Need help choosing CPU (1 Viewer)

[pbb]

Hi all,

I want to build a dedicated HTPC system, and I would like your comments on which CPU to go for.

• AMD Sempron 3200+ or 3600+, SDA series, 62W, ca 50 euro.
• AMD Athlon64 3200+, ADA series, 62W, ca 50 euro.
• AMD Athlon64 3800+, ADH series, 45W, ca 80 euro.
• AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+, ADO series, 65W, ca 75 euro.
• Intel Pentium E2140, 65W, ca 75 euro.
• Intel Core 2 Duo E4400, 65W, ca 130 euro.

Sadly, I haven't been able to find the 35W AMD Athlon64 (ADD series), and I can't really find any good reports on the 45W 3800+.

What should I get? Money is not very important, but I want the system to run as quiet as possible, and I am not going to run any complex tasks on it. Just some analog (hardware-encoded) video recording, watching movies and playing an old game once in a while.

I guess the availability of good CPU-cooling solutions may be more important than the actual heat produced by the CPU itself, but that is even more difficult to find good information about.

Does anybody have any knowledge on the best choice between these processors?

Thanks, Peter

 

[Bram]

For about 150 euro you can buy a C2D E6550 which has a very good bang for bug ratio. The E6750 is the best choice at this moment. (I have one myself running at 3.4Ghz easily with stock voltage (1.35 vCore)). It costs about 170 Euro. With 4MB cache and 2.66Ghz at a 1066Mhz FSB (a lot of bandwidth) there is simply nothing you can buy which performs better for multimedia purposes. AMD CPU's are not the best choice at this moment. They have a higher power consumption, less cache, a lower FSB and are relatively expensive.

If I may advice you on RAM. For +/- 100 euro you can buy 2GB BallistX PC5300 (5-3-3-12 @ 667Mhz stock). This RAM has the best price/performance ratio at this moment. I have it running @ 1066Mhz 4-4-4-15 with 2.2 volt.
Here is a review. I haven't read it, but it must be good http://www.overclockers.com/articles1324/

My PSU is just 350Watt with 3HDD's a DVD writer, ASUS P5K motherboard and geForce 7600GT connected to it. So power consumption can't be very high.

 

[Noelix]

Use newegg.com and read the reviews about each listed processor. You'll get good information there. You don't really need a dual core system for MP, unless you plan to use it for more than that app. 64 bit architecture is not supported in MP so the application would only be able to use one processor.

 

[pbb]

Thanks, I know the C2D are the most "cost efficient" at the moment, but that is not really what I am interested in. Is it not true that with two processors from the same series, the one with the higher clock frequency will always produce more heat? And that is exactly what I don't want, so I am more looking at the lower end of the series.

Anybody have any experience with the 45W processors of AMD?

 

[Bram]

That is not completely true. The amount of heat and power consumption depends on the voltage the proc needs and the frequency. 45 watt wont be possible with the standard C2D's.'Probebly only with the laptop versions. My E6750 @ 3.4Ghz runs idle at 29 degrees celcius and under full load (24h orthos) it never gets hotter then 50 degrees. This is with a room temperature of 20.5 degrees and a cheap water chill set.
Because de C2D processors are produces with at 65nm (currently, 45nm are comming soon) and the AMD processors are one step behind (current processors are produced at 90nm, soon 65nm processors will be available) the AMD processors will always have a far less efficient performance/watt ratio.

For short .... if there was a 45watt C2D processor it would perform much better at lower temperatures then a AMD processor with a TDP of 45watt. I don't have any experiency with the 45watt AMD cpu's. But logic tells me it can't be very fast. I had a Semperon @ 2Ghz in my HTPC (low TDP but also little cache) with 1GB DDR RAM and it didn't perform as well as expected. Right now I'm using a Athlon64 3200+ @ 2.2Ghz (socket 754) which perfomrs much better! MP is much more responsive. I'm not saying the 45watt AMD is equal to the Semperon I mentioned. But it probebly won't be a lot faster.


edit: I just found out that the C2D E6750 2.66Ghz 4MB cache has a maximum power consumption rating of 65 watt at stoch speeds! That's a lot less then I thought. When running it at 2.66Ghz the voltage can be manualy reduced to 1.2 vCore and the CPU will still be stable but would have a lower TDP and run less hot.

 

[technoboy]

I am also looking for a CPU and to build a dedicated system. Low power consumption and the ability to work with Hi Def are prime considerations. I want to be able to record TWO hi Def channels and, if possible, watch one simultaneously.
I looked at the Jetway Mini-ITX board with a Via C3 processor. They make one with an HDMI socket on it. Currently the
J7F5M, on this link, has only the 1.5GHz CPU but I do know that there is a 2GHz CPU that would work in that board - though whether it is possible to buy the board with a 2GHz Via C7 I don't know.
C7 CPU: http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/processors/c7-m/c7-m.jsp
Jetway ITX board: http://www.jetway.com.tw/jetway/productsearch.asp
Sold here: http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=11725

That was one thought. The other was to use a motherboard that supported Intel core 2 duo Mobile CPUs.
Motherboard: http://tinyurl.com/32r6au
CPUs: http://www.cclonline.com/product-categories.asp?category_id=450
Though I wouldn't want to stretch to the expense of a 2.16GHz unless absolutely necessary but would go to the 1.83GHz if need be.

Please comment on the above and give any other advice. I do know that some programs won't run on AMD 64 (so I haven't checked AMD out so far.
As I have stated above, low power consumption is a must. For example, my AMD Athlon 64 2800+ 1.79GHz CPU computer runs at 70W/h. Over a year, running 24/7, that would cost me £61/year (~Euro90, ~Aus$150, ~US$120) in electricity charges.

 

[THDBASED]

I would personally think this over very carefully because MINI-itx boards don't work that good as a HTPC, the TV part especially will not work very well...

 

[semichco]

I dont mind the reviews from techreport.com
Here is a review of the AMD BE-2350 that has a HTPC slant to it. It might be of use.

 

[Bram]

That's a nice and clear roundup. Very usefull.

 

[pbb]

Thanks for the replies! I've done some more studying, and come to the conclusion that the Athlon X2 BE 2300 and the Pentium E2160 are around the same level in price, performance and power consumption. I will let my choice between these two be desided by the features and power consumption of the available motherboards.

Some very interesting reviews on CPU power consumption:

• The Tech Report says Athlon X2 BE 2300 uses around the same amount of energy as the Core 2 Duo E6550.
• PCStats says Sempron 3600+ uses around 5% less energy than the Core 2 Duo E6550.
• Digit-Life says Pentium E2160 uses around 20% less than Core2 Duo E6320, which in turn uses around 10% less than Athlon X2 BE 2300.
• Tom's Hardware says Athlon X2 BE 2300 uses around 5% less than Pentium E2160.

(All extreme generalizations of course, but what else do we have to go on?)