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HTPC with Celeron G530

DesiPower

DesiPower

Lifer
Time to replace my Dell 8200 P4. Purpose it to play Amazon, Netflix, hulu, ripped Blu-rays, DVD and so on... no gaming at all.
I have some existing components; PSU (Antec 400W), RAM, HDD, DVD Drive. I picked up a case today, a generic used ATX tower for $10 courtesy craigslist.
All I need is the CPU and mobo. I seriously did not want to spend more than $100, already send $10, Macmall is selling G530 for $45, planning for get this ECS H61H2-M2 from newegg, $38 after MIR. It does have 1 HDMI port, but if it runs into problem I dont mind getting a addon card with HDMI for around $20, plenty available at newegg. It will primarily connect to a 32" 720p HDTV.

Later after 6 months or so I will probably get a SSD and Blu-ray reader. Any word of advise? am I missing anything?

*Edit*
One question, how much difference would a G620 make? anything noticeable difference with the overall system performance?
 
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For your purposes, the G530 is a good (and cheap!) choice. You might be able to notice a difference between that and the G620, but it won't be a game-changer by any means.
 
I second the G530, I built my current HTPC with one and I coudn't be more impressed. Low power use, very fast (almost as fast as my wife's e8400), doesn't miss a beat on media playback.
 
mfenn said:
DVD decoding can be done on a wristwatch these days. Don't worry about the G530's competence in that area.
Click to expand...

I agree, I have a D950 and a i5 2400K, there is a difference but its not like i5 is 10 times faster or anything. I am sure the difference between G530 and G620 will be unnoticeable to negligible...
btw, in what areas exactly is a G620 better?

P.S. I was shopping around for better prices and every time I do a build I wish I was living in a city with microcenter...
 
mfenn said:
DVD decoding can be done on a wristwatch these days. Don't worry about the G530's competence in that area.
Click to expand...

OK, then why...

Basically, GPU acceleration of video content is nice, but you don't want to rely on it because it doesn't always work. The HD2000 is perfectly fine for decoding normal h.264 and Flash, and the CPU portion of the G620 has plenty of power to decode anything else.
Click to expand...

You recommended the G620 over the A6-3500... is the G530 better than the A6-3500?

I guess I'm confused...
 
A Pentium II 450Mhz can decode DVDs. And even video cards from back in that era, could scale the resultant decoded frames to full-screen, 1600x1200 or whatever was max back then.

The only (minor) challenge of modern CPUs, is decoding Blu-Ray. Most have hardware decode support, but if that won't work, I would get a decently-strong dual-core (2.5Ghz or higher).
 
OK, so you guys confused me now... I do plan to add a Blu-Ray drive down the line, maybe 6 months or so... it will be used for viewing and ripping. Is G530 enough or not? VirtualLarry says 2.5 GHz is needed and G530 is 2.4... Not sure about the hardware acceleration part. Charlie98 post mentions something about HD2000, well, both G530 and G620 have HD1000 iirc. Although I am not too worried about the video capability, I can slap in a $20-30 video card anytime, something like a HD5XXX series (64-bit memory interface and HDMI port. With that, can G530 play/rip Blu-ray easily? without any hickups?
 
DesiPower said:
OK, so you guys confused me now... I do plan to add a Blu-Ray drive down the line, maybe 6 months or so... it will be used for viewing and ripping. Is G530 enough or not? VirtualLarry says 2.5 GHz is needed and G530 is 2.4... Not sure about the hardware acceleration part. Charlie98 post mentions something about HD2000, well, both G530 and G620 have HD1000 iirc. Although I am not too worried about the video capability, I can slap in a $20-30 video card anytime, something like a HD5XXX series (64-bit memory interface and HDMI port. With that, can G530 play/rip Blu-ray easily? without any hickups?
Click to expand...

I'll just drop this hear and settle this once and for all.

CPU utilization ratio is around 22~35%. For 1920 X 1080 HD video, it can play smoothly.
G530 built-in Intel HD Graphics CPU utilization ratio is not as low as HD 2000 or HD 3000, however, Intel entry platform is capable for HD video playback now.
Click to expand...

http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/20...-celeron-g530-performance-guide-t4045845.html
 
Even though the G530 will cover all your needs, you should get a 2500K with a Asus z68 board

Sorry - Default Anandtech answer is mandatory in all "should I" threads
 
pauldun170 said:
Even though the G530 will cover all your needs, you should get a 2500K with a Asus z68 board

Sorry - Default Anandtech answer is mandatory in all "should I" threads
Click to expand...

:biggrin: I already have i5 2500K on Z68, build it last Aug in preparation for BF3 MW3. for HTPC, no thanks, $350 vs $80 😀
 
DesiPower said:
I know, ready post #6... I don't live in Dallas or Houston... its sucks... I wish I could drive to Houston but cant justify the gas cost...
Click to expand...

i could mail it to you but priority and PP would eat most of the savings 🙁
 
yeah with tax and shipping it will be around $60... I can get an OEM for that price online... I already have spare HSF from my i5... Thanks for the offer though.
 
Sometimes if you go to a Microcenter they may have a combo with a motherboard/low-end CPU. I built a new computer with a z68 motherboard and a 2500K and the integrated Intel 3000 HD video works great for online sites like HULU. I just cant see buying anything too old.
 
DesiPower said:
I know, ready post #6... I don't live in Dallas or Houston... its sucks... I wish I could drive to Houston but cant justify the gas cost...
Click to expand...

...I know, I was just funnin' ya. :biggrin:

I already have i5 2500K on Z68, build it last Aug in preparation for BF3 MW3. for HTPC, no thanks, $350 vs $80
Click to expand...

I considered an i3-2125 (with Intel HD3000 graphics,) but can't really justify the cost. :/
 
Charlie98 said:
OK, then why...



You recommended the G620 over the A6-3500... is the G530 better than the A6-3500?

I guess I'm confused...
Click to expand...

But you specifically mentioned DVD's in your post in this thread. That's a much different use case than video decoding in general.

Also, yes the G530 is better than the A6-3500.
 
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mfenn said:
But you specifically mentioned DVD's in your post in this thread. That's a much different use case than video decoding in general.

Also, yes the G530 is better than the A6-3500.
Click to expand...

Ah, so! Cool, thank you for the clarification!
 
I wish they would just get rid of all DVD/Blu-Ray Disks. One good scratch and that is all she wrote. There should be a machine where you can plug your flashdrive in and out pops your copy of your digital movie right onto your flash drive.
 
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