# Lowest Power consumption PC with i5/i3



## michael (Aug 11, 2014)

Hi Guys,

I have some questions for you, I am constrained  to build a lowest power consumption PC as my electricity bills are just eating my money, my i7 3770k machine eating many watt around 88 watts to 109 watts.

I am very curious to build something less than 40 watts or if not then atleast less than 55 watts. My purpose is to just web surfing where I want to open multiple windows on youtube and say play 1080p videos on multiple tabs, I means my PC should handle that. (I don't play games).

I initially thought of Intel G2020 which has Max power 55 watts and then I thought of is 3220 which also has same 55 watts.

And I don't think AMD can come close to it. and yes I am thinking about mini itx motherboard only.

Please advise.

Thanks.


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## zsolt_93 (Aug 11, 2014)

If you want just that a <10W class 4 core Bay-Trail cpu will suffice most of the time. And you can build a system for 1-2 hundred $. And fire up the i7 one when you need it. If you need more performance, i suggest a NUC as it has a mobile class cpu usuallly 17W peak, not necesarrily the Intel NUC, there are clones on the market from AsRock/Gigabyte and others and is basically a midrange laptop in a desktop form.


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## remixedcat (Aug 11, 2014)

Looking for one as well for a pfsense box..


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## Mussels (Aug 11, 2014)

wanna sell me that 3770k? 


i've got an i3 system and a power meter, i can measure stuff at the wall if you'd like. intel are definitely lower wattage than AMD for current gen stuff.


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## michael (Aug 11, 2014)

Mussels said:


> wanna sell me that 3770k?
> 
> he he! Actually its best looking CPU too with 11 120 tri led fans and remote control and key locking, militarybay switches and its unfortunately still in process of building cant show yet to friends..
> 
> ...


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## RCoon (Aug 11, 2014)

I hate to be that guy, but I've used AM1 chips, and they're actually pretty good, and very low TDP. Coupled with an SSD, I saw no problems working on Office 2013 and surfing on Chrome. Video playback was pretty flawless too, tested out a few blurays and the chip handled it just fine.

If everyone doesn't like AMD, then a bog standard G3220 is what I have for my file server, and my parents also use it to stream blurays to their TV and browse the interwebs. Pretty much any low power processor coupled with a small SSD will be hugely beneficial. Small HDD's are always the limiting factor.


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## michael (Aug 11, 2014)

RCoon said:


> I hate to be that guy, but I've used AM1 chips, and they're actually pretty good, and very low TDP. Coupled with .



Give example/numbers of AM1 chips please.

Edited:-

are  these you  talking about?

 


Ohh they run on 25 watts...? G2020 need 55 watts as per specifications.......

Thanks.


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## zsolt_93 (Aug 11, 2014)

For a normal pc to get under 100W is a bit too much. I am speaking of 100W at the wall with the monitor as the OP said. That is why i suggested a low power PC that 36W is the adaptor maximum power, basically a laptop adaptor and you will never reach more then 25-30 with that hardware. 
My best bet would be downclocking your i7 using something like throttlestop to limit max multiplier to 16 when you are not needing the power and put the PC to sleep when you are not there. That would take you to the 80W range i think and you could see how much economy you make. Even 2 old style light bulbs need more power then 100W.


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## pigulici (Aug 11, 2014)

Why don't you buy a laptop with i7 and ssd?


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## Toothless (Aug 11, 2014)

Could go with an i3, GTX750, and some low-voltage RAM with an SSD for storage. _Low-wattage gaming_. Take out the GPU for regular video/web surfing.


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## michael (Aug 11, 2014)

pigulici said:


> Why don't you buy a laptop with i7 and ssd?



I am planning this too after 2 months:-

http://www.ebay.in/itm/Dell-17R-773...8?pt=IN_PC_Laptops&hash=item4d21ac7180&_uhb=1


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## michael (Aug 11, 2014)

zsolt_93 said:


> For a normal pc to get under 100W is a bit too much. I am speaking of 100W at the wall with the monitor as the OP said. That is why i suggested a low power PC that 36W is the adaptor maximum power, basically a laptop adaptor and you will never reach more then 25-30 with that hardware.
> My best bet would be downclocking your i7 using something like throttlestop to limit max multiplier to 16 when you are not needing the power and put the PC to sleep when you are not there. That would take you to the 80W range i think and you could see how much economy you make. Even 2 old style light bulbs need more power then 100W.


I use lot of lighting at home my ceiling it self contents 12 ->  20 watts bulbs, more over gizer just drinks whole power.


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## michael (Aug 11, 2014)

Lightbulbie said:


> Could go with an i3, GTX750, and some low-voltage RAM with an SSD for storage. _Low-wattage gaming_. Take out the GPU for regular video/web surfing.



No No! I dont need gaming at all, can see above AM1 chips, those runs on just 23Watt ?


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## pigulici (Aug 11, 2014)

My advise,if the bill for light it is a problem, go with a power laptop with I7(not U versions) and ssd, the model from up I find overpriced...


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## Mussels (Aug 11, 2014)

if you dont need gaming, and all you want is low power - laptops and tablets maybe?


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## Toothless (Aug 11, 2014)

Something like an i5 laptop will be just fine. A teacher of mine had an i5 laptop and it ran pretty well. You can always just hook it up to a tv and use a wireless mouse/keyboard


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## Recca29 (Aug 11, 2014)

AM1 platform would be right for you. Try an Athlon 5350 with an Asus AM1MA board.


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## michael (Aug 11, 2014)

Recca29 said:


> AM1 platform would be right for you. Try an Athlon 5350 with an Asus AM1MA board.


May this mini itx

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AM1IA/

dont know why they keep giving those outdated old mouse and keyboard connectors.


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## RCoon (Aug 11, 2014)

michael said:


> Give example/numbers of AM1 chips please.
> 
> Edited:-
> 
> ...



The AM1 motherboards are very cheap, and the AM1 processors are the Kabini Athlon 5350 and below (5150 etc). Very power efficient, very good for simple low TDP machines. Obviously I'd recommend the 5350 over the rest, it's literally a few pounds more than the others for the top performance.



michael said:


> dont know why they keep giving those outdated old mouse and keyboard connectors.



KVM use? That's what we tend to need those connectors at work for.


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## Recca29 (Aug 11, 2014)

RCoon said:


> The AM1 motherboards are very cheap, and the AM1 processors are the Kabini Athlon 5350 and below (5150 etc). Very power efficient, very good for simple low TDP machines. Obviously I'd recommend the 5350 over the rest, it's literally a few pounds more than the others for the top performance.


+1
5350 is a must.


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## Recca29 (Aug 11, 2014)

michael said:


> May this mini itx
> 
> http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AM1IA/
> 
> dont know why they keep giving those outdated old mouse and keyboard connectors.



Recommended the other one as it has more pcie slots.
There are some other AM1 boards available; like http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AM1H-ITX/ it can run using a laptop adapter and has 4 SATA ports.


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## Final_Fighter (Aug 11, 2014)

have you looked at the intel NUC they might be just the thing


http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/nuc/overview.html

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7566/intels-haswell-nuc-d54250wyk-ucff-pc-review/6

if its just for basic use they are decently efficient and kinda cool.

also decent graphics for what you need if you game use the desktop but for meadia this should be good dont know on price but last i checked you could get the celrons cheap like under $200 cheap

just found them on newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Intel-Mini-Booksize-Barebone-PCs/BrandSubCat/ID-1157-309


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## michael (Aug 11, 2014)

Recca29 said:


> Recommended the other one as it has more pcie slots.
> There are some other AM1 boards available; like http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AM1H-ITX/ it can run using a laptop adapter and has 4 SATA ports.


