Help!!! Which New HCPC Spec????

joust

Prominent Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2002
Messages
1,496
Reaction score
391
Points
406
Location
Blackpool, Lancs
Hi All,

I work for Siemens, and we have the option of buying a Fujitsu-Siemens PC at discounted price. We have a choice of 3 specifications (at varying prices) but am unsure of which one to go for. Specs as follows:

Option 1
Intel P4 2.6G HT
512MB Ram
80GB HDD (5400)
16xDVD & DVDRW (2 drives)
SiS648 chipset
Radeon 9200 TV-Out 128MB
Onboard sound/LAN/modem etc.
17" CRT monitor

Option 2 (+£7 per month on 1st option over 3 years)
Intel P4 3.0G HT
512MB Ram
160GB HDD (7200)
16xDVD & DVDRW (2 drives)
Intel 865PE chipset
Nvidea GeForce FX Ultra Gamer VIVO 256MB (anybody know which model this is?) - would change for ATI card if went for this spec.
6 in 1 Card reader
Onboard sound/LAN/modem etc.
17" TFT monitor

Option 3 (+£4.50 per month on option 2)
Intel P4 3.2G HT
1024MB Ram
250GB HDD (7200)
16xDVD & DVDRW (2 drives)
Intel 865PE chipset
Radeon 9600 VIVO (256MB)
6 in 1 Card reader
Onboard sound/LAN/modem etc.
17" TFT monitor


Considering that I intend to use the base station only as a HTPC (for hopefully a Barco Graphics 800) which specification would you think is best? (I could use the TFT on another machine that is used for general PC duties). I would need to add a separate sound card for SPDIF (and also maybe analogue), and I also have a spare PBTV100 card that could be used as an interim.

My own personal feeling is that I'm leaning towards option 1, however, I'm worried about the SiS chipset - do you guys have any views here?

Looking forward to reponses!

Cheers

Joust
 
Given your stated use I see nothing option 2 & 3 give you ... IMHO the chipset is irrelevent 99% of the time to start with and for an HTPC totally, unless you were going AMD and then in that case nForce2 would be useful .. but you're not, so it isn't :D
 
Originally posted by KRaGorn
Given your stated use I see nothing option 2 & 3 give you ... IMHO the chipset is irrelevent 99% of the time to start with and for an HTPC totally, unless you were going AMD and then in that case nForce2 would be useful .. but you're not, so it isn't :D

Sorry but you're a tad wrong there, in thic case the chipset is very relevant, Option 1 is capable of 400/533 CPUs only but Option 2 & 3 are 800MHz. For definite Option 3 is an 800MHz CPU but you'd have to double check if the 3.0 is indeed a 3.0c and not the 3.06 which is 400/533.

Apparently to take advantage of the new WMP9 hi def movies you do need at least 3GHz so I'd go for Option 3 given the choice, even if the 3GHz figure is exagerated a little it never hurts to have the best setup possible, afterall you'd get the benefits when you encode music or movies for example.
 
Originally posted by Apocalypse
Sorry but you're a tad wrong there, in thic case the chipset is very relevant, Option 1 is capable of 400/533 CPUs only but Option 2 & 3 are 800MHz. For definite Option 3 is an 800MHz CPU but you'd have to double check if the 3.0 is indeed a 3.0c and not the 3.06 which is 400/533.

Apparently to take advantage of the new WMP9 hi def movies you do need at least 3GHz so I'd go for Option 3 given the choice, even if the 3GHz figure is exagerated a little it never hurts to have the best setup possible, afterall you'd get the benefits when you encode music or movies for example.

As I understand it both option 2 and 3 are 800FSB processors, but I also thought that option 1 was an 800 also? I did some spec checking and found that the SiS chipset was capable of working with the 800fsb processors (I checked the specs of an MSI mainboard).

If this is the case Apocalypse, would this still be your recommendation?

Cheers

Joust
 
Originally posted by joust
As I understand it both option 2 and 3 are 800FSB processors, but I also thought that option 1 was an 800 also? I did some spec checking and found that the SiS chipset was capable of working with the 800fsb processors (I checked the specs of an MSI mainboard).

If this is the case Apocalypse, would this still be your recommendation?

Cheers

Joust

Here is the SIS648 info : http://www.sis.com/products/chipsets/oa/pentium4/648.htm

As you can see it has no support for 800MHz CPUs, I think what you mean is it will run an 800MHz CPU but only at 400/533 speeds.

