[compnovo]

Hi All,
I am once again looking for a project and I'm debating an upgrade on my media center PC. It's running a Celeron E3400, maxed out at 2GB of DDR2 800 RAM, and a GeForce 210 1MB video card. If I remember right the PSU is 200W. I'm considering replacing the guts with this:

http://www.newegg.co...em-_-13-128-561

I have no experience with the newer AMD procs. How do you think it compares with the Celly, and do you think the onboard graphics are equal to or better than the 210? I like that I can use DDR3 RAM, and more of it, and it has double the SATA ports of my current mobo. The package looks like it should be peppier than what I'm running but I'd like some input from others.
Thanks!

This post has been edited by compnovo: 28 January 2013 - 01:19 PM

[waldojim]

That Celeron should destroy the E-350. If all you really want is more ram / faster ram from the machine, try to find a DDR3 socket 775 board and keep the Celeron. That is, if inexpensive is also on the list of concerns.

Example: ASrock G41m or Gigabyte G41MT

Now, for my reasoning. The E350 CPU is barely faster than an Atom dual core:
Source

Atom VS Pentium E2200 (2.2Ghz, S775, Nvidia i730 chipset)

Rough performance comparison of the E3400 to other CPU's.

Sorry, but the Celeron seems to have been an excellent value when you bought it. Though, that should feel good in a way, it sucks not having a reason to play with a new build.

[LiveBrianD]

To be honest, my E350 machine isn't that powerful, so I wouldn't do that. Heck, even the 210 I had seems to be faster than the 6310 in the E350. (It's fine as a netbook though.)

[compnovo]

Thanks to both of you.

WJ, I should have mentioned the board is a mini itx, harder to find in a 775 configuration (everything on newegg is out of stock; I may be able to find something on eBay).

At the moment it looks like I should stick with the current config and wait for another project to strike my fancy.

This post has been edited by compnovo: 28 January 2013 - 02:46 PM

[LiveBrianD]

I know this sounds ungeeky (is that even a word?), but if it still works just fine, why replace it? FWIW, I think the AMD APUs might work well for that, aside from the limited selection of AM2 boards.

[waldojim]

Well, there is another option here, have fun with a newish build!
Asus P8h61-i with a Celeron G540

OR

ASRock FM2A75M-ITX With an AMD A4-5300

They both work out to be about the same price (~$140), and I would expect them to perform about the same. The AMD A4 should have graphics on par with G210 (maybe a tad faster), but both can still use a dedicated card... something like the Asus 430!

Just my $.02

[LiveBrianD]

From the reviews, it looks like the ASrock FM2 board is a fire hazard. I'd stay away from that one...

[waldojim]

On that note - MSI FM2-A75IA-E53

[compnovo]

Hmmm, this is starting to go outside of my "impulse project" budget (which I wouldn't have if I hadn't splurged on the Surface).

Tempting, though....

[coastie65]

compnovo, on 28 January 2013 - 08:10 PM, said:

Hmmm, this is starting to go outside of my "impulse project" budget (which I wouldn't have if I hadn't splurged on the Surface).

Tempting, though....

Hey Comp, You ought to know by now that some of these guys don't know the meaning of "Budget" and start arbitrarily tossing out parts.

[LiveBrianD]

Am I one of the only guys who upgrades stuff only if it's pretty much obsolete?

[compnovo]

LiveBrianD, on 29 January 2013 - 03:03 PM, said:

Am I one of the only guys who upgrades stuff only if it's pretty much obsolete?

I am SO tempted to say "Yes".

When you have more discretionary income to devote to a hobby you'll understand. You're just not there yet.

This post has been edited by compnovo: 29 January 2013 - 03:53 PM

[compnovo]

coastie65, on 29 January 2013 - 02:52 PM, said:

compnovo, on 28 January 2013 - 08:10 PM, said:

Hmmm, this is starting to go outside of my "impulse project" budget (which I wouldn't have if I hadn't splurged on the Surface).

Tempting, though....

Hey Comp, You ought to know by now that some of these guys don't know the meaning of "Budget" and start arbitrarily tossing out parts.

Well, it's my fault. I'm just getting what I asked for.

