My Atom/Ion system is getting a little long in the tooth and I also wouldn't mind having the ability to do some decent light/mid gaming from time to time. I would also like to do some occasional video transcoding and not have to wait 6 hours or tie up my main system. I'm thinking it is a good time to do an upgrade and have narrowed it down to 2 different builds: #1 AMD A4-3400 CPU, ASUS F1A75-I Deluxe Motherboard, 8gb mushkin ddr3 1600 cl9 ram #2 Intel G620 CPU, Intel BOXDH67CFB3 Motherboard, 8gb mushkin ddr3 1600 cl9 ram Both systems come to roughly the same cost, both motherboards have fairly similar features, with the Asus coming out on top slightly with 4 sata6gbps ports and onboard wifi via a mini pcie card. The primary reasons I have chosen these 2 motherboards are the connectivity options, features, decent component layouts and most importantly 4 sata ports and standard desktop ram slots. They are also priced well considering features compared to many other choices. My budget is roughly $250 for cpu, motherboard and ram I will be carrying over all of my drives, psu and case which is why it has to stay mitx. Which would you choose and why? Or which different components would you select keeping in budget and for what reasons? Thanks
1) for not buying a discrete GPU, Asus make great Motherboards never had any problems with Asus boards. 2) if you are getting a GPU as well.
Hmn, that is a good point. Though I am uncertain as to if I really would need a discrete gpu. Generally the only games I would play on my htpc are consolish games like Flatout or Street Fighter, or in other words a few types of games that it makes more sense to play with a controller than keyboard and mouse. Sitting far from the screen detail and effects can be pretty low and still look reasonable. If I really do need to consider the possibility, that changes my board choice entirely. I was going to use the pci-e slot with a sata card I already have in my current build. But if I have to leave it open that means a motherboard with 6sata ports which leaves me with ZOTAC H67ITX-C-E as more or less my only option and is straining my budget.
I just got some promo codes for both the g620 and the Zotac H67 which drops the price to $20 less than the first Intel build and $35 less than the AMD plus free shipping. Should I go for it?
I would go with the Intel option. Dial down the RM to 4GB of 1333Mhz as 8GB at 1600 is far more than you'll need. RAM is cheap, but you will still be just wasting money. With the Intel you are getting a SandyBridge chip and all the awesomeness that entails. The IGP will be sufficient for HTPC usage (you can always add a cheap discreet if you find you want to game on it later) and will sip the power.
I went ahead and got the g620, zotac, and 8gb kit as it was only $5 more than a 4gb kit... Since this Zotac board has 6 sata ports it should free up that pci-e slot if I do need a gpu. That board does have some mixed reviews, so I hope it is not a bad choice but it looks really good on paper. I've already got a buyer lined up for my Atom/Ion board and ddr2 ram so I get to recoup nearly half the cost of my new build which is pretty decent.
