System Buyers Guide: PCs for Under $1000
by Wesley Fink on December 29, 2008 3:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Intel HTPC
To be honest, if there's one system in this roundup that is likely to get a lot of comments and criticisms, it's going to be the HTPC configuration. That's not to say that our particular configuration is unreasonable, but in the HTPC market we will invariably encounter many differing opinions about what is necessary and what is not. We detailed our assumptions about the HTPC configurations tin the introduction to the AMD HTPC System. You may want to look back at the considerations. We assume the end-user has already selected an HDTV or monitor and a sound system. Very few end-users need a TV tuner anymore so we are not making that recommendation. We also assume the primary use of the HTPC computer is to play, store, and stream Blu-Ray movies and other video entertainment.
| Intel HTPC System | ||
| Hardware | Component | Price |
| Processor | Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200 Wolfdale (Dual-core 2.5GHz 65W 2MB Shared L2 800FSB) |
$83 |
| Cooling | CPU Retail HSF | - |
| Video | Onboard | - |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H NVIDIA GeForce 9400 | $135 |
| Memory | 4GB DDR2-800 - G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ | $40 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EACS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM | $105 |
| Optical Drive | LG BD/HD DVD / 16x DVD+/- RW GGC-H20LK | $110 |
| Audio | Onboard | - |
| Case | Lian LI PC-V350A | $110 |
| Power Supply | PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail | $50 |
| Keyboard and Mouse | Logitech Cordless Desktop EX100 USB RF Wireless Keyboard and Optical Mouse | $25 |
| Operating System | Microsoft Vista Home Premium OEM | $99 |
| Bottom Line | $757 | |
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As discussed in the Intel Entry PC, the E5200 is an excellent value point in the Intel CPU line. Anything lower-priced is generally a lot lower in performance, but higher priced CPUs do not gain that much in performance. At $83 the dual-core E5200 is also an excellent match for an Intel HTPC. It doesn't hurt that the E5200 is rated at 65W, which will help keep the HTPC as quiet as possible.
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The motherboard for the Intel HTPC is the $135 Gigabyte GA-E7AUM-DS2H featuring the NVIDIA GF9400 chipset. Our motherboard reviews found this chipset and the GF9300 a better choice than G45 in HTPC systems due to superior video playback and overall system performance. A review of the GA-E7AUM-DS2H is scheduled for the near future. You can currently find a combo deal of this motherboard with the Intel Core Duo E7300, which was our choice in the Intel Budget system. At a $15 off combo price that reduces the E7300 net price to $105 making it an extremely good value with this Gigabyte board.
Some users have reported that the stock Intel CPU heatsink touches the chipset heatsink and they found the heatsink fit and worked best by rotating the heatsink 90 degrees. For best results check the fit and best positioning before completing the mount of the heatsink/fan.
The rest of the components are the same as those found in the AMD HTPC system, so please refer to the detailed discussion on the AMD HTPC page.
AMD systems have held the lead for some time in HD video and HTPC boxes. The AMD advantage was large enough that AnandTech hasn't really recommended an Intel HTPC build in the last few buyers' guides. This is the first buyers' guides to include both AMD and Intel HTPC system recommendations. The NVIDIA GeForce 9300/9400 chipsets have done a lot to level the HD and HTPC playing field. While we can't tell you HD playback capabilities are completely equal between AMD and Intel today, we can tell you that both HTPC builds provided smooth, stutter-free Blu-Ray playback. Certainly that is a primary concern for most HTPC system builders. However, if you intend to do video encoding in addition to video playback on your HTPC, the tri-core AMD setup does win out over the base E5200 in that area.
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bearxor - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
It surprises me that you picked a 95w processor for the AMD build. Is it a HTPC or is it a computer hooked up to a TV? There should be a differentiator. HTPC's generally never get used for regular computer tasks.A computer that is hooked up to a TV that you use on a regular basis and then happen to stream some movies or downloaded stuff to every once in a while is LRPC (Living Room PC), not a HTPC, which should be inside the media interface full-time and only used as a computer on special occasions and even then, for pretty much nothing except web browsing/youtube playing.
strikeback03 - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
lol, just what we need, another acronym for another supposed market segment.I believe the reason they recommend reasonably fast processors is for transcoding duties. If you don't record TV and rip your optical media elsewhere, or don't mind shuffling files around a lot, then the HTPC obviously wouldn't need much processor power.
bearxor - Thursday, January 1, 2009 - link
That's the thing though, recording tv doesn't use a lot of processor power at all. It's all about the speed of your hard drive. I can record 2 SD, 2 HD and 2 Digital Cable (QAM) simultaneously while playing back an HD recording and still wind up using less than 50% of my processor with an Opteron 165. Any dual-core machine can handle HTPC duties with ease.spiral529 - Monday, December 29, 2008 - link
For the Budget Intel build, the specified motherboard (Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R) accepts an 8-pin CPU power connector, while the suggested power supply (OCZ OCZ400MXSP 400W) only has a 4-pin plug.According to some of the NewEgg reviews, the board will not operate correctly without the 8-pin supply!
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
The CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply is also 80 Certified, the same cost of $35 after $25 mail-in rebate and it also has the 8-pin CPU power connector. Our PS Editor picked it in the Case and Power Supply Roundup.We will change the PS for the Intel Budget system to the Corsair 400W so buyers do not have to wonder if the PS will work properly with the motherboard. You can buy the Corsair at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8....
spiral529 - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I just bought this board without noticing the connector. I'll try it out with my current (4-pin) PSU first before I spring for a new one.Wesley Fink - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Normally a good PS 4-pin 12V will drive the motherboard 8-pin just fine, but we don't have the OCZ PS in the lab to confirm right now. A 4-pin to 8-pin 12V converter should fix the issue - if there is one - at a very low cost. The converter is available from Newegg for $3.50 at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...5&Tp....We really prefer the modular PS cables of the recommended OCZ PS because of their flexibility and the ease of upgrading, but we are looking at some possible alternates as another recommendation for the Bargain PS.
StriderGT - Monday, December 29, 2008 - link
Zotac N73PV-Supreme NVIDIA GeForce 7100 HMDI:I am looking for the worst case scenario (%) vs using a dual channel DDR2 intel chipset eg G3X/G4X with the same Dual Core 5200@default speeds as well as OCed around 3Ghz
(integrated GPU performance excluded)
trake1 - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Test Results: Single Vs. Dual Channel RAMMuch less than 5% difference depending on application
trake1 - Tuesday, December 30, 2008 - link
Test Results: Single Vs. Dual Channel RAMhttp://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/PARALLEL-PROCE...">http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/PARALLEL-PROCE...