# My theoretical eco-gaming computer



## Franklinwallbrown (Apr 17, 2008)

MB: ASUS P5E3 PREMIUM/WIFI-AP @n LGA 775 DDR3 Intel X48 ATX

VC: ASUS GeForce 8500GT

PSU: SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT

CPU:  Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz

RAM: Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR3 1600

HDD: Western Digital Caviar GP 750GB 

Sound Card:  AuzenTech Auzen X-Fi Prelude

Any comments or suggestions?


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## [I.R.A]_FBi (Apr 17, 2008)

lose that video card and get a 3850 .. that actually can game and use less power @ idle


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## cdawall (Apr 17, 2008)

8600GT or 8800GS for NV

3850 512mn for ATi


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## niko084 (Apr 17, 2008)

If you want eco, get a e8400, step down to DDR2, ddr3 isn't worth jack, and don't bother with such a massive board -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131277

Make it eco on your bank account too 

Same as above get a 8800GS or HD3850


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## Franklinwallbrown (Apr 17, 2008)

[I.R.A]_FBi said:


> lose that video card and get a 3850 .. that actually can game and use less power @ idle



(I am looking it up as we speak, so to say) Do you have a fairly new chart of video card power consumption?

I'm looking for more recent articles on energy efficient computing, but all I have is Tom's.



niko084 said:


> If you want eco, get a e8400, step down to DDR2, ddr3 isn't worth jack, and don't bother with such a massive board -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131277
> 
> Make it eco on your bank account too
> 
> Same as above get a 8800GS or HD3850



Why isn't DDR3 worth anything? Do all the 65w CPUs use only 65w or do they vary any? I bothered with that board because it had DDR3, which I got because I thought it used less energy.


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## FatForester (Apr 17, 2008)

I agree with niko. That motherboard is insane for what you're planning. That Asus P5K EPU he recommended would be a great choice, as well as going with the e8400. DDR3 isn't worth it by any means, especially considering how cheap DDR2 is today. For video card, the 9600GT, 8800GT, 8800GS and 3850 are my top picks. The 88% efficiency on your PSU is definitely a good thing, so keep that.

If you want some up-to-date relative performance charts, this is off of the TPU review of the 3650. It's all relative, but it should give you a general idea.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Diamond/HD_3650_1GB/23.html


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## [I.R.A]_FBi (Apr 17, 2008)

also 45 nm CPu's se less energy .. look a 7000 series dual


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## [I.R.A]_FBi (Apr 17, 2008)

the lowest card on the idle power consumpion chart that can be called a gamers card is teh 3870.

based on peak .. 8800GS is an option too


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## [I.R.A]_FBi (Apr 17, 2008)

http://en.expreview.com/2008/03/31/core-2-duo-e7300-vs-phenom-x3-8600-who-wins/

for ur perusal ...

e7300 or 8200 ...


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## Franklinwallbrown (Apr 17, 2008)

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/energy-efficient-computing-options,1672-5.html

Hmm...


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## [I.R.A]_FBi (Apr 17, 2008)

Franklinwallbrown said:


> Hmm...



thats old .. pree mine ..


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## Franklinwallbrown (Apr 17, 2008)

E8200 seems the best.


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## btarunr (Apr 17, 2008)

By going 'eco' with a component as crucial as a video-card, you're compromising heavily at essential GPU computational power. My advice, splurge on the GPU, get a GeForce 9600 GT which has high performance/watt, choose an 'eco' CPU such as AMD Brisbane-BE 45W or Intel Wolfdale 65W.

If you insist on going eco with GPU, have fun playing Quake III Arena.


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## niko084 (Apr 17, 2008)

I think the video cards are so close at peak and the new ones step down and draw little power when not being used...


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## [I.R.A]_FBi (Apr 17, 2008)

btarunr said:


> By going 'eco' with a component as crucial as a video-card, you're compromising heavily at essential GPU computational power. My advice, splurge on the GPU, get a GeForce 9600 GT which has high performance/watt, choose an 'eco' CPU such as AMD Brisbane-BE 45W or Intel Wolfdale 65W.
> 
> If you insist on going eco with GPU, have fun playing Quake III Arena.



Hence why im showing him the lowest wattage of the top tier ...


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## btarunr (Apr 17, 2008)

Okay, 

Intel C2D E8200 + GeForce 9600 GT + <your P35 board here> sounds best.

SB X-Fi Xtreme gamer draws much less power compared to X-Fi Prelude, compared to X-Fi Prelude, it gives you upto 80% software features with Creative's drivers, 110% features with Daniel's drivers, costs as low as $60 in the US, performs nearly as good when gaming.


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## tkpenalty (Apr 17, 2008)

Franklinwallbrown said:


> MB: ASUS P5E3 PREMIUM/WIFI-AP @n LGA 775 DDR3 Intel X48 ATX
> 
> VC: ASUS GeForce 8500GT
> 
> ...



High end motherboards like those use more power than lower end boards.


I would make:

Mobo: Gigabyte EP31 DS3L (DES power saving)
CPU: C2D E6750 @ lowest possible voltage @ stock speeds.
RAM: RAM that uses low fab proccess and runs cool; usually SAMSUNG; Samsung DDR1066 is good.
VC: Why a 8500GT? That is way too weak. I would step up for a 8600GT instead. 
Cant argue with the HDD, PSU choice, though that sound card contradicts the point of the PC. 

