Lowest cost Intel CPU that wont botteneck HTCP

[virtus822]

I am going to be building a Home Theater PC soon and I am wondering what the lowest cost Intel CPU I should go for. I do plan on using an discrete/dedicated GPU so integrated graphics is not going to be important for me.

I have a few ideas in mind:

Intel Celeron G1850  -  This one is the bottom of the Haswell refreshes

Intel Pentium G3220 -  Is this any step up from the Celeron?

Intel Pentium G3240 - This is just the refresh of the previous G3220.

Intel Core i3-4130T - I know this low power i3 will do the trick, but is it necessary as I dont need the improved HD 4400?

 

Links:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116999&cm_re=1150-_-19-116-999-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116950&cm_re=1150-_-19-116-950-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116998&cm_re=1150_cpu-_-19-116-998-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116947&cm_re=1150-_-19-116-947-_-Product

 

Thanks for your feedback!

[wng_kingsley7]

@virtus822 I would get the core i3, if you don't want it in yout htpx home theatre system it'll work in a server board if that doesn't work.

You still got enough processing power.

[Vader]

I'm sure the Celeron will do the trick. 

[Enderman]

I would get the i3 because its a hyperthreaded dual core, so basically 4 cores which is really good for video playback and processing (compressing and decompressing).

[Createinator]

Celeron should be enough and if you do not need the "low power" option go for the G3220.

[ejm_110]

Look at my sig. I play 720p-1080p BD rips, no issues. Snappy UI, cannot remember what skin.

 

EDIT:

Based on cpuboss comparison, G1850 is slightly faster than my G1610 so you will not have any problems.

[virtus822]

Thanks for all of your prompt responses!

 

It is looking like I can get by with the Celeron...

I know that the i3 would work but I'm not sure its worth twice the cost of the Celeron. For those who suggested it, do you think it is worth it? (For 1080p movies and web browsing)

 

@ejm_110 Do you not have a dedicated graphics card in your setup?

[ejm_110]

Thanks for all of your prompt responses!

 

It is looking like I can get by with the Celeron...

I know that the i3 would work but I'm not sure its worth twice the cost of the Celeron. For those who suggested it, do you think it is worth it? (For 1080p movies and web browsing)

 

@ejm_110 Do you not have a dedicated graphics card in your setup?

 

 

None. Not needed yet, maybe when 4k comes.

[dalekphalm]

I am going to be building a Home Theater PC soon and I am wondering what the lowest cost Intel CPU I should go for. I do plan on using an discrete/dedicated GPU so integrated graphics is not going to be important for me.

I have a few ideas in mind:

Intel Celeron G1850  -  This one is the bottom of the Haswell refreshes

Intel Pentium G3220 -  Is this any step up from the Celeron?

Intel Pentium G3240 - This is just the refresh of the previous G3220.

Intel Core i3-4130T - I know this low power i3 will do the trick, but is it necessary as I dont need the improved HD 4400?

 

Links:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116999&cm_re=1150-_-19-116-999-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116950&cm_re=1150-_-19-116-950-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116998&cm_re=1150_cpu-_-19-116-998-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116947&cm_re=1150-_-19-116-947-_-Product

 

Thanks for your feedback!

If I may ask, why did you choose to get a dedicated discrete graphics card? It is totally unnecessary and useless for video playback and streaming. That i3 would easily handle all of the graphics processing needed. Even in 4k video, you may not need one. Heck, the Celeron or Pentium CPU's are also enough by themselves for 1080p certainly.

[ShadowCaptain]

G3220 FTW, its a very capable beast of a processor for the money

 

Also yep dont need a dedicated card even for HD movies or Steam in home streaming

[virtus822]

If I may ask, why did you choose to get a dedicated discrete graphics card? It is totally unnecessary and useless for video playback and streaming. That i3 would easily handle all of the graphics processing needed. Even in 4k video, you may not need one. Heck, the Celeron or Pentium CPU's are also enough by themselves for 1080p certainly.

You know, I have always used dedicated graphics cards in all my builds but since this one only needs to do 2D graphics and needs to be power efficient, a discrete card does sound worthless. Im just use to doing it that way and I have a Radeon 6670 laying around... But if the little pentium G3240 will do the trick then I see no point in wasting power with the discrete card.

[dalekphalm]

You know, I have always used dedicated graphics cards in all my builds but since this one only needs to do 2D graphics and needs to be power efficient, a discrete card does sound worthless. Im just use to doing it that way and I have a Radeon 6670 laying around... But if the little pentium G3240 will do the trick then I see no point in wasting power with the discrete card.

Indeed the G3240 will definitely suffice for graphics power. And if later down the line 4K content just proves too demanding, then you can decide to drop that 6670 in there. Leave it out for now until you find that you need it.

[virtus822]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I'm going to go with the Intel Pentium G3240. I will comment again once I get everything up and running and let you guys know how well it works.  

[GloriousPain]

I am going to be building a Home Theater PC soon and I am wondering what the lowest cost Intel CPU I should go for. I do plan on using an discrete/dedicated GPU so integrated graphics is not going to be important for me.

