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HTPC processors, I need advice, to many options

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March 10, 2014 1:48:57 PM

I have read so much about processors. I am only go to use this for HD TV, streaming, DVR, browse...a media sever to break free from Big Cable and the bill that goes with it.

I was reading about AMD mostly then I read i3 are better for performance. I have no idea about i5, i7 and such. I looked at AMD Kaveri, but that seems over kill and a gaming CPU. I am not a gamer. I was looking at using the Cooler Max Elite 130 case.

AMD A6, A8, A10? i3? My question is price with performance. What are the best options, maybe 3 choices?

Please help...thank you.

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March 10, 2014 3:22:17 PM

I recently built a HTPC with that case. The cooling is less than excellent, to say the least. So look for a cool running processor. The i3 series would be the best, since you are not a gamer. Even if you were, the CPU can game great. But it is about the coolest of the processors available short of going to something more of a "specialty".
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March 10, 2014 3:49:11 PM

clutchc said:
I recently built a HTPC with that case. The cooling is less than excellent, to say the least. So look for a cool running processor. The i3 series would be the best, since you are not a gamer. Even if you were, the CPU can game great. But it is about the coolest of the processors available short of going to something more of a "specialty".


I'm not locked on the elite 130, because I know the processor will determine the case in the end. From what I read the i3 is over kill for an HTPC or am I wrong?
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March 10, 2014 4:49:04 PM

you can use intel celeron for HTPC. but it is enough for you? if you think i3 is over kill, than pentium G is the most fit for your system. AMD APU is good. but it's hot.
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March 10, 2014 4:59:41 PM

Budget budget budget?
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March 10, 2014 5:05:31 PM

I went with an A10-6800k for my HTPC and it does not run hot at all not even a little bit, but am i3 will still run a little cooler probably. The A10 is overkill though. An A6 or A8 would be plenty and even an A4 would work, but may not offer enough processing power if you are going to do other things with the build. A Haswell i3 would work too or the i3-3225 or 3245. Don't consider any other i3. An Ivy Bridge or Haswell Celeron or Pentium would be good if paired with a cheap video card like an HD5450 ot HD6450.
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March 10, 2014 5:39:48 PM

jomak123 said:
clutchc said:
I recently built a HTPC with that case. The cooling is less than excellent, to say the least. So look for a cool running processor. The i3 series would be the best, since you are not a gamer. Even if you were, the CPU can game great. But it is about the coolest of the processors available short of going to something more of a "specialty".


I'm not locked on the elite 130, because I know the processor will determine the case in the end. From what I read the i3 is over kill for an HTPC or am I wrong?


No, the i3 is not overkill for an HTPC.

The processor won't really determine what case you buy. Any CPU/motherboard that fits a given case will work. With the elite 130, you are not limited to mITX boards at least. You can use a mATX which usually runs less $. The space you want to house the HTPC should determine the size, style of case. Will it be in a small confined area with little air circulation? Will it be close to other heat producing electronics? Etc.

If you decide on an AMD APU, you will have to use an F2, F2+ motherboard that doesn't allow for much upgrade to a faster processor. At least with the Intel Haswel line of processors, you will have a socket that isn't obsolete yet, and has room for future upgrading.
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March 10, 2014 5:53:52 PM

I like the 35w i3-4130t a lot for a HTPC. You could even go for passive cooling if you have good airflow.
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March 10, 2014 5:54:01 PM

i have A10-5800K with xigmatek Achilles cooler. idle is 47C, and full load is 75C. but with stock cooler, the idle is 60C, and full load 105C.

another PC is A6-5400K (with stock cooler), the idle is 58C, full load is 95C. are the softwares wrong? i used HWmonitor and speecy. both have the same reading.
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March 10, 2014 5:57:03 PM

Erman Yudhistira said:
i have A10-5800K with xigmatek Achilles cooler. idle is 47C, and full load is 75C. but with stock cooler, the idle is 60C, and full load 105C.

another PC is A6-5400K (with stock cooler), the idle is 58C, full load is 95C. are the softwares wrong? i used HWmonitor and speecy. both have the same reading.


