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Newbie needs a decision

post #1 of 6
3/23/11 at 10:02am
Thread Starter 
Ok so yeah, I'm a newbie in need of a decision...
I've been for a while reading this forum and asking advice from a couple of friends. I want to build an htpc with three main purposes in mind hd video playback, music playback and internet surfing.
After serious consideration I'm now stuck between two options, one zacate-based and another atom-based. Price is quite similar and I've read opinions for and against both of them so I can't decide...
These are the two options:

ZACATE:
MB: asus_e35m1_i_deluxe
HDD: Wd Caviar Green 1tb Sata2 64mb
CASE: Ixium Minos Mini ITX 300W
RAM: kingston valueram 4gb ddr3 1333
Total: 264

ATOM D525:
Asus S1-AT5NM10E Barebone Atom D525
HDD: Wd Caviar Green 1tb Sata2 64mb
RAM: kingston valueram 4gb ddr3 1333
Total: 290

Which one would you buy???
Thank you!
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post #2 of 6
3/23/11 at 10:28am
I've got an asus e35m1m pro and for some reason some of my larger mkv files hang up and studder. I have nothing else running on the pc so the only thing I can assume is that it's under powered. Ive got all the drivers and codecs installed. They hang up in xbmc and vlc player.
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post #3 of 6
3/23/11 at 1:29pm
From what I hear neither have any of the performance that a normal chip and a matx board can offer unless you have to have mini itx.
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post #4 of 6
3/23/11 at 1:51pm
I prefer the zacate quite a bit over the atom.

See my thread as I just discussed why.

And I agree --- go with a sandy bridge i3 if your budget can increase a bit and get a ITX form factor.
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post #5 of 6
3/23/11 at 2:04pm
i'm a whore for power so my zacate board is just a temp board. For my main HTPC, I've got a uATX on the way and a core i5 2500k. If you're not willing to go that far, I would definitely go with ATLEAST the core i3.
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post #6 of 6
3/23/11 at 2:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by westerndigital81 View Post

i'm a whore for power so my zacate board is just a temp board. For my main HTPC, I've got a uATX on the way and a core i5 2500k. If you're not willing to go that far, I would definitely go with ATLEAST the core i3.

There is really no benefit of a i5 over i3 for typical htpc use. Now integrated 3000 vs 2000 graphics I could see but not worth the $100 additional cost, imo.
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