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Intel vs AMD for HTPC?

Silent_Xaxal
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A living room PC has been an idea I've considered for a good month now and something I might put on the cards within the next year or so. However, what I wanted to know was if there were going to be any real benefits for choosing either brand (CPU performance, power consumption, and mobo features are my main point of comparison), if all other factors are considered equal (The PC would be have an Nvidia GPU inside, regardless of CPU/APU).

 

It will likely be connected to a 1080p HDTV, seeing as my folks (And myself included) have little to no intention of picking up a 4K TV anytime soon, or at all.

We all need a daily check-up from the neck up to avoid stinkin' thinkin' which ultimately leads to the hardening of attitudes. - Zig Ziglar

The sad fact about atheists is that they stand for nothing while standing against things that have brought much good to the world. Now ain't that sad. - Anonymous

Replace fear with faith and fear will disappear. - Billy Cox  ......................................Also, Legalism, Education-bred Arrogance and Hubris-based Assumption are BULLSHIT.

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If it's for gaming (which if you're going for a gpu I'd assume it is), then Intel > AMD. 

 

Gaming performance-wise: i5 > i3/FX8 > FX6. 

 

If you're not gaming, than an APU/Pentium would be good and you don't even need a gpu. 

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lmao for netflix and movies pick up a G3258 for 70 bucks and an H81 board. 

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Besides performance of any part you pick out the only thing you have to watch is heat output. If you're putting it inside a TV stand or another small area those places often have horrible air flow. As well as some of the HTPC cases lacking good air flow. With either processor you get I'd consider undervolting to find the minimum it will still run stock at. I'd also go with cpu + gpu instead of APU. Helps spread out the surface area.

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If it's for gaming (which if you're going for a gpu I'd assume it is), then Intel > AMD. 

 

Gaming performance-wise: i5 > i3/FX8 > FX6. 

 

If you're not gaming, than an APU/Pentium would be good and you don't even need a gpu. 

 

Gaming is almost certainly in the cards. However, is there really that siginificant of a performance difference between a haswell i5-4690K, a Kaveri A10-7850K, or a FX-8350? (Assuming I use a ITX 970 as the GPU)

 

For an htpc just go for the cheapest possible. You dont exactly need a powerhouse for netflix

 

Since I'm in the Philippines, I don't exactly have access to netflix (or Hulu for that matter). I would, however, use it as a video streaming box(Crunchyroll, I have access to) and as a pseudo-DVD/Blu-Ray player.

 

We all need a daily check-up from the neck up to avoid stinkin' thinkin' which ultimately leads to the hardening of attitudes. - Zig Ziglar

The sad fact about atheists is that they stand for nothing while standing against things that have brought much good to the world. Now ain't that sad. - Anonymous

Replace fear with faith and fear will disappear. - Billy Cox  ......................................Also, Legalism, Education-bred Arrogance and Hubris-based Assumption are BULLSHIT.

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Gaming is almost certainly in the cards. However, is there really that siginificant of a performance difference between a haswell i5-4690K, a Kaveri A10-7850K, or a FX-8350? (Assuming I use a ITX 970 as the GPU)

Yes, even a locked i5-4440 will outperform the APU and a heavily overclocked 8350 in gaming. 

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I would go intel because if I had a home theatre system I would not want loud fans trying to cool a hot CPU because of inefficiency.

SO for silence I would go intel.

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Yes, even a locked i5-4440 will outperform the APU and a heavily overclocked 8350 in gaming. 

 

Would that be significant enough to consider when I'll likely be using this HTPC in conjunction with a 1080p TV?

We all need a daily check-up from the neck up to avoid stinkin' thinkin' which ultimately leads to the hardening of attitudes. - Zig Ziglar

The sad fact about atheists is that they stand for nothing while standing against things that have brought much good to the world. Now ain't that sad. - Anonymous

Replace fear with faith and fear will disappear. - Billy Cox  ......................................Also, Legalism, Education-bred Arrogance and Hubris-based Assumption are BULLSHIT.

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Would that be significant enough to consider when I'll likely be using this HTPC in conjunction with a 1080p TV?

TV or monitor, 1080p is still 1080p. 

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i5-4690k || Seidon 240m || GTX780 ACX || MSI Z97s SLI Plus || 8GB 2400mhz || 250GB 840 Evo || 1TB WD Blue || H440 (Black/Blue) || Windows 10 Pro || Dell P2414H & BenQ XL2411Z || Ducky Shine Mini || Logitech G502 Proteus Core

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TV or monitor, 1080p is still 1080p. 