It's hard to say. Ever since AMD went to the Bulldozer/Piledriver architechture, their temp readings have been hard to pin down. I've built with several FX processors and APUs. None of them made me feel confident I was getting a true temp reading.
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March 10, 2014 6:18:39 PM

CTurbo said:
I went with an A10-6800k for my HTPC and it does not run hot at all not even a little bit, but am i3 will still run a little cooler probably. The A10 is overkill though. An A6 or A8 would be plenty and even an A4 would work, but may not offer enough processing power if you are going to do other things with the build. A Haswell i3 would work too or the i3-3225 or 3245. Don't consider any other i3. An Ivy Bridge or Haswell Celeron or Pentium would be good if paired with a cheap video card like an HD5450 ot HD6450.


Why should I not consider any other i3?
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March 10, 2014 6:21:44 PM

clutchc said:

If you decide on an AMD APU, you will have to use an F2, F2+ motherboard that doesn't allow for much upgrade to a faster processor. At least with the Intel Haswel line of processors, you will have a socket that isn't obsolete yet, and has room for future upgrading.


I was not aware of the AMD issue. I thought I could Kaveri in the future if needed. Why is the Intel not limited?
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March 10, 2014 6:31:45 PM

fm2+ is not obsolete by any means, but it doesn't offer near as good as an upgrade path that Intel LGA1150 does. I bought a fm2+ motherboard with my A10 6800k so I could upgrade to Kaveri but I'm going to wait for the refresh next year or later this year because I have no reason to upgrade right now.

The i3-3225 and i3 3245 come with HD4000 graphics which is the minimum Intel igpu I trust to use as a full HTPC. The i3 4130 and 4130t come with HD4400 graphics, and the i3 4330 and i3 4340 come with HD4600 graphics. All other i3s come with HD3000 or worse.
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March 10, 2014 7:01:07 PM

jomak123 said:
clutchc said:

If you decide on an AMD APU, you will have to use an F2, F2+ motherboard that doesn't allow for much upgrade to a faster processor. At least with the Intel Haswel line of processors, you will have a socket that isn't obsolete yet, and has room for future upgrading.


I was not aware of the AMD issue. I thought I could Kaveri in the future if needed. Why is the Intel not limited?


I probably should have made myself clearer. The FM2+ socket is alive and well and does indeed support Kaveri. It's just that AMD has no plans for anything faster than their present APU/Athlon line up for that socket as far as I know. And those chips can't touch the more expensive Intel line for gaming. However, If you were to go with the AM3+ socket, you could at least get into faster processors like the FX-8xxx/9xxx.
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March 10, 2014 7:06:29 PM

for minimum bugdet, you can pick :
A6-6400K and Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI FM2 A88X Mini ITX board. or
Intel Pentium G2030 3.0GHz LGA 1155 with Gigabyte GA-H61N-USB3 LGA 1155 H61 Mini ITX
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March 10, 2014 7:15:13 PM

What's your overall budget for the entire build and do you have any parts already?
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March 10, 2014 7:37:54 PM

CTurbo said:
What's your overall budget for the entire build and do you have any parts already?


I have 2 - 4GB DDR3 1600 I believe and a 128GB SSD and 1TB external HDD for now. I don't have a set budget, I would like to balance price and performance. I was looking to spend no more than $150 range on the CPU/Motherboard combo...should add I would like WIFI so I would go over.
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March 10, 2014 7:40:30 PM

jomak123 said:
CTurbo said:
What's your overall budget for the entire build and do you have any parts already?


I have 2 - 4GB DDR3 1600 I believe and a 128GB SSD and 1TB external HDD for now. I don't have a set budget, I would like to balance price and performance. I was looking to spend no more than $150 range on the CPU/Motherboard combo...should add I would like WIFI so I would go over.


A 128gb SSD is unnecessary for an HTPC.
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March 10, 2014 8:11:56 PM

tcb1005 said:
128gb SSD is unnecessary for an HTPC.


Ok, I'll bite...why is that?
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March 10, 2014 8:39:08 PM

jomak123 said:
tcb1005 said:
128gb SSD is unnecessary for an HTPC.


Ok, I'll bite...why is that?


Because with the money the SSD costs, you could buy an even larger hard drive for more movies, especially with 4k right around the corner.
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March 10, 2014 8:51:22 PM

But he said he already has a ssd right? I think ssds are great for HTPC use because systems with ssds produce less heat and are therefor quieter than those that don't. A lot of miniITX motherboards come with wifi but they're not cheap.


