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AMD vxs Intel for HTPC

C

ctcsoft

Platinum Member
Building a new HTPC. Should I go with AMD or Intel for processor and motherboard?

What about video card?

Been out of the hardware loop for a couple years and so much new stuff has come out.

I won't be likely to do any 3D but will be watching lots of blu-ray hd content.
 
Is it a gaming HTPC or just a normal HTPC?

In any case, Zacate looks the best if you have a very low budget and Llano looks the best if you have a bit bigger budget. If you want to do gaming at 1680x1050 or higher, too, while keeping power consumption low you're best with Sandy Bridge.
 
not a big gamer. htpc only.

i already have a case and psu to start. it is a zalman hd160xt case. so i'm not looking for the tiny little m-itx boards and atom cpus.
 
ctcsoft said:
not a big gamer. htpc only.

i already have a case and psu to start. it is a zalman hd160xt case. so i'm not looking for the tiny little m-itx boards and atom cpus.
Click to expand...

Wow. Quite the impressive HTPC case you have there. Since it looks like you have a decent budget, I'd suggest going with Intel plus a low power HTPC card that can give you more features in terms of image quality than integrated. If you care a lot about image quality and enhancements, going Llano doesn't make too much sense until they fix some issues it's having in that area, not to mention it consumes a bit more power. The Intel HD IGPs aren't up to the task of doing good image quality fixes on high-definition content.

Therefore, I think combining an Intel Core i3 2100 with a Radeon HD 6570 is an unbeatable combo for an HTPC. The Core i3 consumes very little power and is very fast, while the Radeon HD 6570 is the cheapest card you can buy that gives you all the image quality and enhancements you'd want in an HTPC, and it also consumes very little power and makes a negligible amount of noise. It's a half-height card with a low-profile bracket, so it fits in any HTPC. You should get along with it an H67 motherboard that has all the features you need.

You should also go here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6570-radeon-hd-6670-turks,2925-14.html
 
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corei3 has been rockin my htpc since launch. its perfect, and even better when you overclock the shit out of it
 
well i got this case at frys on clearance over 2 yrs ago. I still paid $200 for it but not the $699 they retailed for! Quite a steal and I was very estatic as they only had the 1 left. Even today I can turn around and sell it for a profit IF that were my motive. Not too many times can you say that about a piece of electronics.

I put a quad core AMD x4 in it and just played some movies through it. Never had anything fully configured the way I'd like. I believe the video card is an ATI 4650.

I know since I bought those parts that much better cpu/mobo/gpu combos have come out for htpc use.


Thx ofr the recommendations on the i3 and the 6570 video. What if I just added the 6570 vid card to my AMD x4 setup? Should that work well enough? I know the i3 uses much less power but is there any other real differences that I'll notice?
 
wirednuts said:
corei3 has been rockin my htpc since launch. its perfect, and even better when you overclock the shit out of it
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The Intel Core i3 2100 was recommended for said build. This processor is multiplier locked and extremely limited w/ blck overclocking. Unless OP is looking to buy used, he should not consider the socket 1156, first generation i3-5xx cpu to which you are referring.
 
ctcsoft said:
well i got this case at frys on clearance over 2 yrs ago. I still paid $200 for it but not the $699 they retailed for! Quite a steal and I was very estatic as they only had the 1 left. Even today I can turn around and sell it for a profit IF that were my motive. Not too many times can you say that about a piece of electronics.

I put a quad core AMD x4 in it and just played some movies through it. Never had anything fully configured the way I'd like. I believe the video card is an ATI 4650.

I know since I bought those parts that much better cpu/mobo/gpu combos have come out for htpc use.


Thx ofr the recommendations on the i3 and the 6570 video. What if I just added the 6570 vid card to my AMD x4 setup? Should that work well enough? I know the i3 uses much less power but is there any other real differences that I'll notice?
Click to expand...

Well, the Core i3 will use a lot less power like you said, and therefore the fan should also run quieter. That's probably the main reason why I recommend it for HTPCs over the Phenom II X4. If you've been noticing the fan running on the Phenom, you may want something quieter. As for viewing HD content and doing decoding, image enhancement and giving the best image quality, that's the job of the GPU engine and the 6570 is the cheapest card that's up to the task of doing it best.

If you haven't noticed any fan noise from the CPU, though, I recommend you leave that as-is and if you don't have one, get a 64GB SSD. It'll make the machine much more responsive, and you can put your most important video applications there so they can load quickly while putting your media on a hard drive.
 
And whats the advantage to using a dedicated vid card vs onboard video of the i3? Everything Ive read on AVSforums says the onboard graphics works fine....so why add a vid card?
 
blackangst1 said:
And whats the advantage to using a dedicated vid card vs onboard video of the i3? Everything Ive read on AVSforums says the onboard graphics works fine....so why add a vid card?
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I already explained it. A Radeon HD 6570 will have more image enhancements and better image quality. Some of the things this includes is much better noise and artifact reduction, image scaling, and adaptive processing. With the IGP you get vanilla HD decoding; that's it.
 
intel i3-2100 works perfect. Even playing back bluray youll use ~10% or so cpu power. 4gb ram (since its cheap...could do just 2gb but at price id go for 4). I went with t he clarkdale i3 (right before SB...got it cheap) and couldnt be happier.

never heard of using a video card just for better image quality. Definitely heard using one for things like bit streaming audio, 3d playback, or gaming though. Playing a bluray on my htpc (just the clarkdale i3) looks exactly the same as on my ps3 and the standalone blu ray player we have (sony bdp-s300? i dunno model it was the first sony bluray player on markets....the one with like 5 minute load times lol). but i dont keep up with the latest technology wise anymore either so maybe there is.
 
velillen said:
intel i3-2100 works perfect. Even playing back bluray youll use ~10% or so cpu power. 4gb ram (since its cheap...could do just 2gb but at price id go for 4). I went with t he clarkdale i3 (right before SB...got it cheap) and couldnt be happier.

never heard of using a video card just for better image quality. Definitely heard using one for things like bit streaming audio, 3d playback, or gaming though. Playing a bluray on my htpc (just the clarkdale i3) looks exactly the same as on my ps3 and the standalone blu ray player we have (sony bdp-s300? i dunno model it was the first sony bluray player on markets....the one with like 5 minute load times lol). but i dont keep up with the latest technology wise anymore either so maybe there is.
Click to expand...

That's exactly the reason why you buy them for an HTPC. If you want good image enhancements, only the GPU engines in dedicated GPUs can handle it as of now. If you want more info on that you can go here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hqv-2-radeon-geforce,2844.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6570-radeon-hd-6670-turks,2925-14.html
 
ctcsoft said:
Building a new HTPC. Should I go with AMD or Intel for processor and motherboard?

What about video card?

Been out of the hardware loop for a couple years and so much new stuff has come out.

I won't be likely to do any 3D but will be watching lots of blu-ray hd content.
Click to expand...

If you are not going to do any 3D you can save some money and just get the Intel G620 vs the i3-2100. Especially if you are going to get a seperate GPU. I used the G620T (uses a bit less power) and that is all. Seems to work fine with the integrated graphics.
 
I don't see any reason to use a quad core processor over a dual core for a HTPC. My HTPC runs 7MC on a stock Intel C2D E6750 with an AMD 5450, 6GB of RAM, and a 32GB SSD and serves as the entertainment hub of my house. I can record six channels at a time while watching another channel or a Blu-Ray without running into any slowdowns. I would go with any i3 and not worry about overclocking (why bother?).
 
BornStar said:
I don't see any reason to use a quad core processor over a dual core for a HTPC. My HTPC runs 7MC on a stock Intel C2D E6750 with an AMD 5450, 6GB of RAM, and a 32GB SSD and serves as the entertainment hub of my house. I can record six channels at a time while watching another channel or a Blu-Ray without running into any slowdowns. I would go with any i3 and not worry about overclocking (why bother?).
Click to expand...
This.

My HTPC runs an E3400, a 2.7 GHz dual-core Celeron, along with an AMD 6570 and it doesn't even breath hard recording 4 HD channels at once or watching BD using TMT5. Those that plan on gaming will need more. For those that want a HTPC for nothing other than media playback...a decent dual-core is fine. The only exception is if you will be using extenders. Still, an i3 anything + 4GB is more than enough CPU to handle any HTPC requirement.
 
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