CPU for Media Center

[supersmecher]

What CPU should I buy for a Media Center, considering that it is going to run many hours per day I am thinking to a lower voltage one . Also if you have any motherboard recommendation it will help! Based on the past experience I know Intel is better because is not getting so hot and I do not want noise in my living room.

Thanks!

 

[supersmecher]

Why would I add an i7 on a Media Center pc, it's not clear for me?

 

[simon12]

It depends how you want to balance CPU power against heat, power and noise. Low power, heat and noise the AMD A350 is ideal you can put it in a very small case, I have used this http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=E350M1 . If you need a bit more CPU power but not as good graphics an Athlon II x3 or a pentium GXX would be good but use more power you could add a GPU to either to get better graphics but again its more power. Also Llano could be worth looking at for its all in one CPU and GPU.

 

[monkeysweat]

what is your budget? lower power usage i would go with new fusion a series (140ish) and a cheap MB (80ish) 4 GB ram 40$ all other stuff at your own discretion, although fanless PSU is pretty good, it is expensive, antec earthwatts 380 is pretty quiet and less than half the price.
if you want to buy intel, it's a bit more of a difficult choice as anything other than the top end parts (unlocked parts) is the lower end graphics,, however I think they should be good enough for HTPC duties, you won't be trying to play any games either.
I would stay away from a solution that requires a video card if you are really worried about power draw.

 

[supersmecher]

Best answer selected by supersmecher.