i3 530 Clarkdale + Zotac H55ITX-A-E is it good?

Guido02 said:
Is this a good price?
Is this a decent setup for HTPC?
Is the onboard HDMI capable of High Definition?
Am I better off with a quad core if I plan on encoding video? If so, can a setup be had at a competitive price to this?


Thanks for the help
Click to expand...

Great price, Great setup for HTPC, Yes, Yes, with a quad for this low of a price you would have to go AMD and their onboard graphics, while nice, still can't bitstream HD audio like this can. Also i don't think you will be able to beat this very easily price wise if you are going for a small htpc build.
 
Um, this would probably be better suited in the Home Theater PC's thread. But let me try and answer your questions.

1) If you live near a Fry's they have done deals with the i3 530 and a micro ATX motherboard for around $115 after rebate. If you don't live near a Fry's or you need the mini ITX form factor I would say this is a pretty good deal.

2) This would make a good HTPC.

3) The on board HDMI is capable of outputting High Definition as well as HD audio like Dolby True HD.

4) If you are going to be doing a lot of video encoding you are better off with a quad core. That's not to say this wont get the job done, it will just take a few more hours to do it. I don't have an i3 530 but I use to have an Intel dual core E8400 (overclocked to 4GHz). Using settings that would give me a high quality encode it would take around 9 to 11 hours to encode a blu-ray. Using the same settings on the computer in my signature it takes around 3 hours to encode a blu-ray. If you are going to encode 1 movie per night just start it before you go to bed and it will be done in the morning. The only caveat is if you are going to use DX filters like film grain removal for your encodes. You would want a decent discrete video card for that.

That's my 2 cents. I would recommend you go to the "Home Theater PC's & Equipment" section of the forum for better advice on this topic.
 
robothunter said:
Um, this would probably be better suited in the Home Theater PC's thread. But let me try and answer your questions.

1) If you live near a Fry's they have done deals with the i3 530 and a micro ATX motherboard for around $115 after rebate. If you don't live near a Fry's or you need the mini ITX form factor I would say this is a pretty good deal.

2) This would make a good HTPC.

3) The on board HDMI is capable of outputting High Definition as well as HD audio like Dolby True HD.

4) If you are going to be doing a lot of video encoding you are better off with a quad core. That's not to say this wont get the job done, it will just take a few more hours to do it. I don't have an i3 530 but I use to have an Intel dual core E8400 (overclocked to 4GHz). Using settings that would give me a high quality encode it would take around 9 to 11 hours to encode a blu-ray. Using the same settings on the computer in my signature it takes around 3 hours to encode a blu-ray. If you are going to encode 1 movie per night just start it before you go to bed and it will be done in the morning. The only caveat is if you are going to use DX filters like film grain removal for your encodes. You would want a decent discrete video card for that.

That's my 2 cents. I would recommend you go to the "Home Theater PC's & Equipment" section of the forum for better advice on this topic.
Click to expand...

I don't see why he wouldn't post it here, it's an advertised combo deal from Newegg, and people who don't know and see advertised deals like this post it here to see what others think and to gauge the hotness of the deal...

anyway, yeah, if you want to encode video you're better off with a quad, and the motherboard has only one review from what I can see, and it's really not one of the heavy hitters in the review game, although it was a favorable review...

still a little too pricey for a dual core + HTPC mobo imo, I'd wait for something else, not that hot of a deal if you ask me...
 
[QUOTE="I'm not a crook";1036112469]Hmmm, first you need to post the price in the title. Second you need to ditch the referrer....[/QUOTE]
/facepalm

it's impossible to ditch a referrer that is native to the forum, isn't it?
 
jebo_4jc said:
/facepalm

it's impossible to ditch a referrer that is native to the forum, isn't it?
Click to expand...

Yup. That's the problem with wannabe mini-mods. They're too busy looking to stir shit up that they usually end up making a fool of themselves.

And WOW at that board. I'm quite familliar with Zotac's video card lineup but wasn't aware that they were doing motherboards too. It looks like they crammed every single thing they possibly could onto this board. Decent power regulation, WiFi, Video, GbE, etc... that's quite a smart looking little motherboard!
 
Blue Falcon said:
Yup. That's the problem with wannabe mini-mods. They're too busy looking to stir shit up that they usually end up making a fool of themselves.

And WOW at that board. I'm quite familliar with Zotac's video card lineup but wasn't aware that they were doing motherboards too. It looks like they crammed every single thing they possibly could onto this board. Decent power regulation, WiFi, Video, GbE, etc... that's quite a smart looking little motherboard!
Click to expand...

yeah, they set the standard in the ITX market a wee bit back with their LGA775 9300 ITX
 
Guido02 said:
So how does this mini ITX board compare then?
Click to expand...

Like I said in your OTHER thread about this same setup, Zotac mobos tends to get a lot of complaints these days. With that said, still ok motherboards.
 
Danny Bui said:
Like I said in your OTHER thread about this same setup, Zotac mobos tends to get a lot of complaints these days. With that said, still ok motherboards.
Click to expand...

For the cost though I Wouldn't necessarily stay with zotac.. If you can give up some features Intel & Gigabyte both make 1156 boards that get alot less complaints, but have some missing features.. Or if you switch to the AMD Camp the Asus M4A88T-I AM3 Mini ITX has more features & is rock solid from all regards.
 
What type of processor would I put in the Asus?

Does it only accept 200 pin ram?
 
Guido02 said:
What type of processor would I put in the Asus?

Does it only accept 200 pin ram?
Click to expand...

More than likely the AMD Athlon II X2 245 CPU. Yes only DDR3 SO-DIMM RAM (basically laptop RAM) can be used.
 
Just to add to this, frys had the i3 530 for $85 last weekend and the zotec mini itx board for $99 this week, so you are looking at $200 with tax versus the 189 after mir...

Personally though unless you need the wifi, I think the gigabyte or the intel board are better choices based off the reviews on the gigabyte and personal experience with the intel board.
 
Guido02 said:
Is this a good price?
Is this a decent setup for HTPC?
Is the onboard HDMI capable of High Definition?
Am I better off with a quad core if I plan on encoding video? If so, can a setup be had at a competitive price to this?


Thanks for the help
Click to expand...

1) For a non-B&M deal, yes it's a decent price. You can pick up 530/540 combos at Fry's for $110-125 usually.

2) i3 + H55 is a great setup for HTPC. I have a 540 i3 and a Gigabyte H55 board and it runs HD playback flawlessly. Very snappy system and I never get slowdowns.

3) Yes. (see above)

4) If you're doing hardcore encoding, a quad will definitely make a difference. I do basic DVD/BD rips on my HTPC and it's fast enough. If I need anything more extensive than that, I always dump the data onto my i7 system.

The i5 quads are Lynnfield processors which do not have the integraded HD video. If you use one of these processors on the H55 board, you will not have integrated video (and unable to use HDMI). You will need a Clarkdale chip (i3 or i5 600 series).

Your options for a quad setup for around $200 will be limited to a Q8300+mobo, or a many varieties of an AMD quad setup (not even sure what's best on the AMD side anymore).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top