So you need a case, and prefer a miniITX? And you need a motherboard, cpu, and power supply?
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March 10, 2014 8:54:40 PM

CTurbo said:
But he said he already has a ssd right? I think ssds are great for HTPC use because systems with ssds produce less heat and are therefor quieter than those that don't. A lot of miniITX motherboards come with wifi but they're not cheap.


So you need a case, and prefer a miniITX? And you need a motherboard, cpu, and power supply?


A compressed 4k movie is 160Gb. The SSD could store the OS I guess, but won't be able to hold any of these movies.
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March 10, 2014 8:55:41 PM

+1 ssds are PERFECT for holding windows and programs!
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March 11, 2014 6:15:49 AM

are there another online website store in your country that i can search for? microcentre.com doesn't have many option.
The best option for intel are :

Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz LGA 1150 Boxed for $50 and ASRock H87M-ITX LGA 1150 mini ITX Intel Motherboard for $95

For AMD :

A6-6400K for $70 and Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI FM2 A88X Mini ITX board for $110 (over than $150)
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March 11, 2014 6:25:28 AM

tcb1005 said:
CTurbo said:
But he said he already has a ssd right? I think ssds are great for HTPC use because systems with ssds produce less heat and are therefor quieter than those that don't. A lot of miniITX motherboards come with wifi but they're not cheap.


So you need a case, and prefer a miniITX? And you need a motherboard, cpu, and power supply?


A compressed 4k movie is 160Gb. The SSD could store the OS I guess, but won't be able to hold any of these movies.


Not everyone stores the content on their HTPC. I store mine on a NAS, so being cool, quiet and fast is more important to me, and having the SDD means superfast boot times similar to any other appliance like a blu ray player if you use XBMC (or similar).
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March 11, 2014 6:38:42 AM

he have 128 SSD and "1TB external HDD". don't you think the movie is on the ext HDD? :D 
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March 11, 2014 6:39:31 AM

Erman Yudhistira said:
he have 128 SSD and "1TB external HDD". don't you think the movie is on the ext HDD? :D 


:lol:  that would be logical.
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March 11, 2014 6:41:17 AM

Here is what I would choose-
CPU- http://tinyurl.com/aeqruhv I chose an i3 because it supports Intel Clear video technology so it will be more capable of streaming HD videos.
Motherboard- http://tinyurl.com/pd2dx52 I chose it for the price
RAM- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... Good enough to get the job done
Case- http://tinyurl.com/oa8zx8 Chosen for the included PSU
PSU- Intergrated into case. It's not the best, but it will be ample for an HTPC.
Wireless- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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March 11, 2014 6:54:17 AM

guys, I want to give a HTPC system to my little brother as a gift. but unfortunately my brother is far away from me. i'm in asia and my brother in new york.
And he doesn't know anything about computer parts. what should i do? is there any online store that can build the system? or i have to buy a builded ready system?

I have considered to buy mini HTPC like Acer Revo or ASUS VivoPC. what you think about it? the bugdet is around $400.
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March 11, 2014 6:58:14 AM

Erman Yudhistira said:
guys, I want to give a HTPC system to my little brother as a gift. but unfortunately my brother is far away from me. i'm in asia and my brother in new york.
And he doesn't know anything about computer parts. what should i do? is there any online store that can build the system? or i have to buy a builded ready system?

I have considered to buy mini HTPC like Acer Revo or ASUS VivoPC. what you think about it? the bugdet is around $400.


Out of those two, the ASUS is better but I would be concerned with how it's graphics will preform.
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March 11, 2014 7:07:37 AM

CTurbo said:
But he said he already has a ssd right? I think ssds are great for HTPC use because systems with ssds produce less heat and are therefor quieter than those that don't. A lot of miniITX motherboards come with wifi but they're not cheap.

So you need a case, and prefer a miniITX? And you need a motherboard, cpu, and power supply?


You ask great questions and I appreciate the help. I don't prefer it, but I do like the smaller foot print, I am flexible. My top 3 choices I was thinking were: elite 130, BitFenix Prodigy, and Silverstone RVZ01 which I like a lot. I do need a CPU, MB, and PSU.