I have a few ideas in mind:

Intel Celeron G1850  -  This one is the bottom of the Haswell refreshes

Intel Pentium G3220 -  Is this any step up from the Celeron?

Intel Pentium G3240 - This is just the refresh of the previous G3220.

Intel Core i3-4130T - I know this low power i3 will do the trick, but is it necessary as I dont need the improved HD 4400?

 

Links:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116999&cm_re=1150-_-19-116-999-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116950&cm_re=1150-_-19-116-950-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116998&cm_re=1150_cpu-_-19-116-998-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116947&cm_re=1150-_-19-116-947-_-Product

 

Thanks for your feedback!

None I'd get an AMD APU Kaveri is known for being able to output 2160p....

[imthewalrus]

I build an htpc for 1080p content using a Celeron 530 which I the cheapest processor from lga 1155, it handles it great, even for daily multi tasking it worked fine along with an ssd and 4 gigs of ram. I have also managed to even use steam in home streaming so really any processor will do fine.

[Fgtfv567]

I think an i3 would be just fine for an HTPC, you could go lower but I'm afraid of it bottlenecking. Use an SSD to get a little more responsiveness out of it

Edit: try using an AMD APU like an A4 or an A6, they're dirt cheap and have both a CPU and GPU in them

[Fgtfv567]

I would get the i3 because its a hyperthreaded dual core, so basically 4 cores which is really good for video playback and processing (compressing and decompressing).

Enderman hyperthreading does not double your cores, go watch linus as fast as possible on hyper threading

[Enderman]

Enderman hyperthreading does not double your cores, go watch linus as fast as possible on hyper threading

I know what hyperthreading is. It halves your cores, giving you twice as many at half the performance. This helps for parallel processing that uses up to 4 threads such as video editing and rendering.

[dalekphalm]

I know what hyperthreading is. It halves your cores, giving you twice as many at half the performance. This helps for parallel processing that uses up to 4 threads such as video editing and rendering.

That's not entirely correct either (though it certainly is better than thinking it as double the amount of cores). What it does is allow any extra or wasted processing time to be filled here are there with requests.

 

Example: The core is processing a task, but needs to wait on the results of another core. While it's waiting, it can switch to another task that can be completed quickly. Thus you as the user wouldn't notice any slowdown.

 

Obviously it's a lot more complicated then that in real life, but it doesn't "halve" the performance of the cores either.

[Enderman]

That's not entirely correct either (though it certainly is better than thinking it as double the amount of cores). What it does is allow any extra or wasted processing time to be filled here are there with requests.

 

Example: The core is processing a task, but needs to wait on the results of another core. While it's waiting, it can switch to another task that can be completed quickly. Thus you as the user wouldn't notice any slowdown.

 

Obviously it's a lot more complicated then that in real life, but it doesn't "halve" the performance of the cores either.

Well yes it does half the cores because it doesn't magically create more transistors out of thin air. It just divides a core so it can do 2 things at once, which basically means they each get 50% of the transistors in that single core.

[dalekphalm]

Well yes it does half the cores because it doesn't magically create more transistors out of thin air. It just divides a core so it can do 2 things at once, which basically means they each get 50% of the transistors in that single core.

Again, that's an extreme over-simplification that's not really true.

 

Physically speaking, yes the number of transistors does not change obviously, but it's not as simple as just saying "Okay Virtual core 0 uses 50% of the transistors, and Virtual core 1 uses the other 50%". That's not how Hyperthreading works at all.

[stevv]

Thanks for all of your prompt responses!

 

It is looking like I can get by with the Celeron...

I know that the i3 would work but I'm not sure its worth twice the cost of the Celeron. For those who suggested it, do you think it is worth it? (For 1080p movies and web browsing)

 

 

Some stuff to consider:

• Because a browsers are using the GPU for processing (not just 3D graphics, do chrome://gpu/).
• HD4400 if you need 3D blu-ray playback.
• web browsing , software, online videos will be more compressed, and are becoming more complex and less optimized, and even more processor intensive.  Hyperthreading and extra GHz can also help some. 
• The graphics is powerful enough for 3D games (crysis 2 @720 even at low setting lol), but w/o extra graphics card power.
• depending on what OS you are using, you might need to turn off all the fancy animations on lesser graphics power.

Pricewise, I would go with at least the regular i3 (not the low power version). 

As for processing performance, the i3 and G3240/20 should perform similar.    Note, overall performance may differ at from 10%-20% depending on optimization for multiple threads and gpu.

Don't go for the celeron, the 2MB cache will be a party pooper.

[virtus822]

I went with the Pentium G3240. I have been using it for a month now and it handles 1080p content just fine. For anyone building a streaming machine, the newer Pentiums are a fine choice. Thanks for all your responses!

[KingKeith55]

Even a Pentium 4 would do the trick for a home theater...

[virtus822]

The Pentium G3240 is working great for my build, it has PLENTY of power for a HTPC. Handles 4K well, Bluray is great, and obviously any other method of video playback. If you plan to use it for games, it does not run smoothly with the exception of Minesweeper.

All in all, great processor. Happy with its price to power ratio.