Pentium for basic streaming in an HTPC?

[Spork829]

I acquired a random SFF Dell PC that I'm planning to make into an HTPC for the family, since they're currently running one of those awful Samsung smart TV's with poor performance, a stupid UI and endless issues. It has a Pentium G3220 currently. Assuming that it's accompanied by an SSD and ample amounts of RAM, would that CPU be sufficient for 1080p TV/movie streaming? Or should a little more be spent on an upgrade to an i3? 

[Potato*Salad]

i3 will be better but i don't see the Pentium failing this...

[aisle9]

7 minutes ago, Spork829 said:

I acquired a random SFF Dell PC that I'm planning to make into an HTPC for the family, since they're currently running one of those awful Samsung smart TV's with poor performance, a stupid UI and endless issues. It has a Pentium G3220 currently. Assuming that it's accompanied by an SSD and ample amounts of RAM, would that CPU be sufficient for 1080p TV/movie streaming? Or should a little more be spent on an upgrade to an i3? 

I'd keep the Pentium and grab a cheap, used low-profile 710 or R7 240 (hell, even a 6450 or GeForce 210) to go with it.

[Spork829]

2 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

I'd keep the Pentium and grab a cheap, used low-profile 710 or R7 240 (hell, even a 6450 or GeForce 210) to go with it.

May I ask why? I figure the iGPU will be plenty powerful, no?

[mortino]

Plop pretty much any low power GPU in there from the passed 5 or 6 years and you will be good to go, if the power supply is decent you could go with an older mid range card, they are pretty cheap these days like a gtx 460

[aisle9]

Just now, Spork829 said:

May I ask why? I figure the iGPU will be plenty powerful, no?

A GPU can be reused in future builds until the end of PCI-E. The CPU's usefulness is tied to an old Dell mobo.

[Spork829]

8 minutes ago, mortino said:

Plop pretty much any low power GPU in there from the passed 5 or 6 years and you will be good to go, if the power supply is decent you could go with an older mid range card, they are pretty cheap these days like a gtx 460

 

7 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

A GPU can be reused in future builds until the end of PCI-E. The CPU's usefulness is tied to an old Dell mobo.

Right, but the objective is to spend the least amount of money on the system while still giving them a good experience. I don't need a GPU for that, but a might need a better CPU if the Pentium is a problem, that's what I'm asking.

[aisle9]

1 minute ago, Spork829 said:

 

Right, but the objective is to spend the least amount of money on the system while still giving them a good experience. I don't need a GPU for that, but a might need a better CPU if the Pentium is a problem, that's what I'm asking.

I think I'm confused. Do you already have the system with a G3220, or are you choosing between a G3220 and an i3?

 

I guess the easiest way to go is plug it in and see. Cheap old GPUs are everywhere, and if you plug the thing in and the iGPU can handle it, you're golden. My own experience with Haswell HTPCs is that I was unhappy enough with the performance of an i3-4150's iGPU for 1080p video playback that I went out and bought an R5 220.

 

...then returned it and bought a 750 Ti. I might be a bad example.

[Zodiark1593]

7 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

I think I'm confused. Do you already have the system with a G3220, or are you choosing between a G3220 and an i3?

 

I guess the easiest way to go is plug it in and see. Cheap old GPUs are everywhere, and if you plug the thing in and the iGPU can handle it, you're golden. My own experience with Haswell HTPCs is that I was unhappy enough with the performance of an i3-4150's iGPU for 1080p video playback that I went out and bought an R5 220.

 

...then returned it and bought a 750 Ti. I might be a bad example.

Even old smartphones have no problems with 1080p video playback. Unless there were problems on the software side, I don't see how a Haswell chip could have issues.

[aisle9]

1 minute ago, Zodiark1593 said:

Even old smartphones have no problems with 1080p video playback. Unless there were problems on the software side, I don't see how a Haswell chip could have issues.

It wasn't buttery smooth at 60 fps. That's all I ask. I am not a demanding person when it comes to my living room HTPC.

[Spork829]

11 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

I think I'm confused. Do you already have the system with a G3220, or are you choosing between a G3220 and an i3?

 

I guess the easiest way to go is plug it in and see. Cheap old GPUs are everywhere, and if you plug the thing in and the iGPU can handle it, you're golden. My own experience with Haswell HTPCs is that I was unhappy enough with the performance of an i3-4150's iGPU for 1080p video playback that I went out and bought an R5 220.

 

...then returned it and bought a 750 Ti. I might be a bad example.

 

3 minutes ago, Zodiark1593 said:

Even old smartphones have no problems with 1080p video playback. Unless there were problems on the software side, I don't see how a Haswell chip could have issues.

I currently have the PC with the Pentium in it. The PC has no storage and therefore no OS so it would be kind of a pain to set it up and test, figured I would see what people think first.

[striker477]

I don't foresee that pentium having any problems with what you are wanting the pc for especially at 1080p. 

[aisle9]

32 minutes ago, Spork829 said:

 

I currently have the PC with the Pentium in it. The PC has no storage and therefore no OS so it would be kind of a pain to set it up and test, figured I would see what people think first.

Run Linux off a thumb drive to give it a whirl.

[Zodiark1593]

36 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

It wasn't buttery smooth at 60 fps. That's all I ask. I am not a demanding person when it comes to my living room HTPC.

What software were you using to playback your video. Even my 1.3 GHz Bay Trail Atom has no problem with the 1080P, 60HZ video I tested on it.

[aisle9]

22 minutes ago, Zodiark1593 said:

What software were you using to playback your video. Even my 1.3 GHz Bay Trail Atom has no problem with the 1080P, 60HZ video I tested on it.

I don't even remember, honestly. This was in 2014/2015, and that computer has long since left the family.