Motherboard and Processor Advice

[foxrunner]

Ok so I have been running a Dell Precision 470 as a server with a Ceton tuner and 3 xbox extenders all direct wired.
This setup has worked great for some time however now my wife wants more tuners.

Now my 470 only has 2 pci express slots one for graphics and the 2nd holding the original ceton, so another tuner requires a new PC.
The Dell was a hand me down freebie from work and worked great, and looking at other built machines I was not happy with the costs and options I was seeing.

So back to building a PC from parts (a past time I lost interest in once i started having to work on pcs and servers for a living), and trying to keep some costs down.

Any reason this mobo and proc wouldn't work?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDeal ... mbo.953398

I figure I have my SSD and 1TB drive from the dell setup

Add 8GB ram to it and into a Case..

Can anyone recommend an better Proc Mobo combo in terms of cost or performance for my needs?

[barnabas1969]

That processor is more than enough for what you're trying to do. It's more powerful than mine. See my system specs (click the link in my signature) for more info on what I'm running. Mine drives four extenders, 10 tuners, and also a TV directly connected to the video card... and it runs smooth and has a fast response in the menus.

Now, I will say that the Sandy Bridge has been shown to not handle 29/59 content very well, so if you want to connect a TV directly to the PC, you'll want to use an add-on video card. Also, that 95 watt CPU isn't the best choice for a "silent" PC... so if you want to put the PC right in your viewing area, you probably should look at one of the lower power (65 or 73 watt) processors.

For example, you could go with the CPU and mobo I listed below. It would save you $30.00, and would run cooler and quieter. And would also allow you to connect the PC to a TV without using an add-on graphics card, because the Clarkdale CPU handles 29/59 content correctly.

mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813186226 ($79.99 + 7.56 shipping)
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115220 ($179.99)

[barnabas1969]

Oops... I just realized that the CPU I listed above is only Dual Core. I guess I assumed that an i5 is always quad-core. So, if you're looking for a lower power quad-core CPU (and you also want to connect the TV directly to the PC), you'll need to have an add-on graphics card if you want to avoid the 29/59 issue.

[Wolfshadw]

@ Foxrunner - Any reason why you can't just add a Ceton InfiniTV4 USB to your current set up?

-Wolf sends

[foxrunner]

Yea my current 470 only has 2 PCIx and one is in use by the graphics card and the other by the 1st ceton, i got the 2nd ceton for a steal.

[foxrunner]

OK so out side of the Case, Hard Drives, and Graphics card I am now looking at the following:

Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4GHz LGA 1155 Processor
SKU: 425470 $189.99

Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver
SKU: 546341 $7.99

Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Mothe
SKU: 380519 $109.99

Crucial 8GB DDR3-1333 (PC3-10600) CL9 Dual Channel
SKU: 211276 $39.99

Can any one recommend a CPU cooling option that will be fairly quiet.