i7 860 for HTPC/light gaming rig

[fx_rage]

I’m thinking of building an HTPC/light gaming rig for the living room and have a spare i7 860 lying around but no motherboard for it. Should I sell the CPU and purchase a real HTPC CPU or should I pick up a spare 1156 mobo on the FS/FT thread and build from there? I understand that the i7 is a few generations old now and am also unsure about power usage in an HTPC.

I do live near a Microcenter and Fry’s so I could pick up an i3 for cheap. Thoughts?

 

[Termie]

I ran an i7-860 as my HTPC for over a year. It's an excellent CPU, and is fairly efficient even by today's standards. The problem you're going to have is finding a motherboard for it. They aren't available new anymore, and very few people want to sell just an 1156 motherboard - they usually try to sell them off along with the CPU to get more money.

Given that many dual-core users might be interested in that CPU, I'd see what you can get selling it, and then pick up an i3 and a B75/H77 motherboard, preferably microATX or even ITX, to build up a new HTPC. Just keep in mind that the i7-860 is definitely faster than an i3 in most circumstances, so I'm not advising this as an upgrade, just a prudent move to get value out of your CPU along with a new motherboard (I'm not sure I'd trust a 3-year-old used motherboard, frankly).

 

[Zorander]

I still run an OC i7-860 as my main rig and it's definitely more than powerful enough for a HTPC. In your case though, I'd go with Termie's suggestion. Either solution is powerful enough as HTPC but the more current build is simpler and more power-efficient.