When building a new HTPC computer I had several things to consider. The single biggest factor, however, came down to energy efficiency. I wanted a setup that would be suited for my needs but at the same time be as energy efficient as possible. I had looked at several energy-efficient CPUs, especially AMD's "e" series of CPUs (the 45 watt ones). Then I heard about their new offering of energy-efficient, the amazingly efficient Zacate 18W Dual-Core Processor! I was floored by the amount of power this little chip had, having two CPU cores clocking in at 1.6 GHz. I decided to pair the Zacate processor with the Asus E35M1-M Pro motherboard, which came with a passive cooling solution (a large heatsink). The combo also included a fan if that is your wish, but along with energy efficiency my second biggest factor in regards to my HTPC setup was noise-level. What's better than a ZERO NOISE fanless CPU cooler? The ASUS E35M1-M Pro had my third requirement, tons of SATA connectors on the small board (5) as well as dual ram slots (up to 8GB total). It also features quite a number of USB 2.0 ports as well as built-in HDMI and DVI connectors. It even includes an eSata connector for those who need that particular feature. I ended up putting in five 5900RPM hard drives in this setup, and along with the Radeon HD 5450, my system requires less power than the average laptop! If you need something that's quiet, energy efficient and moderately priced, then the ASUS E35M1-M Pro and Zacate 18W Dual Core AMD Processor is definitely for you!

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Pearl, MS