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HTPC CPU

ZXSpectrum

ZXSpectrum

ZXSpectrum

Soldato
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
12,030
Location
Derby
I am trying to decide what CPU/GPU is best to use for a HTPC i am currently upgrading. I currently have a couple of CPUs (Intel Core2Duo E8600 and a Intel Core2Quad Q9650) along with a Zotac M-ITX Board, memory etc but was thinking about flogging all the parts (Along with a couple of more motherboards i have, coolers etc) and replacing with either a i7-3570K(Or maybe even one of the lower powered ones coming out) with the best passive Geforce card or an AMD A10-5800K with a 6670 Hybrid Crossfire. I will be using with Jriver and running the Red October HQ renderer as its supposed to work fantastically on a projector running 720p.

Any HTPC people that know or have experience using either?
 
I7 will be overkill for a htpc.

mine runs a intel celeron G540 with a ATI 5450 for HDMI output.

An AMD A10-5800K will most likely be enough on its own but I've never used the programs your mentioning.
 
Yeah Sorry that should have been I5.. I have loads of stuff i can run HTPC on its just that the Red October Renderer that uses MadVR is really powerhungry and needs a pretty good CPU/GPU for some of the higher end filtering/rendering.
 
Skyline said:
Yeah Sorry that should have been I5.. I have loads of stuff i can run HTPC on its just that the Red October Renderer that uses MadVR is really powerhungry and needs a pretty good CPU/GPU for some of the higher end filtering/rendering.
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go for an I5 then and get a cheaper gpu 7850 or 7770/50
 
Get yourself a Xeon E3 1230 V2 (socket 1155). It'll be better for rendering than the i5 and it costs about the same. It also has hyper threading which the i5 doesn't. I'm about to build a similar system with this CPU
 
My cost price seems to be the same and the spec on the Xeon is a little better in some places and not in others (100Mhz less on stock and turbo, 69w instead of 77w and more cache and hyperthreading) Obviously there is no overclocking but thats not really what it will be used for.

Hummmm.. Cheers.. :)
 
Skyline said:
Think it will be Geforce as i am pretty sure that MadVR can use Cuda.
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AFAIK, you can if you install the latest LAV filters. (they also have the same for intels quicksync and DVXA which should work with AMD graphics.)

FTR I'm using a AMD A10-5700 that was hovering around the 40% mark for blu-ray playback with MPC-HC and MadVR. Not got any encoded 1080p MKV's on my HTPC yet but I would hazard a guess CPU usage for running those would be the same.
 
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passey89 said:
I7 will be overkill for a htpc.
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That's a strange statement.. It wouldn't be overkill for someone who wants to run games on there HTPC etc. The CPU a person needs is entirely individual for there targeted use...


We use the Xeon 1230 V2 in our HTPC, has i7 Ivybridge performance i5 price but runs cooler and quieter than the 3770's due to having no crappy integrated graphics.. Stays cool and quiet with the stock Intel cooler...
 
Boomstick777 said:
That's a strange statement.. It wouldn't be overkill for someone who wants to run games on there HTPC etc. The CPU a person needs is entirely individual for there targeted use...


We use the Xeon 1230 V2 in our HTPC, has i7 Ivybridge performance i5 price but runs cooler and quieter than the 3770's due to having no crappy integrated graphics.. Stays cool and quiet with the stock Intel cooler...
Click to expand...

I7 is overkill for gaming on any machine.

difference between an I5 and I7 for gaming is very little
 
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