Spec advice please: Starting from scratch

[evilplan]

Hi everyone

I'm replacing a desktop PC. I'm trying to scale down the size of the tech in my living room!

The lounge PC isn't actually that important to me, but I'd like some help spec'ing it.

It won't be used for day to day browsing, word processing etc. It won't have a dedicated monitor - I will VNC into it, which is what I do with my current PC.

It will have 3 primary uses, one of which will mean it has to be a good performer:

1) Downloading media through file sharing services (legally, obviously). It will be on 24/7, downloading and sharing media. The local hard drive will be used as temporary storage - once files are complete, they will be moved to a NAS box that I have.

2) Backup - I have a comprehensive backup strategy, including the NAS and off-site storage. The lounge PC will also be used as the "core" PC for my offsite backup. So, I probably need a decent sized hard drive - all my music is digitised and is a few hundred gigs. My photos are a few hundred gigs too.

3) Transcoding and streaming video to mobile devices. I use "Air Video Server". This sends video to iPad and other Apple devices. (It's fantastic - really fast on-the-fly transcoding), both locally and when I'm on the move. My current desktop PC is a quad-core Q6600. When Air Video is transcoding (using ffmpeg.exe), one of the cores runs at 100%. This clearly shows that I need decent processing power.

What I *really* want is a nice tiny Atom PC. But use 3) precludes that, I think.

If we assume budget isn't an issue, can you tell me what sort of spec I should get?

I'm generally drawn to Intel processors, but I like the fact that the AMD motherboards have integrated wi-fi. If I use the CPU for intensive transcoding from time to time, would I be better with an Intel or AMD? I can cope with USB wi-fi if need be

The other thing I'd love is to reduce noise. The Dell PC I have now is extremely noisy when transcoding, as you'd expect. In fact, it's noisy even when a medium demand is put on the CPU.

I'm prone to over-specifying, but even the most expensive mini-PC spec is within my budget - so I'd appreciate advice on the type of spec I would need to get easy high-performance while transcoding video, while also running as quiet as humanly possible.

Thanks!

 

[Tom DWC]

I think one of the 2nd Generation Mini-PC's (powered by Sandy Bridge) would probably be suitable for this task considering they're significantly more powerful than their predecessors:

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-2500S Quad Core (2.7GHz, 6MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
INTEL® DH67CF: Mini-ITX, LG1155, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD + Clear Video HD Technology
Memory - Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD20EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x SATA DVD±R/RW/Dual Layer (+ 24x CD-RW)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Sound Card
ONBOARD 10 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
WIRELESS-N (150Mbps) 3dBi HIGH GAIN USB ADAPTER
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £589.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-mini-pc/

This should be near enough silent I would imagine. I can't see you needing a dedicated graphics card (what use would it have) though these low end cards should still be very quiet if you do decide to include one. 4GB of RAM should be plenty as should the 4 cores. The hard drive should make almost no noise too though it will spin down sometimes (and be slower as a result). These usually make for better backup drives so you could consider a Caviar Black, taking into account the extra noise.

 

[Meds]

I'd agree with Tom, If budget is no limit you could consider the i7 2600S and have the hyperthreading? The extra 4 virtual cores you get could help with your video streaming. I think the i7-2600S would add around £80 or so onto the total price.

 

[evilplan]

Thanks guys, that's really helpful.

I've got a personally purchased copy of Win 7 premium, so I think I can save money there and go for the better CPU.

My copy of Win 7 is 32 bit - do either of you think there's any real performance boost to a 64 bit operating system?

I know these systems aren't silent - like I said, the Dell is very noisy when it's doing anything of even medium intensity. The fan whooshes a lot. I expect noise if I'm running a core at 100%, but even so...

What's your (subjective, obviously!) view of the noise your systems make if you're running them hard?

One last question - Tom, could you expand a bit on your comments on the noise of the drives? I wasn't quite clear why you were saying I might want to go for the Blacks?

I'm probably mis-reading what you said - apologies if so!