Ohhh wow what a info!
Mothetboard with laptop adapter thats great.
Honestly but while searching i also came across intel chips which takes only 10watts like 2900 which are used in some hp all in one pc dont how much power it consumes though as it is more compact.


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## Mussels (Aug 11, 2014)

dont forget about undervolting - you can often take 10-30W off most processors at load with that.


if power was the only factor, you could probably get an android tablet with a dock and keyboard and get a lot done, using the PC when needed for the intensive stuff.


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## xvi (Aug 11, 2014)

I'm always going to recommend ways that don't cost money. First of all, make sure SpeedStep is enabled and working. It will effectively do the undervolting and underclocking for you. Having a high clock speed may not be a bad thing as Intel likes to do a "race to sleep" kind of approach.

If not that, undervolting would probably be your next measure. Basically make sure you're not spending more power than you need to to have your current clock speed.


As an alternative way to cut down on power, I'd make sure you have a LED monitor. That should help too.

It might be worth getting a laptop instead since they're often built to have the best tradeoff between performance and energy efficiency.


Mussels said:


> intel are definitely lower wattage than AMD for current gen stuff.



Even as a fan of AMD, I can't deny this.


Mussels said:


> dont forget about undervolting - you can often take 10-30W off most processors at load with that.
> if power was the only factor, you could probably get an android tablet with a dock and keyboard and get a lot done, using the PC when needed for the intensive stuff.


+1 for undervolting, +1 for android tablet (although screen size might be an issue)



Final_Fighter said:


> have you looked at the intel NUC they might be just the thing


Also +1. NUCs should be rather energy efficient.


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## GhostRyder (Aug 11, 2014)

michael said:


> May this mini itx
> 
> http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AM1IA/
> 
> dont know why they keep giving those outdated old mouse and keyboard connectors.


I agree with Rcoon that an AM1 platform for 1080p videos and web surfing at low power consumption is the best option other than a laptop.  If you factor in price for a machine like that its a steal in all honesty.

Try something like this:

Athlon 5350
Asrock AM1H-ITX (Can run off a laptop AC adaptor with that DC in)
Gskill 1600 4gb (2x2gb)
Thermaltake MITX Case
Asus DVD Drive
Sandisk 120gb SSD

That right there is about $300 bucks total for the system and after that you would either grab a small PSU or just a laptop style ac adaptor to run it for about 50 bucks more.  Won't get much more low voltage than that.


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## MxPhenom 216 (Aug 11, 2014)

michael said:


> Give example/numbers of AM1 chips please.
> 
> Edited:-
> 
> ...


 
That is TDP dude. Not actual power consumption.


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## MarkC (Aug 11, 2014)

Hi Michael,

See http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=64394 for an idea of what is possible. Have search around the web and I think that you will find that the idle power consumption of an 3770K is about the same as an i3 or i5 so I guess that the rest of your system is what is drawing power. If were to put up you system specs I may be able to pinpoint.

Mark


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## michael (Aug 11, 2014)

MarkC said:


> Hi Michael,
> 
> See http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=64394 for an idea of what is possible. Have search around the web and I think that you will find that the idle power consumption of an 3770K is about the same as an i3 or i5 so I guess that the rest of your system is what is drawing power. If were to put up you system specs I may be able to pinpoint.
> 
> Mark





 

here it is..


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## GhostRyder (Aug 11, 2014)

michael said:


> View attachment 58341
> 
> here it is..


Are you wanting to reuse parts from your rig or start from scratch with this low power system?  Either way you can save the SSD and HDDs and slap them into your new system and it will be still low power with extra storage and save some bucks.


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## MarkC (Aug 11, 2014)

At a first guess without doing a websearch, which you can do yourself if you want, the motherboard maybe consume quite a lot because the model name suggests lots of bells and whistles which as well as being a Z chipset will all add up. Intel boards tend to have the lowest consumption - you may be able to sell your ASUS for not much less than buying a new Intel - do check what features you want and reviews before changing. For surfing you probably only need 8GB of RAM as long as you have your browser configured properly (e.g. Firefox with Adblock Plus) and don't have crazy numbers of tabs open; each stick of RAM might use 2W. If you go too low on RAM you might end up swapping data onto your HDD which will make things worse. You might try to manage with only one of you HDDs in use normally, with the other in a caddy to be used if you need to, as these might be using approx 5W or more each (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page2.html) - as GhostRyder indicated the Samsung PRO is probably the most efficient SSD out there - at least in 2.5inch form factor. If the PSU is this one http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/CoolerMaster/Silent_Pro_M2_850W/5.html then that may be adding another 5 Watts at low loads especially with it being a 850W model. The Cooler Master V550S seems to be the most efficient ATX PSU at the moment, for web surfing and not bad for gaming. So a good number of things to try before you spend any money or embed more carbon by buying new stuff - for an experiment try removing your both of your HDDs and three sticks of RAM to start.


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## newtekie1 (Aug 11, 2014)

I just built a AM1 Athlon 5350 machine.  During HD playback it averages 20w, under full load with OCCT is stays under 30w.  I say go for that.


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## michael (Aug 12, 2014)

MarkC said:


> At a first guess without doing a websearch, which you can do yourself if you want, the motherboard maybe consume quite a lot because the model name suggests lots of bells and whistles which as well as being a Z chipset will all add up. Intel boards tend to have the lowest consumption - you may be able to sell your ASUS for not much less than buying a new Intel - do check what features you want and reviews before changing. For surfing you probably only need 8GB of RAM as long as you have your browser configured properly (e.g. Firefox with Adblock Plus) and don't have crazy numbers of tabs open; each stick of RAM might use 2W. If you go too low on RAM you might end up swapping data onto your HDD which will make things worse. You might try to manage with only one of you HDDs in use normally, with the other in a caddy to be used if you need to, as these might be using approx 5W or more each (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page2.html) - as GhostRyder indicated the Samsung PRO is probably the most efficient SSD out there - at least in 2.5inch form factor. If the PSU is this one http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/CoolerMaster/Silent_Pro_M2_850W/5.html then that may be adding another 5 Watts at low loads especially with it being a 850W model. The Cooler Master V550S seems to be the most efficient ATX PSU at the moment, for web surfing and not bad for gaming. So a good number of things to try before you spend any money or embed more carbon by buying new stuff - for an experiment try removing your both of your HDDs and three sticks of RAM to start.



First of all thanks for your detail explanation.

No, I will not remove anything from these machine this is my favourite machine , it also has 11 tri LED 120mm fans, red led tube below the case and green strip led around inner border of case with individual power off options with remote switch ON/OFF more to add to this. I would be curious to know how much watts that motherboard eats....?
(Have we ever come across i7 3770/3770k  with minimal watts operating with some kind of lower end boards..?)

I wonder if hard disk really takes extra watts because whenever I click on say, 1 TB disk it takes time to open , seems that it gets activated or so and gets/consumes more power.

Yes I am sure my 850Watt PSu eats more watt but I have no options as I am having lot of, lot of lightings on my case which requires more connectors.

I also used to use APC 1500 Pro UPS which now just resting in side of table idle as it used to bring huge bills when connected.



I thought You will be pointing towards some BIOS setting which will result in some low wattage.

Thanks for your detail reply. (hey you joined today only.......  )


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## michael (Aug 12, 2014)

newtekie1 said:


> I just built a AM1 Athlon 5350 machine.  During HD playback it averages 20w, under full load with OCCT is stays under 60w.  I say go for that.