[mjd420nova]

The number of links was mind numbing greatful as I didn't have to search myself. Everything I looked at didn't fit into my ideas nor did the MOBO's seem to have much room to breathe. I'd like a spread out board to add extra-cooling as this unit is expected to be running up to three hours with around a 50% load on the CPU and a 75% load on the GPU. As a video handling along with the audio, HD standards with the HDMI ports being the primary output device. A studio mixer is what I essentially want, just not with as many inputs/outputs. I am slanted towards Intel and Nvidia but haven't completed my research/reviews of the hardware. Then comes the software. Many users I've dealt with buy a program that worked on their Intel units but couldn't be swapped to an AMD machine. Reviews are scant but many forums have some good info. The 1080P standard has become a reach for many, 720 being most prolific.

[mjd420nova]

LiveBrianD, on 29 January 2013 - 03:03 PM, said:

Am I one of the only guys who upgrades stuff only if it's pretty much obsolete?

Upgrades?? , my stuff runs until it breaks and has to be replaced as the hardware no longer exists. I have two each 150w p/s, two 200w p/s. IBM PC (5150) and IBM XT(5160). Paperweights now.

[waldojim]

coastie65, on 29 January 2013 - 02:52 PM, said:

compnovo, on 28 January 2013 - 08:10 PM, said:

Hmmm, this is starting to go outside of my "impulse project" budget (which I wouldn't have if I hadn't splurged on the Surface).

Tempting, though....

Hey Comp, You ought to know by now that some of these guys don't know the meaning of "Budget" and start arbitrarily tossing out parts.

Well.... to be fair, he didn't exactly mention what the budget would be....

[waldojim]

compnovo, on 29 January 2013 - 03:50 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 29 January 2013 - 03:03 PM, said:

Am I one of the only guys who upgrades stuff only if it's pretty much obsolete?

I am SO tempted to say "Yes".

When you have more discretionary income to devote to a hobby you'll understand. You're just not there yet.

THIS.

[LiveBrianD]

compnovo, on 29 January 2013 - 03:50 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 29 January 2013 - 03:03 PM, said:

Am I one of the only guys who upgrades stuff only if it's pretty much obsolete?

I am SO tempted to say "Yes".

When you have more discretionary income to devote to a hobby you'll understand. You're just not there yet.

Probably true. That said, I can afford to spend more on this, but just can't justify it in some cases.

[waldojim]

mjd420nova, on 29 January 2013 - 03:57 PM, said:

The number of links was mind numbing greatful as I didn't have to search myself. Everything I looked at didn't fit into my ideas nor did the MOBO's seem to have much room to breathe. I'd like a spread out board to add extra-cooling as this unit is expected to be running up to three hours with around a 50% load on the CPU and a 75% load on the GPU. As a video handling along with the audio, HD standards with the HDMI ports being the primary output device. A studio mixer is what I essentially want, just not with as many inputs/outputs. I am slanted towards Intel and Nvidia but haven't completed my research/reviews of the hardware. Then comes the software. Many users I've dealt with buy a program that worked on their Intel units but couldn't be swapped to an AMD machine. Reviews are scant but many forums have some good info. The 1080P standard has become a reach for many, 720 being most prolific.

For what it is worth, in the right case, like the Silverstone SG-05, or the BitFenix Prodigy (sorry no linky for that one), the temps for most systems can be quite manageable.

That said, I also understand the desire for extra room, it is just that this thread quickly turned to micro boards... There are, of course, plenty of options in the Micro-ATX, or even full ATX systems. These days, I recommend Intel for just about every budget anyway, as AMD simply doesn't have anything that is truly competitive. Nvidia video cards, are also typically more widely supported (for GPGPU anyhow). I would point out though, that running video compression through your video card does, in fact, reduce the quality.

[compnovo]

LiveBrianD, on 29 January 2013 - 05:11 PM, said:

compnovo, on 29 January 2013 - 03:50 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 29 January 2013 - 03:03 PM, said:

Am I one of the only guys who upgrades stuff only if it's pretty much obsolete?

I am SO tempted to say "Yes".

When you have more discretionary income to devote to a hobby you'll understand. You're just not there yet.

Probably true. That said, I can afford to spend more on this, but just can't justify it in some cases.

Well, to be honest I often feel the same way. That's why I'm still running the Phenom.