Small, quiet media PC?

[Lourdes]

I'd get one of the ION boards, Zotac have them out.

[Cistron]

Is the NSK2480 much different? That looks decent. Would save money with built in earthwatts PSU too.

Yes, or course, I missed out the '8'. The power supply is rated 80+ and somewhat quiet. For real quietness, you'd probably have to go for a Naxus Value 430 or a picoPSU.

I take it the mini Ninja works with an AMD processor? I've had Intel for a while so I've kind of neglected the AMD market. I will definitely consider a 5050e et al if it means better BIOS options etc.

Correct, the mini Ninja can be mounted on AMD processors. The standard mounting system is a bit smarter than the Intel push-pins. The BIOS options won't change, but you probably won't run into any bugs or glitches associated with an immature BIOS code.

I'd get one of the ION boards, Zotac have them out.

The are quite nice, but in the linked test one of the HD playbacks wasn't working (VC1 clip). As the authors mention this might be a driver problem. Depends on what the PC will be used for. The motherboard-PSU bundle is definitely attractive.

[aidanjt]

The are quite nice, but in the linked test one of the HD playbacks wasn't working (VC1 clip). As the authors mention this might be a driver problem. Depends on what the PC will be used for. The motherboard-PSU bundle is definitely attractive.

How many people really use VC1 though?.. h.264 won that particular MPEG4 codec battle.

[Lourdes]

The are quite nice, but in the linked test one of the HD playbacks wasn't working (VC1 clip). As the authors mention this might be a driver problem. Depends on what the PC will be used for. The motherboard-PSU bundle is definitely attractive.

Not seen that in other reports/reviews.

How many people really use VC1 though?.. h.264 won that particular MPEG4 codec battle.

Lots of BD's use VC-1.

[aidanjt]

Lots of BD's use VC-1.

I haven't come across any, and VC-1 is vanishing into obscurity now anyway.

[format]

Yes, or course, I missed out the '8'. The power supply is rated 80+ and somewhat quiet. For real quietness, you'd probably have to go for a Naxus Value 430 or a picoPSU.

That Nexus PSU looks great tbh - I think I'll go for the Antec case and see how loud the PSU runs, and if I want to, upgrade to the Nexus at a later date.

The are quite nice, but in the linked test one of the HD playbacks wasn't working (VC1 clip). As the authors mention this might be a driver problem. Depends on what the PC will be used for. The motherboard-PSU bundle is definitely attractive.

Would one of these fit in the Antec case? Different form factors aren't they? I suppose if it did it could mean better airflow in the case however. I've thought about it and I don't think I'll be putting any kind of optical drive in this PC - it's very very rare to see optical media in my house these days That would save a little ££ and possible improve airflow.

[staffsMike]

Where are you getting the nexus from because I've not seen them over here..

The antecs are pretty good for noise anyway, only really anal silent enthusiasts seem to change them.

[Cistron]

Would one of these fit in the Antec case? Different form factors aren't they? I suppose if it did it could mean better airflow in the case however. I've thought about it and I don't think I'll be putting any kind of optical drive in this PC - it's very very rare to see optical media in my house these days That would save a little ££ and possible improve airflow.

I suppose it fits, though the ITX board might feel a little 'lost'. It would also make the power supply that comes with the case redundant. However, you will be able to run the setup very quietly with a single slow-spinning 120mm fan. If you chose to suspend your hard-drive (may it be the F2 Ecogreen or a smaller 2.5" drive), the system will be virtually inaudible. The SPCR forums have lots of information on quiet computing. Read a little and you'll find lots of interesting ideas.

[format]

Where are you getting the nexus from because I've not seen them over here..

The antecs are pretty good for noise anyway, only really anal silent enthusiasts seem to change them.

They have them at KustomPC, although out of stock at the moment.

[format]

Here's what I have so far

[staffsMike]

That's essentially waht I would build. Exactly what I would build in fact

+ 1x Tin of black hammerite

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Here's what I have so far

I would go for an Athlon II X2 250 as it is a 45nm processor and will have much lower power consumption than the 65nm X2 7850:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166519

It would also be worth looking at some PC2-8500 ram as it is around the same price as the PC2-6400 ram you specced:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/149202

Also the mini-P180 is available for around £55:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140996

Together with the following PSU you should be still within your budget:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166784

[staffsMike]

Perhaps agree with the CPU but it is a media pc afterall...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It would be nice if AMD introduced some downclocked versions of the X2 250 for under £60.

There is also the X2 4850e for around £45 too:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/144638

[Lourdes]

Here's what I have so far

The 780G stuff is rubbish, it was okay-ish well over 18months ago when there were no other options but now there are far better options with a nVidia IGP. 2GB RAM is fine and you don't need such a powerful CPU, the slowest will do.

[Cistron]

The 780G stuff is rubbish, it was okay-ish well over 18months ago when there were no other options but now there are far better options with a nVidia IGP.

It does the HD-job, does it not? Besides, AMD boards are feature-packed and cheaper.