Background: My i7-2600K motherboard died and I intend to just plug the CPU into my current HTPC's motherboard (H67) replacing an i3-3225 and using that as my main rig. Either that or I just order a 6600K / 6700K with an appropriate motherboard.
For the sake of this post let's say I have an opening for my HTPC build. Main reasons: current i3 cannot handle full HD yadif x2 deinterlacing and Intel's HW deinterlacing is lacking in some spots. I'm hoping that an AMD APU might be able to solve this. Additionally, the new motherboard would include more SATA ports for more storage
OS of choice is Ubuntu, running Kodi as main media center software. Secondary function is serving a (software) RAID5 array which will place some strain on the CPU as it calculates the checksums. Tertiary function is an occasional VM handling very light loads.
I have checked the power figures and the AMD CPU seems competitive to Intel when idling or playing video so I guess that's not an issue. It definitely wins on purchase price (MB + CPU total ~120 EUR) vs Intel i3-6300, which would net around 220 EUR, not to mention 6600K (350 EUR) and 6700K (450 EUR).
However, I'm still left wondering if buying this AMD would be a sensible choice. There's a new socket coming out plus any CPU load other than playing video might tax the CPU too much. I have also read that AMD has pulled all advanced video settings from recent (Windows) drivers and Ubuntu 16 no longer allows AMD proprietary drivers leaving only the open source variants. I have no idea on video playback support of those drivers. Well, to be honest, I haven't tested Intel's video playback capabilities under Ubuntu yet either; this is planned in the following weeks.
So, considering that 7470 is a single-module APU and that it contains only half the GPU compute units (compared to 7860), is it even worth considering? If I have to move to 7860, that comes with a 50 EUR heftier price tag which puts the entire proposal at even more risk: I want the HTPC to be optimised - power, compute and sanity-wise.
So, go with 7470 to achieve my HTPC dreams or forget that and just replace MB / CPU in main rig with latest incarnations?
For the sake of this post let's say I have an opening for my HTPC build. Main reasons: current i3 cannot handle full HD yadif x2 deinterlacing and Intel's HW deinterlacing is lacking in some spots. I'm hoping that an AMD APU might be able to solve this. Additionally, the new motherboard would include more SATA ports for more storage
OS of choice is Ubuntu, running Kodi as main media center software. Secondary function is serving a (software) RAID5 array which will place some strain on the CPU as it calculates the checksums. Tertiary function is an occasional VM handling very light loads.
I have checked the power figures and the AMD CPU seems competitive to Intel when idling or playing video so I guess that's not an issue. It definitely wins on purchase price (MB + CPU total ~120 EUR) vs Intel i3-6300, which would net around 220 EUR, not to mention 6600K (350 EUR) and 6700K (450 EUR).
However, I'm still left wondering if buying this AMD would be a sensible choice. There's a new socket coming out plus any CPU load other than playing video might tax the CPU too much. I have also read that AMD has pulled all advanced video settings from recent (Windows) drivers and Ubuntu 16 no longer allows AMD proprietary drivers leaving only the open source variants. I have no idea on video playback support of those drivers. Well, to be honest, I haven't tested Intel's video playback capabilities under Ubuntu yet either; this is planned in the following weeks.
So, considering that 7470 is a single-module APU and that it contains only half the GPU compute units (compared to 7860), is it even worth considering? If I have to move to 7860, that comes with a 50 EUR heftier price tag which puts the entire proposal at even more risk: I want the HTPC to be optimised - power, compute and sanity-wise.
So, go with 7470 to achieve my HTPC dreams or forget that and just replace MB / CPU in main rig with latest incarnations?