Yeah! Could you be so kind to share your whole system specifications with 5350 please? What is OCCT ?

Thanks.


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## michael (Aug 12, 2014)

GhostRyder said:


> Are you wanting to reuse parts from your rig or start from scratch with this low power system?  Either way you can save the SSD and HDDs and slap them into your new system and it will be still low power with extra storage and save some bucks.


No, as I said below this is my mod case.


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## michael (Aug 12, 2014)

GhostRyder said:


> I agree with Rcoon that an AM1 platform for 1080p videos and web surfing at low power consumption is the best option other than a laptop.  If you factor in price for a machine like that its a steal in all honesty.
> 
> Try something like this:
> 
> ...



Thanks for specs:-

I have some questions:-

1.Can we put wireless Lan card for wifi   in that big PCI slot ?
2. Is 120GB SSD enough though it is cheap about RS. 6000 =$ 100 , I think installed Win 7 64 bit takes more than or close 120GB (my current system takes this much) on 256 SSD) for installed space . ?
3. Can you play 4 youtube 1080p videos at same time on different tabs?
4. Can you play 15GB to 20GB movie file on it without any lag ?

Thanks.


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## Mussels (Aug 12, 2014)

michael said:


> First of all thanks for your detail explanation.
> 
> No, I will not remove anything from these machine this is my favourite machine , it also has 11 tri LED 120mm fans, red led tube below the case and green strip led around inner border of case with individual power off options with remote switch ON/OFF more to add to this. I would be curious to know how much watts that motherboard eats....?
> (Have we ever come across i7 3770/3770k  with minimal watts operating with some kind of lower end boards..?)
> ...




mobos vary a lot - with a higher overclock and more powerful hardware, my brother uses 30W less at idle due to a more efficient/newer chipset mobo.
 HDD's use 5-12W (or zero if powered down)
all those LED's use 1-2W each, maybe 5-10W for a CCFL.
3770/3770K arent high wattage. with undervolting you can get them <50W at load.


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## michael (Aug 12, 2014)

Mussels said:


> 3770/3770K arent high wattage. with undervolting you can get them <50W at load.


Undervolting...? How to do that?


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## Recca29 (Aug 12, 2014)

michael said:


> Thanks for specs:-
> 
> I have some questions:-
> 
> ...


If u are living in Delhi; it would be hard to find an Asrock board. only Asus and Gigabyte boards are available.
1. You can get a WIFI card PCIE1X (Rs. 750 ~ 12$) for the Asus board i recommended earlier. its about RS. 2850 ~ 48$ for the board on ebay.
2. 120GB is enough. Just disable the hibernate. Try Samsung 120 EVO it costs Rs. 5500 ~ 92$
3. Get a single 4GB RAM as the processor support only single channel.
4. will be able to answer the 3rd and 4th points after 4-5 days when i get the motherboard.


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## Mussels (Aug 12, 2014)

michael said:


> Undervolting...? How to do that?



its like overclocking, but backwards! so, in the BIOS.


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## RCoon (Aug 12, 2014)

michael said:


> 3. Can you play 4 youtube 1080p videos at same time on different tabs?
> 4. Can you play 15GB to 20GB movie file on it without any lag ?
> 
> Thanks.



3. Probably, I haven't tried it, because it's a fairly impractical a stupid thing to do.
4. Yes, I watched Desolation of Smaug bluray and Captain America in the last week on my friend's (SSD'd) 5350 machines just for kicks.

With the correct codecs utilising the full APU, it runs at around 40% during Bluray playback.


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## GhostRyder (Aug 12, 2014)

michael said:


> Thanks for specs:-
> 
> I have some questions:-
> 
> ...


1: yes
2: windows install takes like 12gb roughly off the top of my head (Don't really pa attention to the size much).  If you need more space, just get the next size up.
3: don't see why not?  But I don't see why you would do that lol.
4:yes


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## newtekie1 (Aug 12, 2014)

michael said:


> Yeah! Could you be so kind to share your whole system specifications with 5350 please? What is OCCT ?
> 
> Thanks.



http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/ultra-sff-htpc-smallest-pc-ive-ever-built.203947/

All the details are in that thread.


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## Bo$$ (Aug 12, 2014)

michael said:


> Give example/numbers of AM1 chips please.
> 
> Edited:-
> 
> ...




5350 + Asus AM1 motherboard is the way to go.

got 2.5GHZ with a Volt increase, this increased temps by like 2 degrees.

Plays HD video with ease with only 14% cpu usage


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## michael (Aug 12, 2014)

RCoon said:


> 3. Probably, I haven't tried it, because it's a fairly impractical a stupid thing to do.


No just try it, sometimes browser gets hang, I do this normally when I need to see all reviews one by one on one product, sometimes it takes  time to get streamed so I open all in one attempt. then watch first then 2nd and so on or select which one is best to watch......


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## Frick (Aug 12, 2014)

michael said:


> No just try it, sometimes browser gets hang, I do this normally when I need to see all reviews one by one on one product, sometimes it takes  time to get streamed so I open all in one attempt. then watch first then 2nd and so on or select which one is best to watch......



So you are not watching them at the same time.


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## Mussels (Aug 13, 2014)

Frick said:


> So you are not watching them at the same time.




in which case he wants to buffer four videos at the same time, which 100% comes down to his local network and internet connection.


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## michael (Aug 13, 2014)

Guys, Please excuse me for possible lengthening of this topic.. But I have some new interrelated query for you all, as the latest information shows as below,( yes AMD AM1 chip looks good but I see more options) :-


http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H81TM-ITX R2.0/?cat=CPU



 


 

Is this xeon E3-1220LV3(C0) available in market, being xeon and just 16W and that too with this motherboard looks great... this might just be useful for me to keep some virtual machine online all the time. Can you all have you comments and suggestion about this please...?

Thanks a lot.


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## Mussels (Aug 13, 2014)

performance might be a bit weak at 1.6Ghz. you could achieve that by underclocking and undervolting any CPU.


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## Final_Fighter (Aug 13, 2014)

well seeing that you still are considering your build i found some more info on the intel NUC power consumption that i suggested earlier. also i think the celerons are even lower haven't checked yet but i would think they are.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7566/intels-haswell-nuc-d54250wyk-ucff-pc-review/6


27.02 watts with load
6.84 watts idle

the NUC is good for everyday web surfing and low setting gaming (if you dont mind).  i have a 3rd gen i5 nuc i use at my bros place with one of his spare monitors, mouse and keyboards.


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## michael (Aug 13, 2014)

Final_Fighter said:


> you posted about 4 monitors and such, is that going to be the intent with this pc? if so i would recommend the board you are looking at now. the NUC is good for everyday web surfing and low setting gaming (if you dont mind) but i haven't tried 4 monitors just 2.  .



4monitors, what are you talking about....?


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## Aquinus (Aug 13, 2014)

zsolt_93 said:


> For a normal pc to get under 100W is a bit too much. I am speaking of 100W at the wall with the monitor as the OP said. That is why i suggested a low power PC that 36W is the adaptor maximum power, basically a laptop adaptor and you will never reach more then 25-30 with that hardware.
> My best bet would be downclocking your i7 using something like throttlestop to limit max multiplier to 16 when you are not needing the power and put the PC to sleep when you are not there. That would take you to the 80W range i think and you could see how much economy you make. Even 2 old style light bulbs need more power then 100W.



