Advice needed: For a system consume <135W under load

lymzy · Post by **lymzy** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 1:16 pm

The system's only purpose is to watch <25Mpbs MPEG2-TS with 1080i de-interlace and IVTC via Purevideo.

I plan to use Sempron AM2 SDD version TDP 35w and 7600GT (no HD IVTC on the 7600GS) as video card. One slim DVD drive and one WD 500GB.

I need advice on MB. It has to be mATX and undervolt/clocking is a plus.
Of course, the cheaper the better.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Nice Marmot · Post by **Nice Marmot** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 4:24 pm

The MSI K8NGM2-FID seems to be the most popular HTPC mATX board for socket 939; the K9NGM2-FID for AM2 is now available and should be similar, but there hasn't been much in the way of reviews yet. There's been conflicting information about whether it can underclock or not.

Depending on where you are, the 35W AM2 procs may be impossible to find. If you're in the US and have found them, please let me know where.

frostedflakes · Post by **frostedflakes** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:39 pm

<135w shouldn't be too hard as long as you aren't using a horribly inefficient power supply. My old dual-core / 7900GT system would only load @ around 140-150w.

Do you plan to upgrade the system to dual-core in the future? If not, I'd just stick with socket 754. The Biostar Tforce-6100 has good integrated video and a lot of tweaking options in the BIOS. I can't remember who it is, but a member here has a Sempron 2500+ that runs at 1.4GHz 0.88V. This corresponds to a TDP of ~10w, at idle it probably uses only a few watt. If you need more power grab a 3000+ or higher Sempron; 2600+ and 2800+ don't support CnQ.

lymzy · Post by **lymzy** » Sat Aug 26, 2006 7:59 am

frostedflakes wrote: Do you plan to upgrade the system to dual-core in the future? If not, I'd just stick with socket 754. The Biostar Tforce-6100 has good integrated video and a lot of tweaking options in the BIOS.

Thanks for the reply. No future upgrade needed. I saw one underclock project using Biostar Tforce-6100-754 and sempron 3000+ http://www.soar-above.net/underclock.html. I might consider this one. Does onboard video chip draw much power if I don't use it?

Fat_bloater_dave · Post by **Fat_bloater_dave** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 12:50 am

lymzy wrote:
frostedflakes wrote:Does onboard video chip draw much power if I don't use it?

You will be able to turn it off in the bios. So no it wont.