Little CPU dilemma

lsandini · 2008-02-04, 13:31

Hello,

I am building my first HTPC based on many recommendations, and for a mainboard I chose the Abit F-I90HD with socket 775 and ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 on-board.

I won't do any 1080p, and it's not a gaming rig either. Mover I want to keep it as silent as possible.

I initially chose a C2D E4600 (2.4GHz, FSB800, 2MB L2cache, 130 euros) but I see the E6550 (2.33GHz, FSB1333, 4MB L2 cache, 150 euros) probably performs better for 20 euros more.

Do I need that CPU power for watching DVB-C programs, DVDs and some 720p movies ? The machine only has a 2.5" laptop HDD and a SATA DVD drive, 2 DIMMs. What would be a good CPU option on this board ?

Thanks !

Lorenzo

SwingSultan · 2008-02-04, 17:43

if you want to keep things silent then you should consider an amd system based on a n athlon x2-be (45w tdp) and an asus m2a-vm motherboard. the athlon produces less heat than the c2d and which is more important produces less heat when there is no stress on the cpu. the same goes for amd motherboards. the onbaord graphics card supports hd decoding at 720p.

if you already have the motherboard i would recommend a pentium dual core. due to its smaller cache its also a lot cooler than the c2d processors and you wont recognize the missing cache while watching videos.

watching tv shouldnt be a problem even with something slow like a via c7

2008-02-04, 13:31	#1 (permalink)
lsandini MP Donator Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kuopio Age: 37 Posts: 59 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country: My System	Little CPU dilemma Hello, I am building my first HTPC based on many recommendations, and for a mainboard I chose the Abit F-I90HD with socket 775 and ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 on-board. I won't do any 1080p, and it's not a gaming rig either. Mover I want to keep it as silent as possible. I initially chose a C2D E4600 (2.4GHz, FSB800, 2MB L2cache, 130 euros) but I see the E6550 (2.33GHz, FSB1333, 4MB L2 cache, 150 euros) probably performs better for 20 euros more. Do I need that CPU power for watching DVB-C programs, DVDs and some 720p movies ? The machine only has a 2.5" laptop HDD and a SATA DVD drive, 2 DIMMs. What would be a good CPU option on this board ? Thanks ! Lorenzo

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2008-02-04, 17:43	#2 (permalink)
SwingSultan Portal Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Age: 23 Posts: 60 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country:	if you want to keep things silent then you should consider an amd system based on a n athlon x2-be (45w tdp) and an asus m2a-vm motherboard. the athlon produces less heat than the c2d and which is more important produces less heat when there is no stress on the cpu. the same goes for amd motherboards. the onbaord graphics card supports hd decoding at 720p. if you already have the motherboard i would recommend a pentium dual core. due to its smaller cache its also a lot cooler than the c2d processors and you wont recognize the missing cache while watching videos. watching tv shouldnt be a problem even with something slow like a via c7