Or he could do what I did and use a negative voltage offset to pull all the basic VID levels down, than apply extra offset voltage for Turbo so it will run undervolted at idle and over volted under load. It gives you power efficiency when you want it and performance when you need it. It's what I did and I shaved 35-40 watts off my 3820's idle consumption, granted I think SB-E has a little more overhead for such things as it runs ~1.3v stock which is enough for 4.2Ghz on its own.



Final_Fighter said:


> well seeing that you still are considering your build i found some more info on the intel NUC power consumption that i suggested earlier. also i think the celerons are even lower haven't checked yet but i would think they are.
> 
> http://www.anandtech.com/show/7566/intels-haswell-nuc-d54250wyk-ucff-pc-review/6
> 
> ...


This is the only post I could find in the thread that talks about monitors... Also with that said, just one of my Dell S2340Ms consumes 15-watts. That's 45-watts for all 3 displays. The point being, modern displays don't eat that much power, even if my 28" from 5-6 years ago consumes 100 watts.


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## Final_Fighter (Aug 13, 2014)

michael said:


> 4monitors, what are you talking about....?





thats my bad i accidently read 4 moitors when you said 4 tabs. my bad will edit that
just finished registering for 6 classes and 21 units out at the college so must have got ancy.


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## michael (Aug 17, 2014)

Guys, I am really curious to know this thing.....

Can Intel Celeron N2820 NUC Kit DN2820FYKH Mini PC    <------ (this max 7.5 watt  TDP) play movies, 8Gb/16GB/25GB movie?



Thanks.
Edited: I found some reviews that it plays 1080P movies.


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## michael (Aug 19, 2014)

michael said:


> Guys, Please excuse me for possible lengthening of this topic.. But I have some new interrelated query for you all, as the latest information shows as below,( yes AMD AM1 chip looks good but I see more options) :-
> 
> 
> http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H81TM-ITX R2.0/?cat=CPU
> ...



Hi guys is there any alternatives from AMD side to these Intel low watt T series...? 
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H81TM-ITX R2.0/?cat=CPU

Thanks.


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## Recca29 (Aug 19, 2014)

michael said:


> Hi guys is there any alternatives from AMD side to these Intel low watt T series...?
> http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H81TM-ITX R2.0/?cat=CPU
> 
> Thanks.


first you will not find the Xeon L series processors that easily, Core T series are also hard to find in india.
Secondly the cost would be high compared to the AMD Setup.


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## michael (Aug 19, 2014)

This what I read about NUC celeron  playing 1080p big files:-

_The Results:
Plays whatever encoding FIOS is sending the TV signals through flawlessly. No hiccups, no stuttering, no communication issues, no handshake issues, it works.
Was able to use an HP MCE remote without a problem AFTER installing the Consumer IR driver. No programming or software tinkering required, it just works. Logitech remotes should work as well if you have it set up correctly.
Plays 1080p content from a 12Mbps Matroska file without a problem.
Plays 1080p content from a 24Mbps Matroska file but I could not forward/rewind/skip without some sort of pause or delay. I suspect this to be the limits of the Celeron, but who knows. I don’t really care because this isn’t what I bought it for._

What is diffrence between 12 Mbps and 24 Mbps file?
Is it 24 Mbps is movie file sizing over 15GB or so.......?


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## Mussels (Aug 19, 2014)

michael said:


> This what I read about NUC celeron  playing 1080p big files:-
> 
> _The Results:
> Plays whatever encoding FIOS is sending the TV signals through flawlessly. No hiccups, no stuttering, no communication issues, no handshake issues, it works.
> ...



the file size has nothing to do with how hard the file is to play. bitrate and encoding is all that matters.

if you start dealing with 10 bit H264 and positional subtitles (read: most modern anime encodes) those low end chips will choke.


it seems like you're hunting for a magical thing that doesnt exist - if you want super low wattage, get a laptop or a surface pro tablet. my $600 (at the time) three year old quad core AMD APU laptop manages 1080p video playback fine over HDMI, and uses less than 30W including its own screen.
If you want a desktop that uses less wattage, get whatever CPU you want and undervolt and underclock it, until you get the power consumption you're happy with. 90W of power from a modern PC playing a video is basically nothing, theres simply no way the amount you're spending on all this hardware will cost you less than the electricity bills themselves.


----------



## xvi (Aug 19, 2014)

michael said:


> What is diffrence between 12 Mbps and 24 Mbps file?
> Is it 24 Mbps is movie file sizing over 15GB or so.......?



They're referring to the bitrate of the stream which is an indirect measure of quality. The higher the bitrate, the more information needs to be processed every second.

What the review is saying is that the NUC had no issues handling that much information per second, which isn't surprising since it's probably all hardware decode.


----------



## GhostRyder (Aug 19, 2014)

michael said:


> Guys, Please excuse me for possible lengthening of this topic.. But I have some new interrelated query for you all, as the latest information shows as below,( yes AMD AM1 chip looks good but I see more options) :-
> 
> 
> http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H81TM-ITX R2.0/?cat=CPU
> ...


Well the problem with that chip is that there is no Integrated solution for graphics meaning you would need a separate GPU which would bump up the voltage necessary by a decent margin.  Unless I am looking at the wrong system idea the board says requires a CPU with Intel HD graphics to support the on board video plugs.  

Even saying that I would still say the AM1 would be a better choice than that if your looking for as low wattage as possible.



michael said:


> Guys, I am really curious to know this thing.....
> 
> Can Intel Celeron N2820 NUC Kit DN2820FYKH Mini PC    <------ (this max 7.5 watt  TDP) play movies, 8Gb/16GB/25GB movie?
> 
> ...


Its also pretty good for low power options and a decent chip.  I have no experience with that particular Celeron but based on the Chrome book Celeron my friend bought its decent enough for the basics and capable of 1080p playback.  The NUC kit in particular is a very cool little box that would be sufficient but it does suffer in areas that require a bit more graphical output in the end.  It will do just fine as you have seen in 1080p situations for the most part but it might be better to explore the other options.

Either kit should suffice to your needs, but if I was picking I would grab an AM1 Athlon 5350 over it for the extra GPU power because when you are using a machine for media purposes the GPU is normally the front runner and at this area all the processor choices will suffice!


----------



## xvi (Aug 19, 2014)

My work computer is a Gateway SX2110G, which can be had refurbished for $170 here in the states. It's not excessively fantastic on the CPU side of things, but it's rated at 18 watt TDP. The GPU is good enough to get around in Google Earth with 3D buildings enabled without too much hassle. I can definitely feel the CPU struggling behind for most everything, but I ask an awful lot of it.

At any given time, I pretty much always have Chrome open with 20-40 tabs, trouble ticket software, a few putty sessions, a handful of command prompt windows, TeamViewer, VMware vSphere, various utilities (a few optical disc testers yesterday)... all that and it still manages the occasional VirtualBox VM from time to time. Yes, it struggles, but it's useable. I think the question is where is OP's tradeoff between power and, well, power?


----------



## michael (Aug 19, 2014)

I have read all these latest 3 replies. All have some good point to consider. And it's really interesting to know that everybody........... no matter what country they are from, no matter how rich they are... all wish/want to minimize electricity bill.
Whenever I buy any gadget I always think that It should serve at least one unique purpose.

I think Intel Celeron Nuc serve the best option for having machine ON almost all day to just go , sit and surf.
Just check this review for celeron it does not even exceed 12watt.

About AMD AM1:- Well this machine set looks great HTPC as being AMD will add some more detail to your smart tv viewing if you are using Tv as monitor,in this case even celeron NUC will be better option if you want to surf you TV via it rather than using those "still not upto the mark" smart tv futures.

NUC with i5 also looks best option if you want to save space and money.

