A green enthusiast PC build: Part one

Comments

  • TushonTushon I'm scared, Coach Alexandria, VA Icrontian
    edited April 2010
    I'm interested to see where this goes, Cliff. I wish I had seen it prior to building my server. That thing only has an Athlon II (think 800MHz dual-core.............) but I didnt really consider the "green" value of the components.
  • edited April 2010
    I'm hooked and can't wait for next week :thumbup
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited April 2010
    Next week I am going to do some video, and its going to be a real "my first PC" builders guide. Its something I have always meant to do so its a bit of a self indulgent project. I have the lighting and mini tripod set on my workbench, and my hope is that it will be a nice little reference guide that we will be able to forward to a guy who is going to do something dreadful like buying a cheap OEM system.... In my wildest dreams, it will be something that will bring new blood to the hobby.

    The week after that will be the real meat and potatoes. Getting this to run against my primary gaming system, and seeing how they compare watt for watt.

    Without a doubt I'm going to do audio rips, some drop in encoding in AVIVO, Cinebench and a few gaming benchmarks, testing the load power draw on each to get a performance per watt analysis. Also, for gaming, I plan to put it into perspective in terms of an experience index. What compromises do I have to make to get the same playable frame-rate?

    I'm open to benchmarking suggestions if there is anything you guys would like to see.
  • edited April 2010
    I just started researching a quad core low power consumption PC last night. I've been building low power, ultra-quiet systems for years now. I'll be really curious what your idle power draw is from the wall.

    Here's a measurement I'd like you to make: Measure the wall draw with the graphics card in, then pull the card and measure it. (I'm building a server next and won't have any kind of graphics card in it)
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited April 2010
    Pete wrote:
    I just started researching a quad core low power consumption PC last night. I've been building low power, ultra-quiet systems for years now. I'll be really curious what your idle power draw is from the wall.

    Here's a measurement I'd like you to make: Measure the wall draw with the graphics card in, then pull the card and measure it. (I'm building a server next and won't have any kind of graphics card in it)

    Will do. If I were to do a home theater build, or perhaps a general productivity system, that would be the way to go.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited April 2010
    Awesome idea. I can't wait to see the results.
  • PetraPetra Palmdale, CA USA
    edited April 2010
    Interesting timing... I'm about to try a low-power build that the guys in the XS WCG section turned me on to:

    (2) 2GHz SL8WT dual-core Xeon CPUs (Sossaman, 31W TDP)
    Intel Baker Bay server board (SE7520BB2)
    4GB registered DDR2 (1Rx4)
    (1) Lian-Li Xeon backplate
    (2) OEM Sossaman heatsinks

    The above parts end up costing about $143 before shipping (if you know where to look), a complete system shouldn't pull more than about 80-100W at full load, and the mobo has onboard video as well as an 8x PCI-e slot that you can mod to accommodate a 16x PCI-e video card. Add a spare HDD, optical drive, efficient PSU, and you're set.

    Once the parts arrive and I get the systems together, I'll probably mod one of the motherboards and borrow the HD4850 from my media PC to see how it handles gaming and benchmarking. I'm curious to see how it'll stack up against my gaming system (overclocked E8400 on P45 with dual HD4850's).

    Sounds like the start of a very interesting series, Cliff.
  • edited April 2010
    The Xeon system sounds interesting. Especially with 31W CPUs.

    Does anyone have any stats on the power characteristics of the chips on the motherboard itself? I'm leaning towards getting something with no onboard video just for that reason.

    Also, recommendations for a Phenom II x4 standard ATX motherboard? I want to keep my current case.

    Really looking forward to seeing your results, both of you.
  • wpeltolawpeltola Indiana
    edited April 2010
    Hey buddy!
    Are you building a super computer, or an HTPC here!? :) Just kidding man, that is going to be a very impressive box and you will easily have the best HTPC in your town. We still have the same great taste when it comes to hardware. I'm hoping that I an finally get my new Gigabyte GA-880GM-USB3, OCZ AM3-DDR3 kit and Phenom II 720 x3 installed. Your build rocks bud!!
  • edited April 2010
    hey it would be awesome if you'll also post how much this rig cost. want to build an eco-friendly rig. this one inspired me thanks! i'll prolly clone this one when it's finished.
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited April 2010
    carl henry wrote:
    hey it would be awesome if you'll also post how much this rig cost. want to build an eco-friendly rig. this one inspired me thanks! i'll prolly clone this one when it's finished.

    Thanks guys, I'm going to be editing the video this weekend, and when I get it all done I'll get a full parts list up with it with direct Icrontic Affiliate links to the newegg store.

    OS disk and all, this build is right around the $800 range.
  • edited May 2010
    I built a very similar machine with a XFX ATI 4670 using the same board and hard drive. I love ECS all the features of ASUS at a lower price put in a Blu-Ray Lite-on Player 3gbs of low watt ram. I love my box plays Crysis reasonably well and didn't cost much saves tons of $$$ in electric use, the ECS board has great cooling fins all over it paired it with a Phenom II X2 Callisto 3.0ghz very satisfied.
  • Ron
    edited May 2010
    Will MS SGL Server 2005 Express run on the Phenom 9650 and take advantage of the quad core features? It is not listed on MS compatible processor sheet.
  • JingallsJingalls Eugene, OR
    edited May 2010
    Whatever happened to the part two, and the video?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited May 2010
    These things take time! :D Coming soon.
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited September 2010
    Let me just say, you know, sometimes you start doing something and you keep going back to it and your never really 100% pleased with it? That was my experience shooting and attempting to edit a basic tutorial for beginner PC builders. I tried, I meant well, but the video is a little on the shoddy side. I'm still getting it all up piece by piece, but the first seven parts are on youtube.

    I'm temporarily posting the videos here. Any feedback is welcome.
  • Cliff_ForsterCliff_Forster Icrontian
    edited October 2010
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.535879

    This morning newegg has a combo deal using the same case and power supply I selected for this build. Its a fantastic deal if you get there on time.
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