HTPC, go i3 or 5670?

[DELTAsnake]

With the new parts aimed at the HTPC market from Intel and ATi I'm rethinking what I'm going to put in my HTPC. I want to playback Blu-ray at 1080p with Dolby TrueHD, HD podcast like Revision 3's stuff and record HDTV.

I'm trying to work out if I should go with a Core i3 and IGP which will consume less power but have less performance, or go with a AMD CPU and the new 5670 which will give better 3D performance but suck down more power. The cost is almost the same with both builds.

I'm hesitant to go with the 5670 because or extra power draw and I'm not as familiar with AMD's CPU/chipset lineup.

Should I go i3 or 5670 for this build?

 

[obsidian86]

amd for sure

 

[Silvune]

5670s don't use that much power, it doesn't even need a power connector. It would add 60w at most to the total system power usage at load. So if you are going to decide against a 5670 I hope it ends up being for a different reason.

 

[cschuele]

It would add 60w at most to the total system power usage at load

I'd go with the i3, 60W on the videocard is a lot considering its 69W for the CPU and Integrated graphics comnbined.

 

[BlueCat57]

i3 and 5670 sounds great. Forget the IGP. Check out Tom's video card chart for the reason why. The best IGP is several levels down from the 5670.

I curious as to which mobo you chose.

 

[builderbobftw]

Neither can Plany Games well, So waht's the point of comparing theM?

I would NEVER want to pay for somethign that slow.

(Yes, It is slower than the 4850, Be a wide margin)

 

[shortstuff_mt]

This is an old thread, and what does playing games have to do with the OP's question about a HTPC? The integrated GPU on an i3 is a great choice for a HTPC.

 

[builderbobftw]

Yep.^.

My point was that IGP is a better option than a 5670, Since it's uses less power, is 100$ cheaper, and the 5670 can't game well (good enoguh) either.

 

[batuchka]

Neither - 785G IGP, and a mobo with BIOS out for PhenomII X6
$377 AR

Negative on i3 - overpriced and moment you move out of a clarkdale based processor bye bye IGP

 

[builderbobftw]

I don't think the i3 is overpriced at 120$.

It's faster than the 100$ AMD CPUs and Slower than the 150$ 955, So it's pring is perfectly fair.