient - My baytrail pentium NUC with a SSD idles at 7W
- A Synology appliance (DS216+) idles at 12W although it does have a traditional drive and hits around 25W under usage (i.e.downloading also)
- My RPIs idle at 1.5-2W (B+/2/3)
- My BananaPi used to idle at 2.5 W (excluding power draw of any attached HDDs - add about 3W idle/8W spun for each)

A PC based on the new J3160 with a DC-DC PSU with a laptop adapter will also idle at no more than 10-12W

There was a fully configured listing on ebay at a decent price with a SSD - http://www.ebay.in/itm/Desktop-PC-I...723724?hash=item2819fd518c:g:NBMAAOSw5HJXKPMg

Bear in mind that DC-DC PSUs tend to be a lot more power efficient than traditional SMPS - Traditional SMPSs are very inefficient under low load
(I am assuming you have a good grade 12V power supply from an old laptop lying around unused)
I recently built a n3050 based nas for a friend and the idle draw went down from 30W to 11W with a laptop adapter + DC/DC PSU
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your suggestion..
Feel like moving in right direction now.

Can you provide some hardware details on the NAS you built out of n3050 ?
So, this means I cn still not buy a NUC, and assemble a low power rig, that has DC to DC PSU and a laptop adaptor.
Any specific calculation on power consumption to be done to ensure low power setup ?

Also saw a couple of NUC, and i believe the one with SATA HDD support is the one to go for as a media-centre shall have ample connected storage.

So 2 options :
1) Buy NUC, with Optical audio out and 2.5" SATA HDD
2) Build a DC powered computer rig with low powered components.
I believe either will not cost above 15K.

And I think you also made a point to directly go for hassle free and cheap RPi 2/3 can be used for downloading as well as media centre.
For audio quality, instead of spending huge on having an actual HTPC machine, better buy receiver to do all the stuff.It can than be connected to
 
warewolf4586 said:
Thanks for your suggestion..
Feel like moving in right direction now.

Can you provide some hardware details on the NAS you built out of n3050 ?
Click to expand...
Nothing much really - half the stuff was already there - A basic cabinet, a 4 Gig RAM stick and two SATA drives
He just had to buy the motherboard off amazon for ~4K i think

We measured the power draw of the generic power supply and it was idling at 30W and 40+ with drives spun up
We tested with a so called high efficiency I had lying in my old electronics attic but saw a marginal drop (possibly because high end PSUs are designed to handle very high current draws. They aren't designed for efficiency at low current draw)

However, I also had a old M1-ATX DC DC supply which we hooked up and tested with an old laptop adapter and voila, the power usage dropped to 10/11 idle and 20 with drives spun (FWIW, a 20W drop = 175 units a year)

So, this means I cn still not buy a NUC, and assemble a low power rig, that has DC to DC PSU and a laptop adaptor.
Any specific calculation on power consumption to be done to ensure low power setup ?

Also saw a couple of NUC, and i believe the one with SATA HDD support is the one to go for as a media-centre shall have ample connected storage.

So 2 options :
1) Buy NUC, with Optical audio out and 2.5" SATA HDD
2) Build a DC powered computer rig with low powered components.
I believe either will not cost above 15K.

And I think you also made a point to directly go for hassle free and cheap RPi 2/3 can be used for downloading as well as media centre.
For audio quality, instead of spending huge on having an actual HTPC machine, better buy receiver to do all the stuff.It can than be connected to
Click to expand...
[/quote]

You need to first define what your needs are.
One thing I do always tell ppl though is to keep the file server (NAS) independent of any other work load (i.e. keep HTPC/media player separate)
My own needs were served well for a very long time with a Banana Pi based NAS and a Rpi based media player till I recently switched to a Synology NAS and a NUC based playback setup (although my audio was bitstreamed to a receiver)
 
superczar said:
However, I also had a old M1-ATX DC DC supply which we hooked up and tested with an old laptop adapter and voila, the power usage dropped to 10/11 idle and 20 with drives spun (FWIW, a 20W drop = 175 units a year)
Click to expand...

Does this need measurement of power using instruments.
Is there some utility/software to calculate what wattage i am reaching ?
And also, you mentioned M1-ATX motherboard.. what are the limitations while making such a setup..
1) Processor - any specific kind and upto what can be installed in this system ?
2) Motherboard - upto what type ? I assume it will definitely be a micro atx board.. but does board has to be with limitation on ports like RAM/HDD/PCI/PCI Exp. ?
3) Ram - where to restrict

superczar said:
You need to first define what your needs are.
One thing I do always tell ppl though is to keep the file server (NAS) independent of any other work load (i.e. keep HTPC/media player separate)
My own needs were served well for a very long time with a Banana Pi based NAS and a Rpi based media player till I recently switched to a Synology NAS and a NUC based playback setup (although my audio was bitstreamed to a receiver)
Click to expand...

So, the options now (However these are same as my previous port, but bit more details) :

1) If i try to keep it simple, Is there some issue foreseen if I use say a RPi for both downloading and media centre ?
And for audio I better than invest into receiver instead and use the sound card i wish to use somewhere else ?
RPi (4K) + Receiver.. which anyways I have to buy for initiating a Home Theater setup.

2) NUC seem to be better option but it again costs about 14K minimum(with SSD and RAM)
As my TV only has an Optical input port.. no 3.5mm jack, so Optical out is a must for me.
NUC5PPYH looks a bit descent (supports sata) and adding SSD+RAM.. it will cost 12.5K + SSD + RAM.. so probably 17-18K.
But here.. I believe audio chip is just fine.. but still later I have to buy receiver for Home theater setup.

I know this post is going beyond a usual PC buy guide.. and not sure if thread needs to be moved.. but thanks for providing these interesting options.
 
have a look at Intel compute stick. there are other compute sticks also which retail at 6000 Rs all inclusive. Since you will be only using it as a media center, you probably can live with 2GB RAM, and 32 GB storage. Also you can expand the storage by adding a USB drive. Also it runs full windows OS so all apps will also run. However dont expect to run any games
 
AFAIK, Rpi wont give you pass-through option over HDMI for DTS HD MA and Dolby TrueHD. So you will lose on lossless audio for 7.1 channels. Rpi3 can "Decode" these formats but "cannot" pass-trough them to AVR for decoding. All you would get is LPCM data for 7.1 channels.
 
neoonwheels said:
AFAIK, Rpi wont give you pass-through option over HDMI for DTS HD MA and Dolby TrueHD. So you will lose on lossless audio for 7.1 channels. Rpi3 can "Decode" these formats but "cannot" pass-trough them to AVR for decoding. All you would get is LPCM data for 7.1 channels.
Click to expand...
you are partially correct. The Pi can decode these formats but cannot pass them through to the AVI. Hence, the signal will only DTS or Dolby digital. It wont be LPCM.
 
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