[Zreon]

Hey everyone. I am finally building my HTPC next week and I am going for the lowest power consumption pc possible. I have done tons of research lately and was pretty set on getting a Sempron 140 setup. However, I just stumbled upon the Celeron 450 processor. I really cant find that much information on it, but from what I could find, it seems to be a pretty decent performer.


Has anyone used this processor? Here is the link
http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0317385


How do you think that compares to the Sempron 140?

 

[justinm0424]

I'd stick with the am3 build. The am3 will give you plenty of options to upgrade in the future if the 2.7ghz single core doesn't cut it. I'm about to upgrade my HTPC as I just foundout my new 5670 doesn't work with 939 boards. I'd love to hear the rest of your specs for a low power build.

 

[ilovejedd]

Go with the Sempron. The Celeron 450 2.2GHz is basically a 65nm Conroe with a single core, low cache and low FSB. The Sempron 140, iirc, is basically an Athlon II X2 235 2.7GHz with one core disabled. The Athlon II X2 235 is comparable in performance to the Pentium E5200 2.5GHz. From there, we can deduce that the Sempron 140 would be quite a bit faster than the Celeron 450.

 

[renethx]

 AMD Sempron 140 2.70 GHz . It is interesting that Pentium E5200 dual-core and Celeron E1600 dual-core consume less power than single-core Sempron/Celeron 430, at least at idle.


I would choose Celeron E3200/E3300 or Athlon II X2 235e/240e 45W instead (little difference in power consumption at idle and video playback, much better performance).


You have to consider the power consumption of the graphics card. IGP is better in power consumption. If you add a discrete card, you should expect at least 10W+ (which may negate your careful selection of CPU).

 

[sriramc]

How about a i3 530 + zotac mini ITX H55 setup? Overall system power consumption is hard to beat. Read a review here on anandtech


My local microcenter has the i3 530 on sale for $99.

 

[ilovejedd]



Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx /forum/post/18234320

AMD Sempron 140 2.70 GHz . It is interesting that Pentium E5200 dual-core and Celeron E1600 dual-core consume less power than single-core Sempron/Celeron 430, at least at idle.


I would choose Celeron E3200/E3300 or Athlon II X2 235e/240e 45W instead (little difference in power consumption, much better performance).

Iirc, the Celeron Conroe-L models don't have EIST that's why they tend to have higher idle power than low-end dual-core processors.

Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx /forum/post/18234320


You have to consider the power consumption of the graphics card. IGP is better in power consumption. If you add a discrete card, you should expect at least 10W+ (which may negate your careful selection of CPU).

Agree. Nowadays, motherboards can use more power than the CPU especially at idle. Even the motherboard brand plays a part. I remember seeing a review where an ASUS motherboard with the same chipset uses 10W more than a board by Intel or MSI.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sriramc /forum/post/18234495


How about a i3 530 + zotac mini ITX H55 setup? Overall system power consumption is hard to beat. Read a review here on anandtech


My local microcenter has the i3 530 on sale for $99.

From the processors he's looking at, I'd guess he's aiming for a very low budget build. Going with the i3-530+H55 motherboard would add at least $50 to the cost.

 

[justinm0424]

I wouldn't worry too much about power consumption. Lower power means lower performance, its similar to buying a gas-saving sportscar. I was looking at low power but considering my HTPC's in S3 90% of the time I don't want to worry about using a few more watts when it's running.

 

[sriramc]



Quote:
Going with the i3-530+H55 motherboard would add at least $50 to the cost.

I agree, but it also adds audio bitstreaming functionality and excellent htpc bluray video performance for extremely low power consumption, not to mention 4 times the cpu performance of a celeron/ sempron.

 

[candre23]

I realize that half the fun of putting together a HTPC is trying to keep it as cheap and efficient as possible, but at a certain point, it stops making sense.


The E3200/240 Regor dual core chips only cost about $20 more than their single core relatives, yet deliver double the performance. True, you won't need that extra power for most HTPC tasks, but it's nice to know it's there if you do. For example, both the E3200 and 240 Regor are powerful enough to do full 1080p h.264 with HD audio in software. That means you don't have to futz around with special programs, filters or drivers to get hardware acceleration if you don't want to. Any player you choose will just work because the CPU has the stones to handle it on its own.


And before you dismiss the dual core chips for their higher power rating, keep in mind that TDP is a max rating, not an average. All modern chips idle at practically nothing, so when you're not taxing them, they're not using much power at all. Even under load, both the Intel and AMD low-end, dual-core chips run cool enough that even the crappy stock coolers are just about silent.


So the dual-core chips are nearly as efficient at idle as the single core versions, but they have twice the power when you need it, while still being very efficient. For only an extra Jackson, it's a no-brainer.

 

[ilovejedd]



Quote:
Originally Posted by candre23 /forum/post/18234614


I realize that half the fun of putting together a HTPC is trying to keep it as cheap and efficient as possible, but at a certain point, it stops making sense.


The E3200/240 Regor dual core chips only cost about $20 more than their single core relatives, yet deliver double the performance. True, you won't need that extra power for most HTPC tasks, but it's nice to know it's there if you do. For example, both the E3200 and 240 Regor are powerful enough to do full 1080p h.264 with HD audio in software. That means you don't have to futz around with special programs, filters or drivers to get hardware acceleration if you don't want to. Any player you choose will just work because the CPU has the stones to handle it on its own.

I agree. Since the released of the Pentium E5200, I haven't gone with a single-core chip. Not only do they idle lower than single-core chips, they also pack more than twice the power for a mere $10~$20 extra.

 

[Zreon]

Well money isn't really an issue, however I was going for the cheapest / lowest power I could get away with.


The Sempron 140 /w a mobo will run about $90 with a combo on new egg.


The i3 setup will run $275ish on newegg.


Thats quite an increase in price for something I probably don't really need. I will mainly be watching 720p movies in h.264 format, dvd's and possibly a little tv recording so I don't need a power house.


This is the setup I am currently looking to get


CPU - Sempron 140

MOBO - BIOSTAR TA785G3HD or possibly a Gigabyte

Case - Apex DM-387

Memory - 2GB OCZ Platinum DDR3


I already have a 160gb 2.5" hd at home. I will also be building a unraid server to go along with this for storage. That build puts me slightly over $200 shipped. Plus, if I do decide I need a little more power, I can always unlock the second core (Most likely).

 

[Servicetech571]

If you want to save power look into products that have good S3 sleep support. It's much more energy wise to only run the PC as needed rather than letting it suck juice all night when nobody is using it.