Small / silent pc in a mini atx cabinet

[square_wave]

Exactly which CPU or GPU do you have? One crucial thing to note is that integrated graphics capabilities have been doubling almost every year, for both amd and Intel.

One correction as well - the mobo doesn't have a GPU, it is the CPU that has the integrated GPU.

Please see this review for example. A 35 watt haswell easily does 1080p and also does 4k in some cases. The top of the line haswell for example performs has similar graphics performance as a nvidia 640gt.

Not saying this is the best option, but please do recognize that integrated graphics have improved leaps and bounds, and discrete graphics cards are power hogs that consume upwards of 150 watts. They are still very cost effective but if you are looking for a cool running compact htpc, you would be remiss in ignoring the haswell option.

I am beginning to sound like a fanboy but I have been a long follower of tech, and haswell's performance to power consumption is really ridiculous. It even has integrated the analog voltage regulator in the chip itself so the 35 watts actually includes the 5 watts that the mobo vr chips used to take. Consider the fact that apple upgraded the macbook air with haswell and nothing else, and battery life has gone up by almost double. It now lasts an entire work day, which is like tablet level of battery life.

AnandTech | Intel's Haswell - An HTPC Perspective: Media Playback, 4K and QuickSync Evaluated

@ Asliarun,

The haswell option without the GPU sounds like a good option. I am assuming this is a mini itx solution. How much will be the overall cost of something like this be if I go with a approx. 5k cabinet with integrated power supply.

Are these available in India ?

 

[asliarun]

@ Asliarun,

The haswell option without the GPU sounds like a good option. I am assuming this is a mini itx solution. How much will be the overall cost of something like this be if I go with a approx. 5k cabinet with integrated power supply.

Are these available in India ?

Sorry, I don't know if and when it will be available. The CPU itself was just introduced. (just a thought - you could ask someone to bring it from the US if that is an option, especially since CPU should be easy to carry in the luggage).

Newegg has the 4130T (i3) on sale for $140, which IMHO, would be a sweet spot in terms of price/performance/heat. It has HD 4400.

The form factor can actually be small enough for a NUC or BRIX - will fit in the palm of your hand. And efficient enough to be powered by a laptop style power brick.

There is also the non-T version - 4330 - available for $150 and the 4130 available for $130, but these are the non-power optimized 54W versions (still significantly less than 100W). 4330 has HD 4600 and 4130 has HD 4400.

If cabinet size is not that much of an issue, AMD Richland A10 would be the best bet in terms of price/performance. While significantly more than Haswell, at 100W, it is still far better than a graphics card. But for the increased heat, you also get integrated graphics that would be about 50-75% better than Intel's integrated graphics, and if you are into gaming, it will let you play many of the current gen games as well (at dialed down settings). The Intel option will let you do full HD of course and will let you play a smaller subset of the games that AMD would support.

There has been some news about low power Richland version that might launch any day (AMD is also calling it the T version - 6700T for example would consume only 45W).

FYI: All these integrated graphics solutions seem to perform better with high frequency memory - I guess because the GPU also has to use the shared memory.

 

[ujjwaana]

If you are not keen towards a PC to run Windows Application, how about Android TV ?? I just got a Quad Core Android TV box, which looks hot like an Apple TV, packs 4 times power and can run the almost all of the Android Apps, and more than anything, it is 'MAde for XBMC' with 1080p capability. It will cost you $135 Shipped ($164 with Air mouse/keyboard)

MINIX NEO X7 - MINIX


1. Quad Core 1.6Ghz Arm Cortex A9 proc
2. Mali400 Quad core 3D Graphics
3. 3GB RAM, 16GB Rom
4. HDMI 1.4a, 1080p
5. 3xUSB 2.0, 1xUSB 3.0, SD slot
6. 2.4G/5.8G Dual band Wifi and Gigabit Ether net
7. Supports Air mouse and Keyboard (Wifi)