Best Low Power Haswell i5 for HTPC

[Sawbill]

My HTPC needs replacing (it is old, big, ugly, noisy and consumes too much power). I have narrowed down many components but and still trying to decide on the CPU. I favoure a new Haswell chip in a low power form. My two choices appear to be:
i5-4570T
i5-4670T

Main differences are:
35W vs 45W
2 core vs 4 core
HT vs no HT
2.9GHz vs 2.3 GHz
4MB cache vs 6MB
1.15 GHz vs 1.20 GHz Graphics
The Intel list prices are within 10%.

So which would be better for TV Recording and Video playback etc?

I suspect both would have ample horsepower, but I'd like to choose the most future proof option. My suspicion is that 2 cores (with HT) and higher clock speed vs slower 4 cores would be the most significant difference. The faster speed being better as there won't be much multi-threaded action. But I could be wrong.

 

[Rooster212]

As you say, its basically clock speed vs cores!. Future proof terms I'd say go for 4 cores, but both will be around the same performance for multi threaded applications I'd say once you factor in the extra clock speed... wait and see for benchmarks before making your decision I'd say, many people are bound to have the same question as you!

 

[Chris Beard]

If it's an HTPC go with the lower power option. HTPC tasks were performed excellently by processors of several generations ago.

 

[samcat]

Been though the exact same questions lately.. Settled on the 4670t

Passively cooled in a Streacom FC5 case (8gb ram, ssd, blu-ray), gets luke warm (40oC-45oC)! Barely ticking over when playing 1080p blu-rays, and am surprised at how playable gamed (grid 2 and DMC) are using the HD4600.

Good luck with your build.

 

[medseven]

I would go with the 4 core option. There might be 600mhz difference in the base speeds, but only 300mhz difference in the turbo speeds. Also 4 cores and better graphics, and to be honest the power usage is so low with both the difference is minimal!

 

[mikedigitales]

If it's purely HTPC, so video recording and playing back, i'd go for the cheapest option, dual core is more than enough.

 

[Sawbill]

So far two votes for the i5-4570T and two for the i5-4670T

I may have to go for the 4670T as the other is not available.

smacat, I plan to use the Streacom FC5 too, so I would be interested which motherboard you used. (I'll probably go for the ASRock H87M-ITX, unless I change my mind.)