However I am still to find lowest watts eating Monitor for such cases.......?

Thanks.


----------



## xvi (Aug 19, 2014)

michael said:


> However I am still to find lowest watts eating Monitor for such cases.......?


Pretty much anything that's LED backlit. If it's cheaper and/or more available, you could probably use a small TV instead (again, one that's LED backlit).

I can't say I'm familiar with India, but do you guys have something similar to our Energy Guide stickers (like the one below)?


----------



## michael (Aug 19, 2014)

xvi said:


> Pretty much anything that's LED backlit. If it's cheaper and/or more available, you could probably use a small TV instead (again, one that's LED backlit).
> 
> I can't say I'm familiar with India, but do you guys have something similar to our Energy Guide stickers (like the one below)?




 

We have something like this.. 5 star means more power saving.....

But we dont get this on Monitors, instead we get tag as "energy saving."....


----------



## michael (Aug 19, 2014)

Actually I wanted a square monitor with built in speaker...


----------



## Frick (Aug 19, 2014)

Just get a LED monitor and you're fine. Speakers in monitors ALWAYS sucks. Seriously, they are always terrible. Don't go that road.

Unless things have changed but I am assuming they have not.


----------



## xvi (Aug 19, 2014)

michael said:


> Actually I wanted a square monitor with built in speaker...





Frick said:


> Just get a LED monitor and you're fine. Speakers in monitors ALWAYS sucks. Seriously, they are always terrible. Don't go that road.
> 
> Unless things have changed but I am assuming they have not.


TVs are monitors with good speakers. 

Michael, I assume that by square, you mean 4:3? That might be hard to find, especially LED ones with speakers.

It's starting to sound more and more that you'd be happiest just getting a laptop.


----------



## lilhasselhoffer (Aug 19, 2014)

Jesus, you people want a lot out of your web browser boxes.

Try a Raspberry Pi.  It's less than $50 in the US, it can run a decent browser (assuming flash isn't your thing), and it plays video reasonably well: http://www.cnet.com/how-to/25-fun-things-to-do-with-a-raspberry-pi/

If you can find any computer that runs on less power, and does all of that, I'd suggest you buy it up.


Edit:

Best of all, you can keep that 3770.  You'll need it for anything more substantial, but if it's on 15% of the time you're looking at a 90%+ decrease in overall power consumption.

If all you're looking for is a web browser an i5 is too much, and an i3 could rather easily be beaten in power efficiency.  There's no reason to have a 500 horse power engine in a geo metro shell.


----------



## michael (Aug 20, 2014)

lilhasselhoffer said:


> Jesus, you people want a lot out of your web browser boxes.
> 
> Try a Raspberry Pi.  It's less than $50 in the US, it can run a decent browser (assuming flash isn't your thing), and it plays video reasonably well: http://www.cnet.com/how-to/25-fun-things-to-do-with-a-raspberry-pi/



Please excuse me for asking into some other stuff. But wow.. this link has shown me something that I was never aware of, What is this...? looks cheap here in my county too. Only Rs. 3000 

http://www.ebay.in/sch/i.html?_trks...berry+Pi&_nkw=Raspberry+Pi&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Below link shows all package:-

http://www.ebay.in/itm/Raspberry-Pi...?pt=IN_Desktop_PCs&hash=item3a95a5ed01&_uhb=1

What is this , I WOULD DEFINITELY BUY THIS besides my probable NUC or AMD AM1.

Is anybody using this...? What all it can do...?

Thanks.


----------



## GhostRyder (Aug 20, 2014)

michael said:


> Please excuse me for asking into some other stuff. But wow.. this link has shown me something that I was never aware of, What is this...? looks cheap here in my county too. Only Rs. 3000
> 
> http://www.ebay.in/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR10.TRC0.A0.H0.XRaspberry Pi&_nkw=Raspberry Pi&_sacat=0&_from=R40
> 
> ...


It's a raspberry Pi, it's a tiny developer board with very basic components for a cheap price.  Takes an SD card for its primary drive and runs like a very bare minimum system.  It was designed originally to be used for basic developing in the fields of CS.

I can tell you from experience that with a 64gb SD card and a copy of Linux I was able to watch some videos while programming on my 1080p monitor without any real problems.  Might be something you would like to look into as it's dirt cheap and uses nothing power wise.

Just remember it's way lower than anything suggested thus far.

I have model B for reference.


----------



## xvi (Aug 20, 2014)

I also have a Ras Pi Model B and it's pretty darn good considering it's specs, but usage has to be pretty light. Hardware decode should take care of a lot of video needs, but I agree with lilhasselhoffer, it probably won't handle much in the way of flash. Also, you will not be able to install Windows to it.

I think there are other ARM-based sticks that are about the same price range that have a little more horsepower than the Pi, an example being the MK802, MK803, or GK802.

Actually, what does everyone think about a Chromebook?


----------



## Toothless (Aug 21, 2014)

xvi said:


> Actually, what does everyone think about a Chromebook?


*No.*

It's an oversized, limited netbook. All web surfing but no proper storage.


----------



## michael (Aug 21, 2014)

xvi said:


> I also have a Ras Pi Model B and it's pretty darn good considering it's specs, but usage has to be pretty light. Hardware decode should take care of a lot of video needs, but I agree with lilhasselhoffer, it probably won't handle much in the way of flash. Also, you will not be able to install Windows to it.
> 
> I think there are other ARM-based sticks that are about the same price range that have a little more horsepower than the Pi, an example being the MK802, MK803, or GK802.
> 
> Actually, what does everyone think about a Chromebook?



Chromebook is really not good. no storage.. I may buy it only if am rich.

yes. these GK options looks good too, only to access fast web browser on Smart TV , if it allows... I mean how fast is web browsing using these android sticks on Smart TV...?


----------



## Mussels (Aug 21, 2014)

michael said:


> Chromebook is really not good. no storage.. I may buy it only if am rich.
> 
> yes. these GK options looks good too, only to access fast web browser on Smart TV , if it allows... I mean how fast is web browsing using these android sticks on Smart TV...?




slower than a PC. they're normally equal to a low end android tablet.


----------



## michael (Aug 21, 2014)

Mussels said:


> slower than a PC. they're normally equal to a low end android tablet.


Thanks. I may not look towards this area now, unless someone gifts me one.


----------



## Toothless (Aug 21, 2014)

michael said:


> Thanks. I may not look towards this area now, unless someone gifts me one.


I might be able to test one out tomorrow. We have a ChromeBook that isn't used so I'll check it out in the morning.


----------



## michael (Aug 27, 2014)

Hi Guys,

Thanks a lot for your replies. I am just about to order Intel Celeron N2820 .

Just I want to know about below stuff:-

*1. *Which *RAM* should I use in order to stick to Low Watt system? Will 8GB beneficial or useful on such system?

Specs Given:-

SYSTEM MEMORY
• One DDR3L SO-DIMM slot for memory expandability
up to 8 GB
• 1.35V, 1333/1600 MHz (down clocked to 1066 MHz)

*2.* *Hard disks*

Is there any SSD which comes with 3 Gb/s speed ? What if I connect  Gb/s speed SSD ?

Specs Given:-

1x SATA port (3 Gb/s) for internal support
for 2.5¨ HDD or SSD

Edited:-

What if i connect this SSD 6 Gb/s

It also saying "

Ultra Low Power Consumption for Longer Battery Life" in it's description.

http://www.snapdeal.com/product/samsung-840-series-120-gb/1412846#bcrumbSearch:|bcrumbLabelId:283


Please advise.


