Choice of Processor for HTPC, Home Theater PC

Chris Ziemer

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Mar 3, 2014
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Hey all, yeah, I was thinking of getting either the processor that is the i5 4670k Haswell 3.4 GHz Quad Core, or this one i3 4130T Haswell 2.9 GHz Dual Core for an HTPC. I was thinking that I might be able to underclock and or undervrolt the more powerful one to be equivalent to the 2.9 because I'm concerned about generating heat/fan noise, and because it's only 40 dollars more. In addition, I might want to overclock it in the future. The TDP on the 2.9 GHZ is 35 W, and the 3.4 GHZ has a TDP of 84 W. Do you all think that I would be better off just sticking with the 2.9?

Thanks!
 
honestly, overclocking in an htpc is very hard to pull off due to heat, it is hard to get effective cooling in there. that said, undervolting and underclocking would help a lot for heat generation. the cpu you should get all comes down to what you want to do with the pc. If you are just looking to watch videos and surf the web the i3 would be more than up to the task.
 

Chris Ziemer

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Mar 3, 2014
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts Ethereal! I will take what you said and give it some serious consideration.
 

Chris Ziemer

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Mar 3, 2014
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Hmm, I'll have to look into those components. Yeah, you KNOW that I want complete silence if possible! haha :)

Thanks ElMoIsEviL!