The intel mobo really does make a big difference when it comes to idle power consumption. That's the advantage of having a motherboard that doesn't overclock - it's the most efficient. ASRock needs to support more power draw so at idle it is less efficient. Intel motherboards + an efficient, correct...

Would a HFX mini case (mCubed) have enough fanless cooling capacity for a system like this? I want to build a totally silent HTPC with something a bit more powerful than an Atom or Ion. http://www.hfx.at/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=165&Itemid=58 given the voltage options, I would t...

Hi all, I've been researching the ideal low power system. I have an Atom PC and it's great at taking less than 35 watts, but it is getting a bit too slow for me. I've been reading Tom's Hardware Review article that you can get a i5 to 25 watt idle load and was hoping I could achieve something simil...

I am still tweaking the system. Dynamic vs just auto adjusting power options doesn't seem to make a difference for idle power consumption. I turned off "speed step" and the board now just sits at 2.4GHz all the time. Voltage is currently in the ~.9x range. It's not 100% stable yet, but I'll get ther...

updated: Here is where I pretty much ended. I have a few things left to do (swap to a copper base intel heatsink off a i7 860, use better thermal paste, install my two noctua 80mm fans... but here is where I am at now- Specs: Core i3 540 Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 G.SKILL ECO 1600MHz CAS7 RAM Corsair For...

Here's what I measured when I first got it with a barebones setup. MB/CPU, PicoPSU 150 (200W brick), and a 2.5" laptop drive... Voltage Idle Load ------- ---- ---- Stock 30 71 -0.15 30 60 -0.1875 30 58 Although I was sure I got more like 27W idle... Maybe that was with a different PSU. The brick fo...

I too picked up the Gigabyte H55. Undervolting for me did nothing at idle power but did cut some off under load. If I were buying again, I'd probably just go for the Intel and save the hassle while getting lower power. thanks for the feedback billybuerger and MtnHermit. My main issue is not idle, b...

Hi, I am choosing between the Gigabyte H55 ITX mobo and the Intel H57 mobo. As far as I can tell, the gigabyte allows me to undervolt but uses more voltage under load at "stock" settings. While the Intel ITX mobo doesn't allow undervolt, but is much more efficient. I am looking for the lowest max po...