What CPU for Media PC / Server?

[Benedict_Arnold]

Thinking about my media PC project and that the Intel Q9650 (retail value about 330 quid here and in the UK) might be OTT for a simple media PC / server for streaming FLACs, internerd radio and watching the odd Netflix. This CPU might be better "recycled" into another workstation for the wife's office.
SO...
Given it has to be an LGA775 intel chip, running Windows 7 (the wife doesn't speak Linux) what alternative (cheaper) options would you think about? Price point I'm looking at is around 100 quid / 170 dollars, 2.5 to 3.0 GHz and Core2 quad probably.
Suggestions please....

 

[cheeseboy]

the new pentium chips like the g870 should be absolutely fine for what you want.

 

[landzw]

Any intel i3 would do the job nicely and run cooler

 

[AnotherJoe]

I'd be looking at something like an i3-3240 around £100 though on the 1155 socket.

 

[cheeseboy]

actually scratch that, just noticed you said socket 775 - core2duo e6600 or 6750 should be fine. Just get a nice quiet cooler like a sycthe like this one http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/cpu/043/scsk1000_detail.html

 

[AnotherJoe]

Hmm cant edit my post,

But the i3-3240 (£100) + LGA1155 motherboard (£40-80) would give you around 2x the performance of an E6750 and you wouldnt need a GPU.

The whole system would draw under 100W even at full load.

 

[landzw]

Hmm cant edit my post,

But the i3-3240 (£100) + LGA1155 motherboard (£40-80) would give you around 2x the performance of an E6750 and you wouldnt need a GPU.

The whole system would draw under 100W even at full load.

100% agree with AnotherJoe

 

[Paul.]

i3 3220T, 3240T or 3250T would be 35 watts whereas most i3s are 55 watts. The 35 watt chips would be quite easy to passive cool if you were aiming for a quiet setup. (The T is important because there is a 3240 and a 3240T with different wattages)

I have been researching these very questions myself recently. I was looking at the i3 3225 purely as it had the HD 4000 graphics and plays super nice should I want to boot OS X on it. I have also been tempted by one of these:

http://www.ebuyer.com/430446-proliant-microserver-turion-2-2-2gb-250gb-nhpl-sata-lff-in-704941-421

I missed the cash back by a day, they were down to £109 for a four bay server. Its 2.2ghz Turion processor is powerful enough to transcode 720p in plex, but not quite 1080p. That suits me fine, as I have no interest in ripping my bluray collection although I am slowly working through my DVD collection. There seems to be quite a big community behind these boxes, someone has even put up instructions how to put the Synology OS on them!

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Thanks guys

Gotta be a socket 775 because I may use the 9650 until I need it for something else or back in a workstation. The Q6600 was my first though, but what about the Q8XXX or Q9XXX series CPUs? They're slightly cheaper...

Heat wise I'm not too worried as I'm going to fit cooling fans anyway (this is Texas, it is Summer, and it is hot), but the unit will be sat inside a home entertainment center.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Bought a "previously used" Q6600 through amazon.com for sixty dollars. CPUs either work or they don't and for sixty bucks it's no big risk either way...

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Bought this case for 62 Dollars:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GGUAUE/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bought this power supply for 45 Dollars:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GGUAUE/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And this motherboard for 140 Dollars:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BN50DM/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Windows 7 Pro cost me 130 Dollars (yes I could have used Linux for free but the wife wouldn't have a clue) and other bits'n'pieces cost me about another 100. I already had spare 1 terabyte hard disks and 8 gigs of DDR2 RAM sitting unused.

So my outlay so far is 377 Dollars or about 242 Quid.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Well the beast is built and hooked up to the Onky TX-NR717 receiver via fiber optic. Not getting any sound out of the receiver.

Apart from using a different fiber optic cable, what should I do / check?

Oh, the case turned out to be 17 3/4 ish inches wide by about 7 1/2 high so will fit in a standard hifi rack nicely. It's a good case. Second Silverstone case I've bought in the last two months. Kind of plain (or subtle, take your pick), doesn't look like it fell out of a Transformers movie and is very well made. This little case two two 3 1/2 hard disks and a 5 1/4 inch Bluray reader without problems. Highly recommended brand. The four 80 mm fans are a bit noisy but it's going inside an entertainment center cabinet so shouldn't be a problem.

Now all I've got to do is figure out how to get the 0s and 1s from the optical ouptu on the motherboard to be communicated to the Onkyo TX-NR717 receiver....

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

Might need to enable the audio out from the optical output? May be set to analogue by default?

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[pauln]

The four 80 mm fans are a bit noisy but it's going inside an entertainment center cabinet so shouldn't be a problem.

Have you come across Speedfan? http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

It works really well, it can control case and cpu fan speeds, keeping them down when computer is not doing much. Have you got some airflow in the cabinet?

BTW your link to the psu links to the case as well. $45 seems very cheap for a psu - is it noisey? The Seasonic X series is very good - fanless but expensive http://www.seasonicusa.com/NEW_X-series_Fanless.htm

(I'm a bit obssessive about noisey computers)

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Two of the fans are run off the motherboard, the other two from a molex cable, so those two are on full time. To be honest I'm not fussed by the noise as the whole shebang is going to end up inside a big wooden entertainment unit with a glass door in front. Cooling rather than noise is thus the main concern.

Correct linkey to the case:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GGUAUE/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And yes, the PSU was only 45 bucks, so far it's working fine

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Hi,

Might need to enable the audio out from the optical output? May be set to analogue by default?

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

Found it. It's a setting in Windows Media player. WMP will output to the speakers or the SPDIF, not sure about both.