Low end Intel vs AMD for HTPC Chip

[jacktesterson]

I sold off my gaming PC (or in process of), just don't have time for gaming anymore.

That being said, I use this particular PC for the following:

1) 1080p Media Playback (MKV's, Blu Rays, Youtube HD)

2) Netflix HD

3) Light Web Browsing

4) Media Sharing/Streaming to other devices in the house


See my Sig - I have DDR3 1866 Memory to use too.


Would I be better off with

AMD A6-5400k + Cheap A75 FM2 Board

or

Intel G3220 + Cheap 1150 Board

or

Intel Celeron G1620 + Cheap 1155 Board

 

[Asterox]

I sold off my gaming PC (or in process of), just don't have time for gaming anymore.

That being said, I use this particular PC for the following:

1) 1080p Media Playback (MKV's, Blu Rays, Youtube HD)

2) Netflix HD

3) Light Web Browsing

4) Media Sharing/Streaming to other devices in the house


See my Sig - I have DDR3 1866 Memory to use too.


Would I be better off with

AMD A6-5400k + Cheap A75 FM2 Board

or

Intel G3220 + Cheap 1150 Board

or

Intel Celeron G1620 + Cheap 1155 Board





I'm leaning towards the A6-5400K as when paired with my 1866 Memory, I could still play some older games if I did have some time. (Very rarely - still use consoles most of the time these days)


Thoughts?

I recommend you to choose a Mini-ITX motherboard with Kabini APU A4-5000 or A6-5200 even better option.View this Kabini APU A4-5000 test and pay attention to multithread CPU performance, and in the end power consumption comparison. It's still a good HTPC computer, with Kabini APU you have quite enough CPU power for your needs and yes the electrical energy is not cheap today.

In this test they are used A4-5300, but i think you will understand the point of this comparison without doubt.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135363

http://www.techspot.com/review/671-amd-a4-5000-kabini/











Power consumption comparison

 

[AtenRa]

I would go with a mini-iTX FM2+ and A6-5400K. This way you will be able to upgrade to Kaveri next year.

 

[crashtech]

The G3220 has the best single-threaded and multi-threaded performance of the three on your list. It is the easy choice.

 

[jacktesterson]

The G3220 was my original choice. I was wondering if the 24 Hz issue is gone. Seems to be gone now with Haswell?

 

[Zap]

That being said, I use this particular PC for the following:

1) 1080p Media Playback (MKV's, Blu Rays, Youtube HD)

2) Netflix HD

3) Light Web Browsing

4) Media Sharing/Streaming to other devices in the house

...

I could still play some older games if I did have some time. (Very rarely - still use consoles most of the time these days)

What "older games" do you hope to play? You can get a mini ITX board with embedded Celeron 1037U (1.8GHz dual core 17W Ivy Bridge) for around $70. The IGP is basically a 6EU similar to HD 2500. It should be able to play RTS/MOBA games in medium settings, and older or less demanding FPS in lower/medium settings. Media playback and web browsing should be a cinch.

 

[jacktesterson]

What "older games" do you hope to play? You can get a mini ITX board with embedded Celeron 1037U (1.8GHz dual core 17W Ivy Bridge) for around $70. The IGP is basically a 6EU similar to HD 2500. It should be able to play RTS/MOBA games in medium settings, and older or less demanding FPS in lower/medium settings. Media playback and web browsing should be a cinch.

I'll do some reading.

 

[JDG1980]

If you're building a HTPC that will double as a web browsing/light gaming system, I'd strongly suggest waiting for Kaveri. It's pretty much tailor-made for this sort of thing, and will probably work better than anything currently on the market.

I have a discrete 7750 GPU and can use the madVR renderer at medium quality settings (Lanczos with anti-ringing filter, and frame rate smoothing) even with demanding 1080i content, which is pretty much the worst case. Kaveri will have the same GPU power but less memory bandwidth. Since memory bandwidth doesn't seem to be the constraining factor on madVR (this is why Nvidia's GT640 did well), Kaveri should have similar performance.

Now if you don't care about the higher quality of madVR rendering and if your "gaming" is going to consist mostly of really old stuff or 8/16-bit emulation, then the Celeron 1037U embedded board recommended above may suffice.

 

[Torn Mind]

Are you sensitive to the 24 fps bug? If yes, Haswell seems like the way to go.

 

[LogOver]

The G3220 was my original choice. I was wondering if the 24 Hz issue is gone. Seems to be gone now with Haswell?

Ivy bridge still has the issue (although it was improved - it's able something like 23.96). Haswell finally got the right frame-rate.

http://missingremote.com/review/intel-nuc-kit-d54250wyk

 

[jacktesterson]

Ivy bridge still has the issue (although it was improved - it's able something like 23.96). Haswell finally got the right frame-rate.

http://missingremote.com/review/intel-nuc-kit-d54250wyk

To be honest, I've never used Intel based GPU before so I don't know if I would be sensitive to it or not. I doubt it.