Option 3 still gets my vote, Option 2 is also very capable and is what I run for my HCPC except my chipset is the i875 Canterwood (almost identical in performance). Option 2 just needs a Radeon card instead of the Nvidia for HCPC duties.
 
Originally posted by Apocalypse
Here is the SIS648 info : http://www.sis.com/products/chipsets/oa/pentium4/648.htm

As you can see it has no support for 800MHz CPUs, I think what you mean is it will run an 800MHz CPU but only at 400/533 speeds.

Option 3 still gets my vote, Option 2 is also very capable and is what I run for my HCPC except my chipset is the i875 Canterwood (almost identical in performance). Option 2 just needs a Radeon card instead of the Nvidia for HCPC duties.

Hi Apocalypse,

Was looking at the information for this 648 chipset: http://www.sis.com/products/chipsets/oa/pentium4/648fx.htm

Option 2 with a Radeon is looking better all the time!

Cheers

Joust
 
Originally posted by joust
Hi Apocalypse,

Was looking at the information for this 648 chipset: http://www.sis.com/products/chipsets/oa/pentium4/648fx.htm

Option 2 with a Radeon is looking better all the time!

Cheers

Joust

Intel chipsets are legendary for their stability, stick with Option 2 or 3, can't say I've ever used a SIS chipset personally so can't comment on it really but I have used dozens of Intel chipsets and all have been reliable.
 
Originally posted by Apocalypse
Sorry but you're a tad wrong there, in thic case the chipset is very relevant, Option 1 is capable of 400/533 CPUs only but Option 2 & 3 are 800MHz. For definite Option 3 is an 800MHz CPU but you'd have to double check if the 3.0 is indeed a 3.0c and not the 3.06 which is 400/533.
Why on Earth would he need 800MHz memory for an HTPC? My comments were based on his stated need for an HTPC.
 
Originally posted by KRaGorn
Why on Earth would he need 800MHz memory for an HTPC? My comments were based on his stated need for an HTPC.

Quote from Microsoft


System Requirements
Although other system configurations may be able to playback this content, for an optimal experience we recommend systems of at least a 2.53 GHz Intel or AMD Athlon XP 2200+ or higher processor for 720p and 3.0GHz or greater processor for 1080p.

The Intel 3.0GHz CPU is only available in the 800MHz guise so................
 
As a fellow siemens-ite, I would have to say that it depends what you want to play on the machine. If just tv and dvd, then there is no point getting any of the lets connect machines. You just don`t need that sort of power and they are not as quiet as a custom solution. If you want to do HDTV resultion, and you have to have microsoft compatability (although why you would want this is beyond me) then go for option 3. Personally I would build my own quieter and cheaper (inc radeon card, TT, decent tv card all for less than lets connect), but if you have to have prebuilt keep your peepers peeled to dell outlet for a good model at a decent price.

Chris
 
Hi Chris,

I'm quite proficient at building PC's (have my own prebuilt ATM for main machine, and have built many others also), but it just so happens that I think that ATM the lets connect PC's are a bit of a bargain (all factors considered) and I don't have the money to spend out £4-500 to build a machine now.

So you think option 3 would be the best option?

Cheers

Joust

p.s. which division do you work for? PM me to let me know ;)



Originally posted by ChrisAllenFiz
As a fellow siemens-ite, I would have to say that it depends what you want to play on the machine. If just tv and dvd, then there is no point getting any of the lets connect machines. You just don`t need that sort of power and they are not as quiet as a custom solution. If you want to do HDTV resultion, and you have to have microsoft compatability (although why you would want this is beyond me) then go for option 3. Personally I would build my own quieter and cheaper (inc radeon card, TT, decent tv card all for less than lets connect), but if you have to have prebuilt keep your peepers peeled to dell outlet for a good model at a decent price.

Chris
 
I agree Chris, custom build is the only way to go when it comes to HCPCs but the spec listed above is certainly good enough.
 
Originally posted by joust
Hi Chris,

I'm quite proficient at building PC's (have my own prebuilt ATM for main machine, and have built many others also), but it just so happens that I think that ATM the lets connect PC's are a bit of a bargain (all factors considered) and I don't have the money to spend out £4-500 to build a machine now.

So you think option 3 would be the best option?

Cheers

Joust

p.s. which division do you work for? PM me to let me know ;)

How about buying the lets connect machine and using that for your main pc and switching the other machine to HCPC duties? That way your new main machine will be a monster, and you can tinker with your old machine to make it into a HCPC. Just a thought.

Btw, I have a SIS chipset in my current HCPC, and haven`t had any real problems, certainly not as bad as via anyway :)

Chris
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom