E3-1230V2 vs. i7-3770 for HTPC

[crashtech]

Our 775 based HTPC is getting a bit long in the tooth, and the plan is to move to a suitable 1155 µATX board pretty soon. It looks like the two CPUs in the thread title are within spitting distance of each other performance-wise, in a limited cooling environment with no overclocking, is there any reason not to consider the Xeon, with its slightly lower TDP and significantly lower cost?

There's already a discrete video solution in play which will be upgraded next, we'd like to get more eye candy on our 60" in games.

 

[SPBHM]

I think it's just 200MHz less and no IGP...

 

[crashtech]

So I can keep my house all Xeon, all the time! I was looking for the drawbacks and didn't find any, but it's never a bad idea to throw the idea out there.

 

[Durvelle27]

why do you need a i7 for an HTPC. a i3 or even Pentium will do just find

 

[crashtech]

True, which is why the Xeon E3120 in it now works just fine. I would not go from that CPU to an i3, the performance increase would not be enough to justify.

Basically there is no "need," I just like extra horsepower under the hood!

 

[T_Yamamoto]

True, which is why the Xeon E3120 in it now works just fine. I would not go from that CPU to an i3, the performance increase would not be enough to justify.

Basically there is no "need," I just like extra horsepower under the hood!

to me, its the biggest waste of money ever.

but i mean, your money, you do whatever you want

 

[crashtech]

Biggest waste ever? Wouldn't you have to look to the government for that?

Maybe you have a point, though. While the 1230V2 does have about the highest performance/dollar ratios of Intel CPUs of similar performance*, it may be that there will never be a low profile video card that can fully utilize it. The best low-pro cards I have seen are in the 7750 series. Is there a faster low profile card, and what Intel CPU should be used with such a card to avoid any bottleneck? We do like the eye candy in games, that is what this is mainly about.

*More importantly to me, it has by far the best price/performance ratio of any currently available Xeon.

 

[Ventanni]

Go big or go home. I vote i7-3770 for HTPC purposes!

 

[crashtech]

Sarcasm?

Maybe it's too soon to think about changing platforms. I can drop an X3360 in the old board and wait a couple more years. Guess I just wanted something to do, and the upgrade I want for my desktop is out of reach right now.

 

[NTMBK]

I'd wait out a bit longer- if your current rig handles 1080p decoding, then there's no need to upgrade. Wait until you get a 4K TV, then upgrade

 

[crashtech]

Games don't run very good on it at 1920x1080, but that's more the fault of low profile restrictions than anything else, I suppose. This question might better belong in another section, but wouldn't the current CPU, the E3120 be a bottleneck to the 7750 card?

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Go big or go home. I vote i7-3770 for HTPC purposes!

Unless there is a T at the end of that 3770, that makes about zero sense... :hmm:

Games don't run very good on it at 1920x1080, but that's more the fault of low profile restrictions than anything else, I suppose. This question might better belong in another section, but wouldn't the current CPU, the E3120 be a bottleneck to the 7750 card?

Don't you mean Celeron E3200?. If that's the case then yes, it will properly bottleneck that 7750. But why not try and find something like a used E8400, to tie you over until Haswell...

 

[crashtech]

I mean a Xeon E3120. I could go to a quad core in the same socket and lose single threaded performance while doubling cores, or go ahead and switch platforms, or just do nothing.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I mean a Xeon E3120. I could go to a quad core in the same socket and lose single threaded performance while doubling cores, or go ahead and switch platforms, or just do nothing.

My bad...

You mean:

http://ark.intel.com/products/35429/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E3120-6M-Cache-3_16-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB

In that case go ahead and slap a 7750 in there. The Xeon will be roughly somewhere around the performance of an LGA-1155 Pentium. Should be able to handle it.

 

[crashtech]

Would a faster CPU enable more performance from the 7750 card? I'm looking to get every ounce, since it is still a marginal solution for my wants.

Also, for those who consider an E3-1230V2 to be massive overkill, I've seen the i5-3570 recommended for small form-factor gaming builds. Why not spend $25 more on a CPU that will stomp the i5 in every metric while running cooler doing it?

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Would a faster CPU enable more performance from the 7750 card? I'm looking to get every ounce, since it is still a marginal solution for my wants.

I think it would be marginal at best. To get significantly more performance you'd need a full-height card. Unless someone makes a 7770 half-height. You could try overclocking the 7750, but seeing those tiny heat-sinks makes me doubt how much more performance you can squeeze out...

Have you considered a new case that can handle full-height cards...?

 

[crashtech]

I think it would be marginal at best. To get significantly more performance you'd need a full-height card. Unless someone makes a 7770 half-height. You could try overclocking the 7750, but seeing those tiny heat-sinks makes me doubt how much more performance you can squeeze out...

Have you considered a new case that can handle full-height cards...?

I don't know why I haven't until now. Not as sexy as buying über-fast CPUs? But a new case would also solve the PSU problem, a taller case would take a standard ATX PSU. Good TFX PSUs are not plentiful.

Now you've got me thinking on a better track, thanks.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I don't know why I haven't until now. Not as sexy as buying über-fast CPUs? But a new case would also solve the PSU problem, good TFX PSUs are not plentiful.

Now you've got me thinking on a better track, thanks.

Happy to help...

At least you have the option to change your HTPC case. It would be a bit more difficult for me, as the case can only have a max. height of 11cm. That rules out full-height expansion cards...