----------



## Recca29 (Aug 27, 2014)

Why not a Intel Celeron J1800?

1. 4GB ram is enough
2. No issue when u connect a SATA 3Gb/s device to a SATA 6Gb/s or the other way around.


----------



## michael (Aug 27, 2014)

Recca29 said:


> Why not a Intel Celeron J1800?
> 
> 1. 4GB ram is enough
> 2. No issue when u connect a SATA 3Gb/s device to a SATA 6Gb/s or the other way around.



No way man... I did read all about these. but decide against it as it would require SMPS....


----------



## Recca29 (Aug 27, 2014)

michael said:


> No way man... I did read all about these. but decide against it as it would require SMPS....


won't a Intel Celeron N2820 require SMPS?
How will You power it?


----------



## michael (Aug 27, 2014)

Recca29 said:


> won't a Intel Celeron N2820 require SMPS?
> How will You power it?



It takes small adaptor..... and not that box type SMPS.


----------



## Recca29 (Aug 27, 2014)

So basically you are buying a NUC with Intel Celeron N2820.
great.


----------



## michael (Aug 27, 2014)

Recca29 said:


> So basically you are buying a NUC with Intel Celeron N2820.
> great.



Certainly yes.

There are various types of system we can choose from which I learnt about from these thread:-

1. Intel Celeron NUC N2820  (Good PC and can handle day to tasks with 1080P  13watts max.)
2. AMD AM1 with with AC adaptor compatible motherboard (Lowest AMD PC max 25 Watts)
3. Intel Celeron J1800 the one you specified but it would require Mini ITX box with box size SMPS.
4. Intel NUC i5 model, I guess, this is "too must"  have for all as this is more powerful and less size, bit expensive with all req. parts though.

My idea is to have Intel NUC N2820 and hook it up behind 23" LED monitor (max 18 Watts) so combine desktop using experience won't cause me more than 30 Watts in total more over I can use it as All in one PC too.

In short my total power consumption should not exceed 25 - 30 Watts.


----------



## newtekie1 (Aug 27, 2014)

I just set up a laptop with an N2830(faster than the N2820), and it was super slow.


----------



## Jhelms (Aug 27, 2014)

Just chiming in a 2nd, 3rd and more time for the 5350 AM1 even though it looks like you made a choice  Just built a similar power sipper and I am very pleased for a basic surfing / streaming business machine. And surprisingly it is quite snappy - quick for a budget non gamer.
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/t...ni-itx-desktop-build-business-machine.204060/

On another note, if you run the maths the difference between 25w and 15w used 10 hours a day at an average of .11 cents per kwh is only $4.01 a year 

$10 total electric cost rounded per year for the amd
$6 total electric cost rounded per year for the Intel

Your current setup if using 88w used for 10 hours a day at .11 pkwh is only costing $35 rounded a year so really not all that much. Or at 109w 10 hours a day equals just $44 rounded a year.

Do you have crazy high electrical costs in India?

Good review / Comparison AM1 vs Intel competition. AM1 is considerably better for a lot of things such as multimedia, offers 6gbps sata and more. Smarter low power choice IMO
http://us.hardware.info/reviews/533...l-d-review-cheap-desktop-platforms-conclusion

Comparison.. 5350 even being low end wipes the floor with a N2820
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2195&cmp[]=2145


----------



## xvi (Aug 28, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> $10 total electric cost rounded per year for the amd $6 total electric cost rounded per year for the Intel



..but that's nearly twice as much!


----------



## GhostRyder (Aug 28, 2014)

xvi said:


> ..but that's nearly twice as much!


But its much more powerful lol

He has made his choice it sounds which should suffice for what he's wanting to do.


----------



## Mussels (Aug 28, 2014)

GhostRyder said:


> But its much more powerful lol
> 
> He has made his choice it sounds which should suffice for what he's wanting to do.



we'll find out sooner or later. this thread reminded me to go power test my new laptops wattages.


----------



## Nordic (Aug 28, 2014)

I may be saying something redundant because I only read the first page and the last page of this thread. You say the intel g2020 uses 55w but that is tdp now power usage. By g1620 uses 14w according to hwinfo, which I can confirm is pretty darn close using my kill-a-watt wall meter. I have even undervolted it enough where it will use 8w according to hwinfo.


----------



## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

Just running some general measurements on the AM1H-ITX mobo and 5350...
- Idle is 19-20w
- General usage 22-25w (browsing and so forth) 
- Streaming Netflix 28 - 32w

No undervolting. I could undervolt the ram but no options for the cpu with this mobo. So with my combo - it is what it is.


----------



## Mussels (Aug 28, 2014)

I just tested my i5 laptop

Intel i5 3210m (35W TDP), 8GB 1600MHz ram, 60GB intel 520 SSD, not sure if its running the intel IGP or AMD GPU at idle, tbh.

11W idle (screen off)
13W idle (screen on)

1080p, H264 10bit video file, streamed over wifi N 150, software decoded via CCCP and LAV filters - 21W.

so you know, the TDP numbers dont tell the whole story.


----------



## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

*Good info and low power! Had me curious as to my I5 laptop as well. A dell E6420. It has a lil 2540M cpu. Just tested with the battery at 100% / wifi ON / Screen at 100% / 180gb corsair gt SSD / 8gb 1600 / current drivers / Keyboard on dim* */ in performance mode as I keep it all the time*
- Idle is 16-17w
- General usage 25-27w (browsing and so forth)
- Streaming Netflix 28 - 30w
- When charging 45-46w (just verified it on my wifes dead 6420)

Overall much better than I suspected. And the 2540 wipes the floor with the 5350 as anyone would figure
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=812&cmp[]=2195


----------



## Recca29 (Aug 28, 2014)

Garage1217 said:


> Just chiming in a 2nd, 3rd and more time for the 5350 AM1 even though it looks like you made a choice  Just built a similar power sipper and I am very pleased for a basic surfing / streaming business machine. And surprisingly it is quite snappy - quick for a budget non gamer.
> http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/t...ni-itx-desktop-build-business-machine.204060/
> 
> On another note, if you run the maths the difference between 25w and 15w used 10 hours a day at an average of .11 cents per kwh is only $4.01 a year
> ...


My current system running ~10 hrs daily costs $13-15 a month.
So the electrical costs is a little high. ~8cents per kwh.


----------



## Jhelms (Aug 28, 2014)

8 cents US? Wow... Ouch.


----------



## Mussels (Aug 28, 2014)

Recca29 said:


> My current system running ~10 hrs daily costs $13-15 a month.
> So the electrical costs is a little high. ~8cents per kwh.



Thats low - we pay about 25-30c per KWH here.


----------



## Nordic (Aug 28, 2014)

I pay less than a penny per KWH with all this cheap hydro power around me.


----------



## xBruce88x (Aug 31, 2014)

im on a fixed budget for my electric. its about $200 a month, however its split by my other room mates. This includes the cost of running 3 window unit A/C systems, 2 are 5000btu and one is 12000. and in winter we use a lot of electric space heaters 3-4 of them each about 750-1500w (i like the quartz ones), though i only use them in the rooms i happen to be in at the time, sometimes I open the oven (gas). no central heating and air. we have switched over to the newer CFL lights which has helped a lot. I plan to again switch to LED lighting when it gets more affordable.

as far as the OP build... an intel NUC unit sounds reasonable, perhaps even an all-in-one based on an intel NUC with a celeron 1900 (the quad core one)


----------



## michael (Sep 1, 2014)

newtekie1 said:


> I just set up a laptop with an N2830(faster than the N2820), and it was super slow.


I didn't get what you are referring to..?


