New "Tiny" PC Build

Rouxenator said:
Kodi VS Plex : http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/684176-KODI-vs-PLEX?p=14720610

Back to the OP, you really can't go wrong with a quad core AM1 setup. I even play Xonotic on mine in full HD.
Click to expand...

My main concern is cost vs what I already have now. In all honesty don't want to spend more than R2500 if that is at all possible. And if AMD does the job as well as Intel does, I don't mind going with whatever does the best job.

Main usage is Plex server, downloads and the occasional online streaming (supersport or similar sport streaming).
 
weelzSA said:
My main concern is cost vs what I already have now. In all honesty don't want to spend more than R2500 if that is at all possible. And if AMD does the job as well as Intel does, I don't mind going with whatever does the best job.

Main usage is Plex server, downloads and the occasional online streaming (supersport or similar sport streaming).
Click to expand...
I may be completely wrong here but wouldn't Plex benefit from multi threading, meaning even the cheapest i3 will destroy the non multi treaded pentium for transcoding.

Also why would you get the MSI Intel H81M-P32L over the MSI Intel H81M-P33?
 
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weelzSA said:
Motherboard:
1. Asus AM1I-A - R636
or
2. Asus AM1M-A - R666
or
3. MSI MS-AM1I - R487

What are the major differences between the three motherboards? Which will be the better option to go for?
Click to expand...

2 is a ATX form factor board while 1&3 are ITX form factor (smaller). 2 will not fit in the case you specced.
3 has a full size PCIe slot (x16) while 1 only has a smaller slot (x4), if you are ever gonna plug a GPU into it get 3!
1 has few more usb & other i/o connetors on the back compared to 3

I would go with 3.
 
So I am hopefully going to order the parts this week for my new build.

Just want to make sure that going for AMD is still the better option rather than going intel?

Won't this work better: Intel Core i3 or is the AMD 5350 still the better option? Am I missing the bigger picture?

This PC will be used as a Plex server, downloads, sport streaming and occasional browsing.
 
The Athlon 5350 is a pretty beefy APU, it is perfect for media and even for casual gaming without costing to much.
 
weelzSA said:
So I am hopefully going to order the parts this week for my new build.

Just want to make sure that going for AMD is still the better option rather than going intel?

Won't this work better: Intel Core i3 or is the AMD 5350 still the better option? Am I missing the bigger picture?

This PC will be used as a Plex server, downloads, sport streaming and occasional browsing.
Click to expand...

Just take note while the AMD is a lot cheaper, it also has a lot less performance than the i3 especially as a Plex Server.

Plex (server) relies heavily on CPU, the GPU component on the AMD is not going to help anything with this.

The i3 is almost twice as fast in raw CPU power: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2195&cmp[]=1472
 
The i3 is faster, but the 5350 will be more than enough for Plex streaming. I know people that do full HD Plex streaming on N54L microservers, and those things have dual core AMD CPUs in, not quad like the 5350.

Oh, also intel is evil and no one should buy it.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Just take note while the AMD is a lot cheaper, it also has a lot less performance than the i3 especially as a Plex Server.

Plex (server) relies heavily on CPU, the GPU component on the AMD is not going to help anything with this.

The i3 is almost twice as fast in raw CPU power: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2195&cmp[]=1472
Click to expand...

So will a core i3 be the better option? If I can find one new or second hand for a good price (R1k or less) then I will go for the i3.
 
Rouxenator said:
The i3 is faster, but the 5350 will be more than enough for Plex streaming. I know people that do full HD Plex streaming on N54L microservers, and those things have dual core AMD CPUs in, not quad like the 5350.

Oh, also intel is evil and no one should buy it.
Click to expand...

I want this machine to last for a while and while it will mainly be used for Plex Server (one or two devices max a time) there will also be downloads going and another task or two maybe and don't want anything to slow down.
 
weelzSA said:
So will a core i3 be the better option? If I can find one new or second hand for a good price (R1k or less) then I will go for the i3.
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If it was me I would most definitely get the i3 over the AMD.

If however I knew that my Plex server would never need to transcode more than one 1080p stream at a time then the AMD would be a very good choice because it's not only cheaper but also uses a lot less power.
 
So I know this was asked a while ago and am now ready to build my new "tiny" PC. I have decided to go the core i3 route and am thinking of either two:

i3 4160

or

i3 4170

Which would be the better option (unless there another one I missed) and finally what motherboard should I go for? I will be using the Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX

Any suggestions please?
 
i3-4170 is the slightly better CPU

What features, ports, slots do you require from the MB?
 
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Why go i3 when you can go Athlon 5350? I actually have a Athlon 5350, plus board, RAM and your choice of case (Lian-Li PC-Q07 or CM Elite 110) with power supply. Just saying, if you are interested...
 
ponder said:
i3-4170 is the slightly better CPU
Click to expand...

So in that price range is the i3-4170 the better option or is there a better CPU for that price range? Also I need a motherboard and not sure if there are any better options available since I last asked beginning of the year.

On a side note, will the onboard graphics be good enough as a Plex server? I don't intend on gaming on the PC but want it to last a while and not have any problems with streams on Plex to different devices.
 
I still want to build myself a potent little setup in the Cooler Master Elite 130.

Love this case.
 
ponder said:
i3-4170 is the slightly better CPU

What features, ports, slots do you require from the MB?
Click to expand...

Just the basic I suppose - USB 3.0, HDMI (will be a bonus until I add a graphics card at a later stage) - not sure what else to be honest.

It will be used as a Media Server running Plex and downloads and might at a later stage install a graphics card if one is not needed from the get go to do other tasks.
 
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