Honestly saving money on Power for a PC is somewhat usless, when a PC equipped with a 8800GT will consume less than 400W anyway.... Anyway, when you want an power eco PC, you DO NOT want to OC, therefore such high end boards are totally out of the picture. you want good stock perf, even the EP31 DS3L does well (well all boards perform the same anyway...)


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## btarunr (Apr 18, 2008)

Ehm....it's an eco-gaming PC....with an 8600 GT? Kiss DX 10 games good-bye.

On one hand he's using a X48 based motherboard, Auzen X-Fi Prelude...on the other, he plans for E6300 and 8500GT


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## hat (Apr 18, 2008)

Corsair 450vx
9600gt
2x2GB DDR2 RAM DDR800 or above
any P35 board
C2D E8400
and whatever hard drives, 2 is best, get a large, fast drive for installing the OS and games, and a storage of whatever size suits you best for music/movies/etc and the pagefile. Do not use the pagefile on the system drive.


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## btarunr (Apr 18, 2008)

hat said:


> Corsair 450vx
> 9600gt
> 2x2GB DDR2 RAM DDR800 or above
> any P35 board
> ...



Yup, I bought a VX450W for my brother's machine, amazed how it can handle things so efficiently. I had a question:

You see that small white PCB behind the power input and mains switch? Perpendicular to it, top of the fan, does yours have a transparent, plastic sheet covering the fan?


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## tkpenalty (Apr 18, 2008)

Okay, now time to modify it (I didnt read ur stuff...)

Eco Gaming... I'd make it "economical" as well. 

CPU: Core 2 Duo E8200
Motherboard: Gigabyte EP31 DS3L < As I mentioned lower power consumption VS P35 counterparts and virtually no perf difference and moreover you do not want to overclock in a Eco friendly PC.
RAM: Any low proccess RAM; i.e stuff like Samsung-samsung makes some of the coolest running RAM on the market.
GPU: Gigabyte Turboforce 9600GT - Except rip off the stock cooling because its awful . Grab yourself a VF900CU instead for it. With the more power phases that it boasts it will save more power to the end user.
PSU: Corsair VX450 - Price and the reliability and efficiency.
HDD: Any Seagate *Single* platter HDD, i.e. those HDDs that are thinner than usual. Those are truly power efficient and damn quiet.
Case: Try to find a case that will dissipate as much heat as possible without too many fans RC690 is a good example, *with the PSU at the bottom the PSU runs much cooler, effectively the PSU is more reliable due to the decreased temperatures. A second advantage is the open top, meaning the motherboard phases also run cooler in inclusion-also making the motherboard consume less power. Take note to replace fans with low voltage and efficient fans too. 9 Bladed fans are a good choice. 



hat said:



			Corsair 450vx
9600gt
2x2GB DDR2 RAM DDR800 or above
any P35 board
C2D E8400
and whatever hard drives, 2 is best, get a large, fast drive for installing the OS and games, and a storage of whatever size suits you best for music/movies/etc and the pagefile. Do not use the pagefile on the system drive.
		
Click to expand...


Two HDDs? That isnt eco friendly, nor is it pocket friendly. You want low power consumption without compromise on STOCK performance-P31 is the best candidate, its proven to be a decent overclocker (which this system wont be used for), and performs on par to a P35.*


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## hat (Apr 18, 2008)

Oh my, they take so much power


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## philbrown23 (Apr 18, 2008)

yeah ddr3 is only good for bragging rights because most boards (exept for the review setups) don't give you the full capability yet or the ram can't handle it, I have 4gb of ocz gold that wont clock past 1000mhz even though they are rated 4 1333mhz


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## Franklinwallbrown (Apr 18, 2008)

Do the 9600GTs not need as many stream processors because they process info faster?

I'm trying to find a good balance between money spent : money I'm going to spend running the computer.

MoDT?

How much would you save getting a 88% efficient PSU over an 85% PSU?

I haven't heard anything about sound card power consumption. Any links?

What can you play on a 3850?


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## hat (Apr 18, 2008)

Sound card power consumption is neglagible. Most sound cards only need the power that comes form the PCI slot it runs off of anyway.
A 3850 is about the same level of a 9600GT. I would say Crysis on Medium would play good.


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## Franklinwallbrown (Apr 18, 2008)

Then if the 3850 runs on less energy, then it would be the choice.

BTW, is that you hat?


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## hat (Apr 18, 2008)

Of course it's me, nobody else can use my name since I already am using it!


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## Jimmy 2004 (Apr 18, 2008)

hat said:


> Of course it's me, nobody else can use my name since I already am using it!



I think he meant the avatar...


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## btarunr (Apr 19, 2008)

Franklinwallbrown said:


> Then if the 3850 runs on less energy, then it would be the choice.
> 
> BTW, is that you hat?



HD3850 is strictly okay. GeForce 9600 GT beats the HD3870 in performance despite 64 SP's. It has a better performance/watt ratio.

BTW, the cyborg in my avatar is me.


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## webwizard (Apr 19, 2008)

The Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX12V v2.0 500W Power Supply is very eco friendly.


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## Franklinwallbrown (Apr 22, 2008)

Jimmy 2004 said:


> I think he meant the avatar...



I did. Your pretty Hat (if that is you!).

Samsung doesn't sell memory on Newegg!!!

What is your guys' take on modular PSUs & their maximization of airflow?


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## hat (Apr 25, 2008)

Heh, as if. I had someone PM me about the avatar and I sent them back what I claimed to be a naked pic but it was a link to the duckroll pic.


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## Franklinwallbrown (Apr 25, 2008)

Duckroll?


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