 

[Meds]

The fans run fairly quiet even when the CPU is under intense load so I'm sure you'll have no problems there. One of the main uses of these Mini PCs is for Home Theatre so noise levels have to be kept as low as possible

Windows 7 32bit, hmmm.. the downside to 32bit OS is that you'll only be able to use around 3.5GB of the 4GB RAM in your PC - the allocation is capped at Max. 4GB.

 

[Tom DWC]

The 32-bit version of Win 7 can't address more than 4GB of RAM, I think it caps out at around the 3.5GB mark. As you already own a copy you may as well save yourself £79 for the time being at least, and see how you get on.

Yeah they won't be completely silent as you say, but in comparison with a tower they should be significantly more so I would imagine. I find the noise made by my rig to be perfectly tolerable even on full load. Sure it makes quite a bit of noise but the fans omit a constant sound, if that makes sense. Cheaper fans often change pitch and stuff which is instantly more noticeable and as such infinitely more annoying. You won't find those on this site.

Regarding the drives yeah that's cool I didn't word it very clearly. Basically, the Caviar Green drives contain power saving features that also reduce the noise of the drive, with the drawback of slightly reduced performance (the drive spins at variable speeds depending upon activity levels). I guess it wouldn't make all that much difference when used as a primary drive as the operating system would be accessing it frequently anyway. The Caviar Black uses more power, makes more noise and spins at a constant speed. I spose the Black is your Jeremy Clarkson and the Green is your James May.

 

[MickyG]

I liked the comparion of the Caviar Green and Black drives there haha, it should be put in the description so people have a comparison they can understand

G

 

[evilplan]

I'm close to ordering, but I've got a possible minor change to my spec.

As I said, the PC isn't gonna have day-to-day use so it doesn't need a monitor - I use VNC to access my current PC.

But it would probably be useful to leave the new mini PC connected to the TV. (Recently I've done some Windows Updates and since then, the PC never restarts properly - and not having a monitor means I can't analyse the problem, so a proper connection to a video output would be useful with the new PC)

I've never connected a PC to a TV. With that in mind, would the integrated graphics processor be sufficient to power a signal to a 40" TV?

Would I do this using HDMI, and is the integrated system capable of that?

This led me to thinking, what if I *did* occasionally want to watch a video direct from the PC (the TV is actually fantastic at streaming videos off my NAS, but it's useful to have options) - would I need a better graphics card if it was the PC doing the work and not the TV?

Thanks again.

 

[Switchblade]

Having a graphics card added to the mini PC would be ideal as you can then connect 2 monitors to this if you want play through the TV or a regular monitor, the onboard graphics will work fine on a large screen TV as they are designed for this.

If you are having problems with a windows update on another PC try using a safe restore point, they are always quite good and have got me out of some messy update situations in the past.

 

[evilplan]

Thanks switchblade.

It sounds like you're saying that if I *only* want to connect the PC to the TV for general use, the integrated graphics will be fine?

What about pumping out video from the PC - do you need a better graphics card for that?

Re the windows update - the updates themselves were fine, but there's been a minor change somewhere in Windows that is interacting with one of the programs and preventing restarts (y'know, when it just sits there waiting for a program to close). I think it's to do with Windows Live Mesh, but because I'm getting rid of the PC, I'm not that fussed - I mention it cos it shows why it's good to still have a monitor attached, so you can diagnose problems

 

[evilplan]

Any thoughts?

 

[Tom DWC]

You may as well add a graphics card (HD 5450) and go for the top range processor, but if you don't want to pay extra for both then I'd make the graphics card priority.

 

[evilplan]

Thanks Tom. I think I'm happy to pay money for both, so it's just a matter of which card is the best one

 

[Tom DWC]

The HD 5450 is for me, over the two NVIDIA cards (jn terms of media performance, which is all they're really intended for) but they should all get the job done.

 

[evilplan]

Thanks. Gonna order tonight/tomorrow.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[evilplan]

I'm so annoyed at myself - the day I was gonna order, I was gonna do a fast build. And it was all ok but I needed to check something.

Left it 1 day and now the i7s are out of stock and I can't have my fast build Gotta wait a few weeks!