I don't know much about the AMD FX chips. I don't game and don't plan on doing that. I just want to be free of big cable and stream everything I can. XBMC with PLEX.
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March 11, 2014 6:37:02 PM

Erman Yudhistira said:
are there another online website store in your country that i can search for? microcentre.com doesn't have many option.
The best option for intel are :

Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz LGA 1150 Boxed for $50 and ASRock H87M-ITX LGA 1150 mini ITX Intel Motherboard for $95

For AMD :
A6-6400K for $70 and Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI FM2 A88X Mini ITX board for $110 (over than $150)


I'd go AMD over Pentium. I am not against i3, but I was told i3 was overkill since I wouldn't be gaming. I really need to understand i3 vs AMD. What AMD would compare against i3?
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March 11, 2014 7:15:46 PM

The reason some i3s are recommended because they come with strong integrated graphics. Pentiums do not. If you went with a Pentium, you would need to add a cheap video card too. i3s are great for regular use computers. They're not exactly beasts in the cpu department. I wouldn't really call them overkill.
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March 12, 2014 7:20:38 AM

I was hoping someone would say AMD A* or FX**, but so far the thread consensus seems to be i3. I have always used AMD in personal builds or buys. Let me ask the question this way just so I can compare.

What AMD chip or chips would compare the the i3?
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March 12, 2014 8:06:03 AM

jomak123 said:
I was hoping someone would say AMD A* or FX**, but so far the thread consensus seems to be i3. I have always used AMD in personal builds or buys. Let me ask the question this way just so I can compare.

What AMD chip or chips would compare the the i3?


In terms of CPU power none are as good, but in IGPU power even the A6 APU is better than the HD 2500 on that i3.

Do you intend on playing any games? If so, then get the best APU affordable, probably the A10 6800k (7850k is still pretty expensive), if not then you can pretty much get away with whatever is the cheapest. My HTPC doesnt do games, only hd video and it manages perfectly on XBMC and thats only got the Nvidia ION + Intel Atom, so you dont need much power.


Basically, that A6 6400k bundle from microcenter would be totally fine.
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March 12, 2014 9:15:41 AM

The ultimate HTPC!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/38zIe

Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor
Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler
ASRock H87M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
nMEDIAPC HTPC 1080P HTPC Case
Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)
Windows Media Center addon for Windows 8.1
Ceton InfiniTV-4 PCI-e


Base Total: $923.85
Mail-in Rebates: -$10.00
Shipping: $7.99
Total: $921.84
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March 12, 2014 9:20:20 AM

Eggz said:
The ultimate HTPC!

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/38zIe

Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor
Noctua NH-L9i 57.5 CFM CPU Cooler
ASRock H87M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard
A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Toshiba 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
nMEDIAPC HTPC 1080P HTPC Case
Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)
Windows Media Center addon for Windows 8.1
Ceton InfiniTV-4 PCI-e


Base Total: $923.85
Mail-in Rebates: -$10.00
Shipping: $7.99
Total: $921.84


I agree but I think the default cooler will be enough.
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March 12, 2014 9:28:18 AM

tcb1005 said:
I agree but I think the default cooler will be enough.

I keep forgetting that some CPUs come with a cooler. But at this price point, why not? :D 
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March 12, 2014 9:30:58 AM

Eggz said:
tcb1005 said:
I agree but I think the default cooler will be enough.

I keep forgetting that some CPUs come with a cooler. But at this price point, why not? :D 


True! Might as well make sure it runs as cool as possible. ;) 
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March 12, 2014 10:22:57 AM

A $920 HTPC that wont even play games (HD2500 is terrible), no thanks!
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March 12, 2014 10:34:18 AM

RobCrezz said:
A $920 HTPC that wont even play games (HD2500 is terrible), no thanks!

That's where they getch'ya. It begins to justify opting for the i5 and tossing in a video card.

My personal setup just has long-ish cables and does everything. It's hooked up in the corner to the TV, can run on a monitor, and it's super powerful. Sometimes it makes sense to consolidate, especially when you have laptops for basic use. I like it, but I know it's not for everyone.
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March 12, 2014 11:00:05 AM

RobCrezz said:
jomak123 said:
I was hoping someone would say AMD A* or FX**, but so far the thread consensus seems to be i3. I have always used AMD in personal builds or buys. Let me ask the question this way just so I can compare.

What AMD chip or chips would compare the the i3?


In terms of CPU power none are as good, but in IGPU power even the A6 APU is better than the HD 2500 on that i3.

