HTPC Build: AM2+/940BE or AM3/140

LPC-6

LPC-6

LPC-6

Associate
Joined
19 Jul 2011
Posts
37
I'm having a bit of a dilemma here with my HTPC build. I have the following 2 sets of parts:

GA-M68M-S2H
AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE
2x2GB DDR2 800mhz

OR

GA-880GM-UD2H
AMD Sempron 140 (for some reason won't unlock on this board, but will on others)
2x2GB DDR3 1333mhz

I can't really decide which set to go with, and unfortunately my 940BE is AM2 and doesn't fit on the better mobo.

The first bundle has stronger pure processing power, but consumes more power, where as the second bundle has a better integrated graphics card but less processing power, and also leaves me with a pretty easy upgrade when I decide to replace the CPU.

Looking for advice / views. I'm using VGA for now (because my TV doesn't have HDMI).

I'd prefer to keep my heat generation low, but I also like my boot times low (as I hibernate rather than standby) and my menus as smooth as possible.

Am running an SSD on this as well.

Opinions/thoughts would be appreciated.
 
The second one. The Sempron will be fine for HTPC stuff as the integrated GPU on that board will handle a lot of the decoding. Of course, it's also low power and thus generates less heat than the quad-core Phenom.
 
do you think the integrated graphics makes a huge difference between the two? enough to make up for the difference in processing power? i'm so use to builds having a gfx card, but wanted to existing parts i had rather than spending more
 
There will be negligible difference between the two onboard igp's. If your planning on playing blu ray discs or rips then consider a cheap £20 radeon hd5450 for smoother playback. The hardware acceleration will also reduce the load on the CPU. My athlon X2 240 (with a 5450) typically sits around 50% usage during 720p video in XBMC.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom