Intel or AMD for HTPC? silent,cool,power

[13shane13]

Hi there,

I have decided to build a HTPC for my living room. For few months I have been looking into Intel setup with a Intel Core i3-3225 but recently my friend told me about the new AMD A10-6800 or AMD A10-6800K that are better for HTPC.

i'm currently puzzled on witch side i should go for.

What im looking to do on this HTPC is: watching blue rays, downloading movies, music, internet, Autocad and Revit. Also time to time i would like to play little games.

I'm also looking into low power consumption and quiet operation.

please let me know your opinions

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: next week

BUDGET RANGE: 500-800

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: HTPC(blu-ray, 1080p mkv playback, bitstreaming of HD Audio), light gaming
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
OVERCLOCKING: No.
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080

thank you

 

[vinhn]

On a budget - AMD
On the things you want(Silent,Cool,Power) - Intel

But overall for your daily usage, the AMD A10 is better than the i3 at that price point. I would suggest a FX6300 though
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286
a little bit cheaper.

 

[KareemGT]

Buddy , the best CPU for Editing , blue ray . HTPC .... is the 8 core FX-8320 Processor for 160 $

it's the best processor in the world for the price . check the benchmarks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+FX-8320+Eight-Core

since it's 8 cores that means it's beast for multithreaded apps .

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i3-3225-vs-AMD-FX-8320
check the performance using all cores scores .

 

[burdenbound]

I would go with the AMD A8 or A10. That way you don't have to spend money on a standalone graphics card so it is cheaper and uses less resources(heat). I would look into an aftermarket low profile CPU cooler so it runs cool and quiet in a small chassis.

 

[maddogfargo]

Typical HTPC is used for surfing and playback of audio/video. A dual core or quad core will be fine for this.

Whether or not you go with integrated graphics or a discreet card, make sure it has hardware accelleration for playback. HDMI is also a commonly used connection so look for that in your motherboard or graphics card.

If you are going to use it as a DVR and for editing then you want to look at an editing level rig. This will require a beefier CPU, video input/capture, and more storage space than a typical PC, possibly even RAID.

 

[13shane13]

I will only be using the Integrated graphic unit by the processor to reduce power consumption and heat build up.

 

[BeastLeeX]

The A10-5800K is your best choice in my opinion, grab that with 1866 ram. You could also see if FM2+ boards are released, and get Kaveri or Excavator after.

 

[jaguarskx]

From a power consumption point of view an Intel core i3 or i5 consumes less power compared to AMD's FX-6300 / FX-8350 (which is just slightly faster than the FX-8320). Below are idle power consumption and when the CPU is stressed using Prime95. If the graphics core was also stressed, then the power measurements would be higher.

While the Intel HD 4000 graphics core is not the fastest iGPU around, at least it will not be necessary to buy a graphics card so surf and watch movies. Playing games is a different matter though unless low resolution (1366x768) and either low or medium quality graphics (depending on the game) is acceptable. However, with an AMD FX CPU a graphics card is required, unless the motherboard has an iGPU, but those iGPUs tends to be weaker than Intel's iGPU. The iGPUs in AMD's APUs are a different matter.

 

[jaguarskx]

With regards to an Intel i3 or i5 compared to AMD's A10-6800k, the i3/i5 still uses less power, but the difference is not as large when compared to AMD's FX series. In the below chart both the i5-3540 and the i5-3570k both use less power than the A10-6800k when idling and when the CPU is stressed. If the iGPU was stressed as well, then the power consumption would be greater. An i3-3225 would use a little less power.

Intel's HD 4000 is almost as powerful as a Radoen HD 5570. AMD's integrated Radeon HD 8670D paired up with 2133MHz DDR3 RAM is equal to a Radeon HD 6670 w/ DDR3 RAM. That places the Radeon HD 8670's performance in between the Radeon HD 5570 and Radeon HD 5670.

If a Radeon HD 7750 was added to the i5-3470 which consumes 91w under CPU stress and the Radeon HD 7750 was stressed as well, then it would still consumes less than the A10-6800k with only the CPU stressed with Prime95; 145w. The Radeon HD 7750 consumes 43w maximum power. Therefore, with a 100% stressed CPU and 100% stressed GPU the i5-3470 + Radeon HD 7750 consumes 134w.

While an i5-3470 + Radeon HD 7750 will cost more than an AMD A10-6800k, it will consumes less power and offer better gaming performance than the A10-6800k alone. As mentioned the integrated Radeon HD 8670D with 2133MHz RAM (which costs more than 1600MHz RAM that an Intel i3/i5 would need) is only half way between the performance of the Radeon HD 5570 and HD 5670. The Radeon HD 7750 is equal to the Radeon HD 5770 in performance.

 

[jaguarskx]

Peak and Maximum power consumption of the Radeon HD 7750. I would note, that getting a Radeon HD 7750 which exhaust hot air out the back of the card will reduce internal temps.

 

[jsan66]

The real question is if you are going to be adding a graphics card. The dedicated graphics on the A series kicks the crap out of anything intel has on the market right now. If you are going to use a graphics card, then Intel is the way to go.
Here is a comparison of the for you.
http://

 

[Supahos]

But with video playback and audio streaming as his two priorities there is no reason to buy anything above an I3. Any processor is capable of that, you can buy one of the lower wattage ones or a Pentium and do the same thing and nearly create no heat. That would still allow some decent gaming but its the lowest priority he has.