Do you intend on playing any games? If so, then get the best APU affordable, probably the A10 6800k (7850k is still pretty expensive), if not then you can pretty much get away with whatever is the cheapest. My HTPC doesnt do games, only hd video and it manages perfectly on XBMC and thats only got the Nvidia ION + Intel Atom, so you dont need much power.


Basically, that A6 6400k bundle from microcenter would be totally fine.


No Gaming! It's just a HTPC hooked to my my 42" Plasma HDTV.
I am not dropping $921 on a htpc, this is why I wanted AMD chip vs i3 more expensive.
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March 12, 2014 11:26:30 AM

If you are only going to be streaming, why not buy a Roku or an Apple TV?
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March 12, 2014 11:27:13 AM

Quote:
I was hoping someone would say AMD A* or FX**, but so far the thread consensus seems to be i3. I have always used AMD in personal builds or buys. Let me ask the question this way just so I can compare.

What AMD chip or chips would compare the the i3?


My very first reply to this thread recommended an A6 or A8, and I stand by that. I personally use an A10, but it really is kind of overkill for HTPC because of it's graphics power more so than it's processing power.

I was more defending the i3, than I was recommending it. People are saying it's overkill, and I do not believe that. Some i3's igpus aren't even strong enough to be used in a HTPC. I listed the ones that are- 3225, 3245, 4130, 4130t, 4330, 4330t, and 4340.


Overall, A8s and A10s are equal to i3s in cpu power with the i3s stomping the AMDs in single thread power, but the AMDs offering more cores. The i3s have AMD beat in efficiency though which is kind of important in HTPCs. Basically you can't go wrong with any A8, A10, or one of the i3s listed above. A4s and A6s work well in HTPCs too if you don't spend a lot of time using the HTPC as a regular computer. If it's going to be doing double duty as HTPC and regular use computer than I don't recommend the dual core AMDs as they tend to be a little slow. *IF this will ONLY be used for media purposes, then you should just go with an A4 as it will be more than enough for that. No point in spending any more money on a faster cpu.


RobCrezz, the i3 4130 has Intel HD4400 graphics not HD2500.
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March 12, 2014 11:40:25 AM

CTurbo said:
Quote:
I was hoping someone would say AMD A* or FX**, but so far the thread consensus seems to be i3. I have always used AMD in personal builds or buys. Let me ask the question this way just so I can compare.

What AMD chip or chips would compare the the i3?


My very first reply to this thread recommended an A6 or A8, and I stand by that. I personally use an A10, but it really is kind of overkill for HTPC because of it's graphics power more so than it's processing power.

I was more defending the i3, than I was recommending it. People are saying it's overkill, and I do not believe that. Some i3's igpus aren't even strong enough to be used in a HTPC. I listed the ones that are- 3225, 3245, 4130, 4130t, 4330, 4330t, and 4340.


Overall, A8s and A10s are equal to i3s in cpu power with the i3s stomping the AMDs in single thread power, but the AMDs offering more cores. The i3s have AMD beat in efficiency though which is kind of important in HTPCs. Basically you can't go wrong with any A8, A10, or one of the i3s listed above. A4s and A6s work well in HTPCs too if you don't spend a lot of time using the HTPC as a regular computer. If it's going to be doing double duty as HTPC and regular use computer than I don't recommend the dual core AMDs as they tend to be a little slow. *IF this will ONLY be used for media purposes, then you should just go with an A4 as it will be more than enough for that. No point in spending any more money on a faster cpu.

RobCrezz, the i3 4130 has Intel HD4400 graphics not HD2500.


CT you have been very helpful and I appreciate it! Very much! I like the advice and explaining the pros and cons of each. It will be a stand alone htpc to my TV and I might browse here or there, but price is a bigger factor than i3 performance unless they can equal out when you add the mobo. I will have to research price options.

The video I posted is what I hope to do with the htpc, without gaming. I don't know how to game on a PC.

I thank everyone for your help and patience with a newb. The case is also a hard choice, just not sure what is best. It never ends.
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March 12, 2014 11:53:22 AM

What about OEM/tray processor instead of boxed? I found an OEM/tray way cheaper than the box version. AMD A6 5400
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March 12, 2014 11:56:50 AM

jomak123 said:
What about OEM/tray processor instead of boxed? I found an OEM/tray way cheaper than the box version. AMD A6 5400


Then that's great!
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