----------



## Mussels (Sep 1, 2014)

michael said:


> I didn't get what you are referring to..?




that he's using the hardware he mentioned and its slow.

power efficient doesnt mean fast.


----------



## xBruce88x (Sep 2, 2014)

in fact power efficient is generally slower... though tech has come far enough that low power devices can be quite powerful performance wise... well more so than they used to.


----------



## newtekie1 (Sep 2, 2014)

michael said:


> I didn't get what you are referring to..?



You mentioned that you were considering the N2820 so I figured I'd share my experience with the N2830.  The thing is so slow.  The laptop felt so sluggish.  I didn't get to test it with playing video because I didn't have a lot of time with it, thankfully.  But doing everything just felt like it was grinding.  Even browsing the web to download some programs I needed felt like I was pulling teeth.  The computer was so slow it made browsing the internet feel like I was on a 1.5Mbps DSL connection not the 50Mbps connection I was using.


----------



## michael (Sep 2, 2014)

Hi Guys. 
Thanks a lot for your valuable inputs.
I thing both NUC N2820 and AMD AM1 with ASROCK AM1 board with DC adaptor is good option .

But for me for building any new machine the case is very very important. it should look decent and eye catchy.... Would you please suggest me some miniitx cases..

I dont want these... cases..

     
is there something new which has come...?


----------



## Mussels (Sep 2, 2014)

why not buy one of the zotac mitx prebuilt systems?


----------



## michael (Sep 2, 2014)

Mussels said:


> why not buy one of the zotac mitx prebuilt systems?


NO.


----------



## RCoon (Sep 2, 2014)

michael said:


> Hi Guys.
> Thanks a lot for your valuable inputs.
> I thing both NUC N2820 and AMD AM1 with ASROCK AM1 board with DC adaptor is good option .
> 
> ...



Eye catching?
EVGA Hadron, Bitfenix Prodigy, InWin 901, Silerstone ML07B, Silverstone RVZ01 Raven, Corsair Carbide Air 240

Personally I think the plain sleek ones are far sexier for itx chassis.


----------



## Mussels (Sep 2, 2014)

michael said:


> NO.




If you're asking for advice on all this, you need to give better answers.


So far you've generally asked questions, and then made an independent decision totally different to the advice offered. I still dont understand how you think saving 60W is going to add up to massive savings. If electricity is that bad, even a single traditional light globe would cost as much to run


----------



## Aquinus (Sep 2, 2014)

Mussels said:


> If you're asking for advice on all this, you need to give better answers.
> 
> 
> So far you've generally asked questions, and then made an independent decision totally different to the advice offered. I still dont understand how you think saving 60W is going to add up to massive savings. If electricity is that bad, even a single traditional light globe would cost as much to run



Not that I condone his response which was rude and vague, I would make the argument that he wants a PC that draws a little as possible because it will make less heat. I suspect the OP (who we know  lives in India,) might want to just not add more heat to his living space, even more so if it's a small living space.

I think maybe the wrong questions have been asked, maybe what really needs to be asked is, "What are you trying to accomplish with this rig and what is your end goal?" More specific questions are only helpful if these initial questions are satisfactorily answered and understood by the public providing said answers because I'm currently not completely sure what @michael 's goal is and without that in mind, any recommendation is a bad one.

With that said, "Saving power" isn't a goal, that's a result of reaching a goal efficiently.


----------



## michael (Sep 2, 2014)

Mussels said:


> If you're asking for advice on all this, you need to give better answers.
> 
> 
> So far you've generally asked questions, and then made an independent decision totally different to the advice offered. I still dont understand how you think saving 60W is going to add up to massive savings. If electricity is that bad, even a single traditional light globe would cost as much to run


Ok. I agree. I was in Hurry .


----------



## michael (Sep 2, 2014)

Finally I have decided to go with AMD AM1 5350 and asrock  AM1H-ITX board. But my need is to fit  these things in Vesa mount case to back of my monitor if needed.

However I feel, how can I manage to fit it in this case

Which wifi adaptor can I use which will fit in this vesa mounted case ?


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Sep 2, 2014)

michael said:


> Finally I have decided to go with AMD AM1 5350 and asrock  AM1H-ITX board. But my need is to fit  these things in Vesa mount case to back of my monitor if needed.
> 
> However I feel, how can I manage to fit it in this case
> 
> Which wifi adaptor can I use which will fit in this vesa mounted case ?



That seems so impractical.


----------



## michael (Sep 2, 2014)

Aquinus said:


> Not that I condone his response which was rude and vague, I would make the argument that he wants a PC that draws a little as possible because it will make less heat. I suspect the OP (who we know  lives in India,) might want to just not add more heat to his living space, even more so if it's a small living space.
> 
> I think maybe the wrong questions have been asked, maybe what really needs to be asked is, "What are you trying to accomplish with this rig and what is your end goal?" More specific questions are only helpful if these initial questions are satisfactorily answered and understood by the public providing said answers because I'm currently not completely sure what @michael 's goal is and without that in mind, any recommendation is a bad one.
> 
> With that said, "Saving power" isn't a goal, that's a result of reaching a goal efficiently.


My goal is to save power and play full hd movies and browse internet flawlessly.

I AM going to build one more pc 3rd one in few months too. so worry about watts.


----------



## michael (Sep 2, 2014)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> That seems so impractical.


Yes I agree or it would be..But I wanted to cross check with you guys.


----------



## MxPhenom 216 (Sep 2, 2014)

michael said:


> My goal is to save power and play full hd movies and browse internet flawlessly.
> 
> I AM going to build one more pc 3rd one in few months too. so worry about watts.



Maybe if you didn't have so many computers, that would solve a majority of your problems.


----------



## michael (Sep 2, 2014)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Maybe if you didn't have so many computers, that would solve a majority of your problems.


----------



## Liquid Cool (Sep 2, 2014)

I realize my comments here are a little different than the advice you've been receiving and I don't want to ruffle any feathers.  Although, I did want to give you a little different point of view since I'm in the same boat...I like low wattage items and I'm having a hard time paying bills.  

Perhaps a laptop would be the best fit for your needs.  If you add an LED monitor, keyboard and a mouse you have a second desktop.  Just buy a 400-450US(Intel ULV) laptop and add a monitor.  They make for excellent low wattage computers and you don't have to go out and purchase an OS, speakers etc when you're doing a build.  That way you would have a desktop and a laptop that can be stationary if you'd like, but not TWO desktops...which I don't think is plausible or really makes sense unless you have a bunch of people in your household that we're not aware of.

If it was me, I'd probably buy an HP Split x2 13(Max TDP 15w) and add a monitor.  That way I'd have a desktop, a laptop...and  a tablet.  Refurbs go for 400US.










If you do build another desktop the AM1 option sounds quite a bit better than a nuc...it'll eat a pretty good size hole in your pocket before it's all said and done.  The build I did ran 900 and I had to skimp on a couple of items for the client.

Best,

LC


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## Aquinus (Sep 3, 2014)

Something like a Celeron J1900 might fit the bill. It's a 10-watt SoC, it's a quad core, and is seemingly powerful enough to play 1080p video and browse the web.

Something like the ASRock Q1900-ITX might be a smart move, some other J1900 boards also have mini PCI-E slots which would solve your wi-fi problem if you pair it with a good Intel wi-fi adapter.


