In light of the surprise death of my HTPC, it seems like a good time for an update! (any kids reading? throwing money at things that don't work is NOT good life advice. But I get to. )
1. I'm looking for pros and cons on the Trinity vs Ivy Bridge decision. On this HTPC build, I care less about performance/cost differences, and more about tertiary benefit/conveniences offered by various platforms. (probably ends up looking like the A10 5700 vs i3 3220)
Re-usable parts from existing build:
Silverstone MILO low profile Case (micro atx)
Scythe Shuriken 100mm
Sapphire Radeon 5570
Seasonic 520w
Samsung Blue-ray drive
Crucial M3 128gb and Samsung 1tb
Windows 8
Parts to replace:
CPU
MOBO
Memory
Other (possible cooler, possible add-ons, etc)
Other Thoughts:
p.s. I currently have like Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 that came with my blue-ray drive and its terrible (and not Win8 compatible). Is there something better I should get as part of this purchase?
Thanks everyone!
1. I'm looking for pros and cons on the Trinity vs Ivy Bridge decision. On this HTPC build, I care less about performance/cost differences, and more about tertiary benefit/conveniences offered by various platforms. (probably ends up looking like the A10 5700 vs i3 3220)
2. I am also looking for advice on features and functionality that I should think about for a Windows 8 HTPC. I'm thinking I should try to get bluetooth and wifi on the mobo for various wireless devices. I'm also debating one of those Leap Motion controllers with the hope that it will make the metro interface actually work. What else? Maybe sound?
Details:
■ Usage: Web surfing, Blue-ray playback, Netflix, Hulu, iTunes/Picasa server, occasional Steam Big Picture (but nothing too intense). (probably no cablecard due to comcast restrictions, but I want to save room for it just in case)
■ Budget: Don't worry too much about this, but my target is around $300ish for CPU/GPU/Mobo/memory.
Re-usable parts from existing build:
Silverstone MILO low profile Case (micro atx)
Scythe Shuriken 100mm
Sapphire Radeon 5570
Seasonic 520w
Samsung Blue-ray drive
Crucial M3 128gb and Samsung 1tb
Windows 8
Parts to replace:
CPU
MOBO
Memory
Other (possible cooler, possible add-ons, etc)
Other Thoughts:
- ■ One benefit of going with an Intel platform is that I could probably slightly underclock and retire my gaming i5 2500k into this system in a couple years. (thats what I had done previously with my C2D E8400) Not sure if that's even going to be worthwhile this time around.
■ I'm thinking if I went Trinity I would probably give the 5570 away, but would keep it if I went Intel.
■ I keep hearing about cool windows 8 plans by Intel and AMD (like AMD's AppPlayer) that seem cool. I want to make sure I don't miss out on anything.
p.s. I currently have like Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 that came with my blue-ray drive and its terrible (and not Win8 compatible). Is there something better I should get as part of this purchase?
Thanks everyone!