Intel vs AMD for light use HTPC

[jimithing78]

Hello all, just wanted to get some opinions on processors. I have an HTPC that my family uses mostly to stream movies from the internet and listen to iTunes. Up until about a week ago I had a Core 2 Duo E8400 paired with an Intel DP35DP board. Something is up with that pairing now - the system won't post. Not sure if it's the board or the processor - don't really care to investigate too much as the options for replacements of LGA 775 boards or processors are slim.

I'm trying to reuse most of the components so this doesn't break the bank on a computer that's used for such simple tasks. I've got a nice nMEDIAPC ATX HTPC case, 500 watt power supply, WD Raptor hard drive and an IDE DVD drive. It seems most motherboards don't have IDE connections anymore so I'll swap that for a SATA drive.

So I need to now decide if I want to go AMD or Intel. On the Intel side I know I'm looking at something from the i3 line. Most likely the i3-4160. On the AMD side it seems there are 2 lines to look at - A series and FX series. Correct me if I'm wrong but the FX series seems to be suited for multithreaded functions - media encoding and certain games. The A series has fewer cores like the i3? Is there something else I'm missing?

Based on those criteria it would seem that I should eliminate the FX series as it seems overkill for what I need. And it looks like in the A series the closest thing to the i3 is the A6? Any benefits of either one of those? I know the AMD needs more power - is my 500 watt power supply going to be sufficient? Thanks in advance.

 

[Nuckles_56]

I would go with the AMD APU as you don't need anything more powerful for the HTPC and that PSU is well and truly overkill for that machine

 

[mlga91]

For streaming videos and itunes, a i3 sounds like a overkill, a celeron/pentium will be more than enough, AMD APUS are good options too, A4, A6 cpus can do the job, if you plan light gaming on the living room, A10 cpus are serious budget performers.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

The 'A' series of processors are APUs, which basically means that the CPU and graphics card are integrated into the same piece of hardware. The idea behind it is to provide better graphical performance and a cost of CPU performance. An HTPC is neither graphically nor CPU intensive, so you won't benefit from an APU over any other processor.

A Core i3 is overkill, a dual core Pentium will do a fine job and they're dirt cheap. This is where I'd recommend you put your money, primarily because Pentiums run cooler, quieter and are more energy-efficient than an APU. This is particularly relevant in an HTPC, where air flow can be limited. Intel's integrated graphics are more than capable of streaming HD content, so don't let that concern you.

 

[RobCrezz]

If you want to game on it without a graphics card then APU. If you just want media with low power consumption then Pentium.

 

[jimithing78]

Thanks for the answers thus far. Let me add this - the microcenter by my house has the Intel Core i3-4160 for $99 and when I buy that particular processor I can also get $40 off any motherboard. So it makes the price very comparable to the AMD processor/mobo combo.

The Intel G3250 3.2GHz LGA 1150 is $49 and the Intel Celeron G1840 is $39.99 but I don't get the $40 mobo discount with those. So there's only a $10-$20 difference between them and the i3. That's why I was leaning towards the i3.

If I could find a core 2 duo again for cheap I would go that route. But the only ones I'm seeing are used or refurbished. Plus most of the MOBO's available only have 2 slots for DDR2 memory. I current have 4x 1GB DDR2 sticks so I would still have to re-buy memory if I went this route.

Micro center also has a bundle deal for the AMD A series starting with the A6. The A6 is $69.99 and then there's a $40 discount on a MOBO. So, again, only a $30 difference between the AMD A6 and Intel i3. Everything I've seen says that the Intel is better at single threaded processes like streaming or iTunes.

 

[RobCrezz]

Yeah then in that case, the i3 is a good deal.

 

[bicycle_repair_man]

Agreed, take the deal.