 

So would the performance benefit be worth it? (IE Choosing the i5 over the APU or the FX chip)

We all need a daily check-up from the neck up to avoid stinkin' thinkin' which ultimately leads to the hardening of attitudes. - Zig Ziglar

The sad fact about atheists is that they stand for nothing while standing against things that have brought much good to the world. Now ain't that sad. - Anonymous

Replace fear with faith and fear will disappear. - Billy Cox  ......................................Also, Legalism, Education-bred Arrogance and Hubris-based Assumption are BULLSHIT.

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So would the performance benefit be worth it?

Well, an i5 will seriously outperform anything AMD has to offer while running cooler and giving you a viable upgrade path should you need it. 

 

If the choice is a X4 760k + R9 280 vs. 4690k + R7 260x, then the 760k would be better. So it depends what pricing is like and what games you intend to play. But for gaming, your best bet would be to put the money you save by going with an i5-4440 over a 4690k and putting it towards a better gpu. 

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i5-4690k || Seidon 240m || GTX780 ACX || MSI Z97s SLI Plus || 8GB 2400mhz || 250GB 840 Evo || 1TB WD Blue || H440 (Black/Blue) || Windows 10 Pro || Dell P2414H & BenQ XL2411Z || Ducky Shine Mini || Logitech G502 Proteus Core

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FreeNAS 9.3 - Stable || Xeon E3 1230v2 || Supermicro X9SCM-F || 32GB Crucial ECC DDR3 || 3x4TB WD Red (JBOD) || SYBA SI-PEX40064 sata controller || Corsair CX500m || NZXT Source 210.

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get a pentium g3220/3240 with a cheap h81 board with onboard hdmi

Not good for gaming. 

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i5-4690k || Seidon 240m || GTX780 ACX || MSI Z97s SLI Plus || 8GB 2400mhz || 250GB 840 Evo || 1TB WD Blue || H440 (Black/Blue) || Windows 10 Pro || Dell P2414H & BenQ XL2411Z || Ducky Shine Mini || Logitech G502 Proteus Core

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FreeNAS 9.3 - Stable || Xeon E3 1230v2 || Supermicro X9SCM-F || 32GB Crucial ECC DDR3 || 3x4TB WD Red (JBOD) || SYBA SI-PEX40064 sata controller || Corsair CX500m || NZXT Source 210.

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Well, an i5 will seriously outperform anything AMD has to offer while running cooler and giving you a viable upgrade path should you need it. 

 

If the choice is a X4 760k + R9 280 vs. 4690k + R7 260x, then the 760k would be better. So it depends what pricing is like and what games you intend to play. 

 

Games will likely be similar to what I'm currently playing on my current rig (Minus any RTS games). I do intend to get GTA V for PC.

 

As for GPU, I'm already eyeing the ITX 970 and monitoring prices. Want to at least keep it at 60 frames.

We all need a daily check-up from the neck up to avoid stinkin' thinkin' which ultimately leads to the hardening of attitudes. - Zig Ziglar

The sad fact about atheists is that they stand for nothing while standing against things that have brought much good to the world. Now ain't that sad. - Anonymous

Replace fear with faith and fear will disappear. - Billy Cox  ......................................Also, Legalism, Education-bred Arrogance and Hubris-based Assumption are BULLSHIT.

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i3 4160/i5 4440 , it has an igpu consumes very little  is very thermally efficient.

 

Go with that.

 

If you want to add a discrete gpu later you will be fine.

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Definitely go with Intel. There aren't even any matx boards on the am3+ socket that could support the fx 8320 without risking melting the vrms. With a 970 an i5 4440 would be the cheapest CPU which wouldn't bottleneck it. An i3 would also be a good choice but in some games it would bottleneck.

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Intel, most cards are quieter and lower TDP in general.

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If it's got a dedicated GPU then throw in an i3-4360 or i5-4440. Otherwise AMD's APUs are great for HTPCs, especially the low wattage parts like the A8-7600... absolutely creams any of Intel's offerings in integrated graphics, and can do it at 45 watts.

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If it's got a dedicated GPU then throw in an i3-4360 or i5-4440. Otherwise AMD's APUs are great for HTPCs, especially the low wattage parts like the A8-7600... absolutely creams any of Intel's offerings in integrated graphics, and can do it at 45 watts.

correct me if i am wrong the AM1 5350 has similar performance to the A8 for a much lower wattage

 

and because it uses iTX boards and uses external power brick

 

it will be a great HTPC next to the AV Receiver

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