What's a good CPU for HTPC?

[KBC]

Hi, Just wondering... what's a good recommended CPU for use in an HTPC. Doesn't have to be fantastic in gaming - just perform well in terms of viewing videos, playing a few basic games, responsive and so forth...

I was thinking of the following...

Intel Pentium 4 805 Dual Core 2.66GHz

But the main thing is noise and heat... do these chips run hot and would I need a "loud" annoying fan for it (it's a cheap dual core CPU for its price)... as an HTPC is only worthwhile if it's quiet.

Thanks for your help.

 

[allies]

Any P4 tends to generate more heat than Athlons. However, the price is right, so unless you can shell out another $175 or so for a 3800+ X2 it looks like it's your only choice Still wouldn't mind one in my HTPC.

 

[robertk2012]

Yeah if your not going to go with a mobile chip or wait until conroe then amd is the way to go. Im using a sempron 3100 is an antec aria case that is notorious for heat problems and I have yet to have any such problems.

 

[KBC]

I'm not looking for a top of the range CPU, the Pentium is cheap - but it's no good if I need a noisy fan to cool it... I think it's either the 3800/805... unless a single core chip is worth looking at? How about the AMD64 3700+?

 

[robertk2012]

what kind of case are you going to use? If your willing to spend the money a 3800 would be worth it.

 

[KBC]

Originally posted by: robertk2012
what kind of case are you going to use? If your willing to spend the money a 3800 would be worth it.

I would like to use one of the nice LC silverstone cases - the ones that support standard ATX boards. Budget wise - not too much for the complete HTPC system. It's not going to be a high end gaming machine. It's just to replace the mountain of devices we have going in the lounge.

 

[Looney]

Get a 920 or 930. They're on the 65nm, so they produce significantly less heat.

 

[deeznuts]

I have the LC17 (black one). This is one that supported full atx boards, and it's a tiny bit cramped for a regular case, but a good size compared to HTPC cases. Allows two 80mm fans in the rear, and another 80mm on the right (where if you were to stand it up like a regular case, above where the PSU would normally go).

If you wanna save some money, go for the 805 and an aftermarket heatsink. You'll still be ahead pricewise. The LC17 will accommodate a CNPS9500, or an XP120 (which I had in there). I can't imagine an XP120 with a quiet fan not being able to handle a D805. I just bought a Scythe Katana Cu and that fits as well. I think a Freezer 7 Pro will fit, as I was looking at that, the dimensions look similar.

In addition, do not discount the d805 for HTPC purposes, it is more than enough. In addition, some applications used in HTPC actually run better or more competitively with Intel procs. Like ffdshow. Newer builds have been running better on the AMD platforms but they run great on Intel procs.

 

[KBC]

Hi, thanks for the replies! I hope to build a decent HTPC for no more than $1k...

Anything less than that would be a bonus... I think the Silverstone cases are nice and will eat away a good majority of the budget. But it's money well spent I think - the idea is to replace half a dozen devices sitting my lounge with a pretty system which can do that and more.

The LC17 looks an ideal case, but am also considering the LC14 and the LC16. Though might opt for the cheaper one. I'm tempted to go for the Intel chips as opposed to Athlons just because of the price - the 930 sounds interesting.

The HTPC will be used a lot and possible remain on (not shut down) for quite long periods - would heat be a problem with these small cases?

 

[robertk2012]

The intel chips are going to put out significantly more heat than an amd chip of equal performance. You will also need a larger power supply at the same level of performance if you go intel. Motherboards for intel chips are also more expensive so that will eat up some of the savings from the cheaper processor. If you do go the intel route get a 920 or 930.

 

[robertk2012]

also if your not going to be doing some heavy computing or multitasking then why not go for a cheap single core sempron.

 

[deeznuts]

This is where I bought mine:

PC Alchemy LC17

How fast do you have to build this machine? If you have not purchased anything, You think you could wait for new boards to come out? I would think, that with AM2 and Conroe coming, you might be better off waiting just a bit. Horsepower is not that important in HTPC, so you can purchase something now and be perfectly fine. But if you have upgradeitis, maybe waiting for one of these boards makes sense.

 

[KBC]

Hi, I must admit... I am edging towards either the low end AMD dual core chip which is the AMD 3800+ or the cheaper single core AMD64s. It makes sense as lower heat output means I won't need to fill the case with loads of fans? Most of these HTPC cases seem to only take 80mm fans which is kinda worrying since most of the smaller fans are pretty audible... watching a movie or the TV with a humming sound might be irritating. =/

Upgrade wise - it's not something I'd like to do often with this HTPC. Perhaps adding a new hard drive here and there to resolve disk space issues but nothing too extreme.

I've not purchased any components at the moment, though the launch of the new chips from AMD/Intel would be out of the picture pricewise?

 

[robertk2012]

Originally posted by: KBC
Hi, I must admit... I am edging towards either the low end AMD dual core chip which is the AMD 3800+ or the cheaper single core AMD64s. It makes sense as lower heat output means I won't need to fill the case with loads of fans? Most of these HTPC cases seem to only take 80mm fans which is kinda worrying since most of the smaller fans are pretty audible... watching a movie or the TV with a humming sound might be irritating. =/

Upgrade wise - it's not something I'd like to do often with this HTPC. Perhaps adding a new hard drive here and there to resolve disk space issues but nothing too extreme.

I've not purchased any components at the moment, though the launch of the new chips from AMD/Intel would be out of the picture pricewise?