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## michael (Sep 10, 2014)

Aquinus said:


> Something like a Celeron J1900 might fit the bill. It's a 10-watt SoC, it's a quad core, and is seemingly powerful enough to play 1080p video and browse the web.
> 
> Something like the ASRock Q1900-ITX might be a smart move, some other J1900 boards also have mini PCI-E slots which would solve your wi-fi problem if you pair it with a good Intel wi-fi adapter.



man i did read a lot about ASRock Q1900-ITX on net but one flaw , it should have dc power input.


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## michael (Sep 11, 2014)

*Antec ISK 300 
AMD Athlon 5350 Processor 
 MSI AM1I Motherboard

So I have decided to go with these, just tell me one thing.. can this case sufficient for being used as PSU for this motherboard ......?

Just like below video..














Thanks.
*


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## arbiter (Sep 11, 2014)

michael said:


> Guys, Please excuse me for possible lengthening of this topic.. But I have some new interrelated query for you all, as the latest information shows as below,( yes AMD AM1 chip looks good but I see more options) :-
> 
> 
> http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/H81TM-ITX R2.0/?cat=CPU
> ...


i would look at one the 35watt parts so it has power to handle things int he future, Looking around that is a 200+$ cpu. you could look at one Intel pentium parts which they have ones around 35watts and under 100$. you won't notice difference between 2 on your power bill. those pentium FYI are based on current haswell cpu so they are not old cpu arc, for little higher could look at 35watt i3 part as well.


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## Aquinus (Sep 11, 2014)

michael said:


> man i did read a lot about ASRock Q1900-ITX on net but one flaw , it should have dc power input.


Get a pico-PSU or something small that could be mounted internally. I wouldn't call lack of a DC input a deal breaker.


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## michael (Sep 12, 2014)

Aquinus said:


> Get a pico-PSU or something small that could be mounted internally. I wouldn't call lack of a DC input a deal breaker.


Pico-PSU looks good option too. But here in my country it is almost $300 + Rs. 2199 and Yes , I agree that lack of DC input is not a deal breaker if you are buying eye-catchy mini itx case from those Lian li or Rosewill which can hold full size PSU too.

BUt  honestly Intel NUC i5 is still coming my way due to its size, speed and power consumption and more over it's presence in my home for say, next 5 years if it continue to deliver. BUt yes, if it stops working then I will have to simply  give it  to customer care than myself trying to repair it actually when I am  are finding it difficult to buy in  our area.


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## Aquinus (Sep 12, 2014)

michael said:


> Pico-PSU looks good option too. But here in my country it is almost $300 + Rs. 2199 and Yes , I agree that lack of DC input is not a deal breaker if you are buying eye-catchy mini itx case from those Lian li or Rosewill which can hold full size PSU too.
> 
> BUt  honestly Intel NUC i5 is still coming my way due to its size, speed and power consumption and more over it's presence in my home for say, next 5 years if it continue to deliver. BUt yes, if it stops working then I will have to simply  give it  to customer care than myself trying to repair it actually when I am  are finding it difficult to buy in  our area.



Touché, a J1900 would cost less than an i5 and would consume less power. It's less powerful but I think it would still fit the bill WRT what you want to do with it. I don't know about your area, but here, J1900 boards all tend to be under 100 USD. I don't know what costs on these boards are like in your area of India, but I would suspect an embedded J1900 would in general still be cheaper than an i5 and a 10-watt TDP is about as low as your going to get without using more pricey mobile hardware. I also doubt that the i5 is an SoC if that makes any difference to you.


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## michael (Sep 14, 2014)

Thanks for all to add this valuable inputs.. Yes this J1900 looks good too and forces me to rethink as  sometimes I might just need to to play 1080P videos on TV .


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## michael (Sep 21, 2014)

Update:-
Intel NUC i5 version is *THE BEST OPTION*. Compact , Low WATTS and FAST and I guess it will never be seen in garbage area of  home  as long as it works no matter how updated things and parts come in future, this little baby will still be more than useful to at least a 5-7 years old kid to work/play on even after 5 years.

Edit:-

Other options would have been *Asrock H61TM-ITX with DC adaptor  *which can even run  newly launched* T and S series* *low watt intel processors *but both are yet *unavailable* to buy  online.

Thanks.


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## michael (Sep 22, 2014)

How about Acer Iconia W4,  just to connect to an Smart TV to browse a web and I saw on some reviews that it even detects 1 TB hard disk without power to play contents. Will this be a better idea in case you just want to use windows on your Smart TV as it has micro HDMI option and of course consumes less power and cheap to buy the wifi version.



 

Of course this does not belong to what thread is asking for, but still it can serve the most of the purpose. 

Thanks.


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## Mussels (Sep 22, 2014)

michael said:


> How about Acer Iconia W4,  just to connect to an Smart TV to browse a web and I saw on some reviews that it even detects 1 TB hard disk without power to play contents. Will this be a better idea in case you just want to use windows on your Smart TV as it has micro HDMI option and of course consumes less power and cheap to buy the wifi version.
> 
> View attachment 59313
> 
> ...




pretty sure i mentioned those earlier and got shot down - the main weakness is short of the surface pro lineup they've all got really weak CPU's that cant handle HD video playback well.

They're a fanless touchscreen laptop, so double check the specs can handle what you're after.


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## Frick (Sep 22, 2014)

MS Surface Pro 2.0! That's pretty much my dream tablet now.


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## michael (Sep 22, 2014)

Frick said:


> MS Surface Pro 2.0! That's pretty much my dream tablet now.


Yes. these are good but very expensive here. May be after 1 year I will think about those.


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## michael (Sep 22, 2014)

Check out what our One of the Indian company has produced for just $325 its called Notion-ink

http://www.snapdeal.com/product/notion-ink-cain-2in1-touchscreen/1556812847?


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## RCoon (Sep 22, 2014)

What do you need touch screen for? Looking at the OP and how this thread as evolved, I'm confused.


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## Mussels (Sep 22, 2014)

michael said:


> Check out what our One of the Indian company has produced for just $325 its called Notion-ink
> 
> http://www.snapdeal.com/product/notion-ink-cain-2in1-touchscreen/1556812847?
> 
> View attachment 59322



as i said just a few posts again, look at the processor. its garbage.


This thread makes less and less sense over time. its like you dont know what you want.


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## Frick (Sep 22, 2014)

Mussels said:


> This thread makes less and less sense over time. its like you dont know what you want.



Look at his threads. He doesn't know.


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## michael (Sep 22, 2014)

@Frick

@Mussels

I know what I want but honestly I feel that one should have all below things to be used at different occasions  :

-Powerful Desktop machine which is also very close to Server configuration.* I have*
-High end Laptop *Will order soon Dell 7737 i7 4th 17.3 FHD 2GB ,16GB RAM*
-Low watts PC/HTPC like Intel NUC *Waiting to come in stock*
-Portable Windows Tab like Dell venue 8 Pro or Acer iconia W4 *May be *

Not really!
I already said that I am going to order Intel NUC i5 version to have less watts desktop PC once it becomes available to our usual site here as they only have till i3 version.

However I even I am aware that asking different questions in one thread may distract original topic subject but then again where and when should an individual clear his doubts about the particular things or stuff it can pop up any time while you search for the things you want.. I wrote about Notion -ink because someone above wrote about Microsoft Surface Pro 2 which I still don't think was irrelevant post.

So should an individual open new thread for Notion-ink  in case he wants discuss about such stuff with experienced geeks like you all .. honestly this is what I always wondered about?

*This thread is not waste. Intel NUC i5 version is the best option for that*.

Thanks.


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## Tatty_One (Sep 22, 2014)

After 6 weeks of thread life and 6 pages of suggesions, if you don't know now what you want then you either did't want it in the first place or you never will know.... thread closed.


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