New Router
As good as the old machine I got from TAFE, the router is in need of an upgrade.
Now normally I need no reason to do this, but for the sake of convincing myself my reasons are as follows:
1) The current computer isn’t optimised for power efficiency (newer motherboards are surely more efficient)
2) The power supply seems to be making funny noises (could just need a dusting but meh)
3) It currently doesn’t natively support 1Gbps LAN (needs PCI addon card)
and finally:
4) It doesn’t have SATA, requiring the use of another PCI card to include the media backup drive in my setup (which is currently only working in one direction).
So here’s what I have in mind:
CPU:
AMD | Intel |
Cheapest:Sempron 140 2.8GhzSingle Core 45w x64 | Cheapest:Celeron Socket 775 E3400 Dual-core 2.6Ghz 65w |
$31 | $47 |
Ideal:Athlon II X2 255 Dual-Core 3.10Ghz 65w | Ideal: Core 2 Duo E6600 3.06Ghz Dual-Core 65w |
$61 | $67 |
Motherboard:
AMD | Intel | AMD Old Motherboard |
ASUS M4A78LT-M-LE
Socket AM3+ Integrated GFX + DDR3 Ram + 1x 1Gbps LAN |
ASUS P5G41T-M-LX Socket 775+Integrated GFX + DDR3 Ram + 1x 1Gbps LAN | Gigabyte GA-M56S-S3 Socket AM2 (supports AM3 @ 2000MT/s)+ DDR2 Ram + 1x 1Gbps LAN |
$55 | $59 | $0 |
Memory:
Kingston 2GB DDR3-1333
$17
Power Supply:
Vantec ION2 CAN-460C 460Watt
$45
Extra requirements:
Low power consumption
Integrated Graphics
Integrated Dual-Gigabit networking
Or a Free PCI port
Using Old motherboard:
Requirements:
- · CPU (Supports AM3 at lowered bus speeds)
- · RAM (DDR2 only)
- · Power Supply
- · Graphics card? (temporarily use 8800GTS I guess)
CPU:
Sempron 140 $31
RAM:
Kingston 2GB Value $29
Power Supply:
Vantec (As above) $45
TOTAL Cost:
AMD Budget | AMD Ideal | Intel Budget | Intel Ideal | Using Old Mobo |
$31 + $55 + $17 + $45 | $61 + $55 + $17 + $45 | $47+ $59 + $17 + $45 | $67 + $59 + $17 + $45 | $31 + $29 + $45 |
$148 | $178 | $164 | $184 | $105 |
All prices are taken from MSY and were all in stock at the time of writing.
I would personally like to make a new machine (less the case), my experience with ad-hoc new/old part swapping is not exactly stellar.
That said, I have just been reminded of another motherboard I have left over: the M2N-SLI Deluxe; But that might be overkill in retrospect… it was designed for high performance more than anything (though it would mean I only need a power supply and a CPU to get it going.
*sigh.*.. i’m gonna need to think about this..
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