 

[tweakboy]

Grab a ATI 2900XT or geforce 9800 GT ....... both way under 100 on egg or microcenter and Fry's

 

[bononos]

To be honest, I've never used Intel based GPU before so I don't know if I would be sensitive to it or not. I doubt it.

The 24hz(23.976 actually) bug will not be a problem if your monitor/tv/projector is not capable of 24p output. The problem only occurs if you are playing native 24p media at 24hz refresh rate. If you monitor's refresh is 60/120hz then you will not encounter the problem. And there are workarounds for Ivy and maybe Sandy cpus.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

I'd go with the lowest power option you can, all of the cpus you listed will do what you listed.

 

[monstercameron]

I'd go with the lowest power option you can, all of the cpus you listed will do what you listed.

rarely happens but for once I agree with Balla...go the cheapest and lowest powered, because even arm socs can do all the things you listed above.

 

[tential]

rarely happens but for once I agree with Balla...go the cheapest and lowest powered, because even arm socs can do all the things you listed above.

Ya I use my old Nexus 7 to do the stuff on that list (I dunno if it plays Netflix probably does I don't have Netflix though).

That said, people seem to prefer intel CPUs on XBMC.org for their HTPCs. I honestly would simply get a laptop if I was you.
Maybe the $250 chromebooks or something. You still can use it as an HTPC, but when you want to move around it doubles as a laptop. Quite nice.

 

[jacktesterson]

What "older games" do you hope to play? You can get a mini ITX board with embedded Celeron 1037U (1.8GHz dual core 17W Ivy Bridge) for around $70. The IGP is basically a 6EU similar to HD 2500. It should be able to play RTS/MOBA games in medium settings, and older or less demanding FPS in lower/medium settings. Media playback and web browsing should be a cinch.

Thanks!

This is perfect for me right now after reading. price is right.

 

[Charlie98]

I got an IB Pentium G620 for my HTPC build... And already was gnashing my teeth over not getting an i3 before I even put it together. Found out the little Pentium was more than enough, I'm quite impressed with it. The only real problem I've had was streaming Netflix, I even threw in a discreet GPU... But that didn't help, it's a problem with Netflix. It's tolerable, but not perfect.

I spec'ed a G3220 for a general purpose build I'm working on at the moment... I have no doubt it would do what you need it to, even, most likely, without a GPU.

 

[Charlie98]

Another thought... I would skip the 1155 Celeron... I originally spec'ed that for the GP build, trying to get the most bang for the buck... But was convinced to go to the current gen 1150 socket anyway. It wound up only costing about $30 more to go there...

 

[schmuckley]

I have to vote for fm2+ on this one.

 

[jacktesterson]

I got an IB Pentium G620 for my HTPC build... And already was gnashing my teeth over not getting an i3 before I even put it together. Found out the little Pentium was more than enough, I'm quite impressed with it. The only real problem I've had was streaming Netflix, I even threw in a discreet GPU... But that didn't help, it's a problem with Netflix. It's tolerable, but not perfect.

I spec'ed a G3220 for a general purpose build I'm working on at the moment... I have no doubt it would do what you need it to, even, most likely, without a GPU.

Something is wrong there, Netflix isn't GPU powered

My wife uses an old dell D630 Laptop with an old Dual core Core 2 Duo and onboard Intel graphics and it can play Netflix in HD without issue. (She does it all the time)

I am going to go with the celeron for now. Everything I've researched shows its low powered and will work fine. 95% of this PC's duties is simply video playback and streaming to other devices.

Big factor right now is price. Im having financial problems right now and needed some cash. (My wife was laid off work and she made more money than me) I can get by with this for a while.

I ordered this

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813135342

As it has a PCIe Slot. My friend might be able to get me a free 5770 to use sometime, so this could actually stlll play some games on lower settings. I have a 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM kicking around I can use for now.

Thanks ZAP!

 

[monstercameron]

if you were planning on playing games them fm2+ was suggested, it would be better to get an apu...

 

[Charlie98]

Something is wrong there, Netflix isn't GPU powered....

You are correct... there was a thread on why Netflix doesn't always jive with an HTPC, I don't remember the root cause. No, as I said, the HD6450 didn't help either.

Let us know how your Celeron does...!

 

[jacktesterson]

Its not going to game. Were talking an hour or two a month and nothing demanding.

The celeron will be fine. Something new to play with.

 

[Zap]

Thanks!

This is perfect for me right now after reading. price is right.

You're welcome.

Another suggestion depending on what you are looking for is a notebook. Best Buy has a Toshiba notebook that has the Celeron 1037U CPU, with 64-bit Windows 8, a 500GB HDD, DVD drive and 4GB RAM for $229.99 + tax. Factoring in cost of Windows, you can't build a box for that cheap. You can just run it with the screen closed.