The new chips will be in the same ball park. I would wait and go with a low end conroe unless you just need to have it now. If you go with intel now you can upgrade an still use your ram. If you go for amd now you wont be able to reuse your ram. If you want something now and dont want to upgrade for awhile then get the 3800. If you want the best value the go for the sempron. You can sempron cpu/motherboard combos for under $100 all of the time. Or you could always go with a turion or mobile sempron but you will need a HSF that screws on because they lack a IHS

 

[KBC]

The new chips will be in the same ball park. I would wait and go with a low end conroe unless you just need to have it now. If you go with intel now you can upgrade an still use your ram. If you go for amd now you wont be able to reuse your ram. If you want something now and dont want to upgrade for awhile then get the 3800. If you want the best value the go for the sempron. You can sempron cpu/motherboard combos for under $100 all of the time. Or you could always go with a turion or mobile sempron but you will need a HSF that screws on because they lack a IHS

Thanks for the reply robertk2012. I've not got any components for this HTPC system at the moment - not even the RAM. If the new low-end Conroes are going to be as cheap/cheaper than AMD's 3800+ then that's quite a nice thing to wait for as I've heard they run cooler whilst supplying performance. What were the exact release dates of the AM2 and Conroe?

 

[robertk2012]

I dont know the dates for AM2 off the top of my heat but I think it its may 20 something. Conroe should show up in the next two months maybe sooner.

 

[KBC]

Originally posted by: robertk2012
I dont know the dates for AM2 off the top of my heat but I think it its may 20 something. Conroe should show up in the next two months maybe sooner.

OK Thanks!

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: robertk2012
also if your not going to be doing some heavy computing or multitasking then why not go for a cheap single core sempron.

That's what I have, a Sempron 2600+ currently running stock speeds, but undervolted using a Biostar Tforce6100 board. That board allows you to dial in the fan speeds in BIOS and also undervolt - really nice features to have. CPU was a Fry's $80 special last year (with an ECS board) and the Biostar board runs for about $70. I use it strictly for playback purposes (fansubbed anime) and I can't tell a difference between it and my overclocked x2 3800+.

 

[robertk2012]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: robertk2012
also if your not going to be doing some heavy computing or multitasking then why not go for a cheap single core sempron.

That's what I have, a Sempron 2600+ currently running stock speeds, but undervolted using a Biostar Tforce6100 board. That board allows you to dial in the fan speeds in BIOS and also undervolt - really nice features to have. CPU was a Fry's $80 special last year (with an ECS board) and the Biostar board runs for about $70. I use it strictly for playback purposes (fansubbed anime) and I can't tell a difference between it and my overclocked x2 3800+.

Ive got the same board with the sempron 3100 that I got from the outpost special that came with an ECS board. I really like the Tforce6100 especiallly if you need an matx board.

 

[imported_ST]

Implying that you would like to make a HTPC, I would assume you are doing some video encoding/decoding and/or upscaling/deinterlacing/video-post processing? If this is the case, here's a post I had on htpcnews.com:

I've been tinkering with FRAPs on a variety of applications inluding games, video playback, and lastly DVD playback. One of FRAP's features include real time monitoring of FPS. Well today in the midst of watching some old Indiana Jones DVD's, I started tinkering with some of my CPU frequency settings (trying to tune it for a passive HSF configuration), when i noted my FPS started fluctuating. Now mind you, I have a pretty powerful system sporting an OPteron 165 overclocked (3.0GHz max easy, with 2.6GHz the usual "quiet" setting) with a 7900GT to coincide with it. After fiddling around with the frequencies in real time via RMClock, I came up with some of some settings as a good guide to achieve the desired 24fps during video playback with the most critical component for video post processing: resolution scaling. Of course, there are 2 major settings for this, including the resolution and the algorithm used:

FFDShow 24fps settings @ 1920x1080p scaling:

- Lanczos2: ~1500MHz
- Lanczos4: ~1900MHz
- Lanczos6: ~2200MHz
- Lanczos8: ~2500MHz
- Lanczos10: ~2800MHz

Add another 300MHz or so if you wish to also do HQ Sharpening with it. Remember this again is based on an AMD Opteron 64 Dual Core Processor Platform w/ 1024MB of cache per core. Add another 100MHz or so if you have an X2 processor with 512KB of cache per core. In terms of recommended settings, your mileage will vary, because the image quality between these settings is very subjective. If you are also scaling to a lesser degree, you won't need as much CPU frequency either. Oh one more thing I tried, was to totally underclock my 7900GT to around 300MHz core (425MHz is stock), and I found no difference at all. I would reckon the most critical component of the video card would be the number of pixel processor it has, not necessarily the MHz. As always YMMV, but this should be close to what you'll need for stutter free DVD playback.

 

[DarkKnight69]

I use a p-m 1.6Ghz @ 2.0Ghz passive cooling. My ati aiw 9800Pro is passive cooled and my psu is at minumum. Almost no sound.

Works great for me!

 

[batmang]

Originally posted by: KBC
Hi, Just wondering... what's a good recommended CPU for use in an HTPC. Doesn't have to be fantastic in gaming - just perform well in terms of viewing videos, playing a few basic games, responsive and so forth...

I was thinking of the following...

Intel Pentium 4 805 Dual Core 2.66GHz

But the main thing is noise and heat... do these chips run hot and would I need a "loud" annoying fan for it (it's a cheap dual core CPU for its price)... as an HTPC is only worthwhile if it's quiet.

Thanks for your help.

dont forget about semprons. they run very cool, and mine is overclocked 800mhz on stock vcore and stock hsf. runs about the same temp as stock but its running at 301fsb. i use my pc with my 360 (media center extender) and it works great.