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MrKay · (This post was last modified: 2012-08-14, 04:00 by MrKay.)

(2012-08-14, 03:22)Arkitket Wrote: MrKay, can't seem to find the A8-3820 anywhere, has it been discontinued?

I think though; that due to how much I want my HTPC to do, the computational power of the i3's will serve me better then the FX power of the A8

I bought mine from ebay used that's the only way to get it. The seller i bought it from is away and will be back on the 18th of this month am waiting to get another one. or i just might wait until the 1st of october when the trinity chips will release. And get the a10 5700 that's a 65w cpu and on cpu benchmark.net it shows its a bit better then the Intel Core i5-2500K. So for gaming only with the built in gpu now and then will be fine. Plus the a8-3820 + mobo i got it for $218 where as if i went with an i3 and mobo it would have been way more. It really depends what your gonna use it for. I only use it for xbmc,bluray movies,3d bluray movies,surfing the web and gaming now and then that's about it really. I don't have a sever at the moment tho only using external hard drive for my 720p,1080p movies

assassin · 2012-08-14, 04:00

For 1080p the AMD GPU is not "better" as far as picture quality if concerned. Its the exact same.

And some people (even many reviewers recently) can't stand AMD's buggy drivers for HTPC uses.

MrKay · (This post was last modified: 2012-08-14, 04:25 by MrKay.)

For low cost that does everything i want i went with amd. It plays everything i throw at it. But intel is future proof tho. But if you use software that uses 4 cores then the amd will win against the i3 dual core. But if you use 2 core software the intel i3 will win. Hope this helps you out a bit

assassin · (This post was last modified: 2012-08-14, 04:24 by assassin.)

(2012-08-14, 04:10)MrKay Wrote: For low cost that does everything i want i went with amd. It plays everything i throw at it. But intel is future proof tho. But if you use software that uses 4 cores then then the amd will win against the i3 dual core. But if you use 2 core software the intel i3 will win. Hope this helps you out a bit

No, it won't either.

Its not about "dual core" or "quad core" or "GHz" anymore. Its all about architecture and benchmark scores.

Like these, for instance, posted by bluray just a few posts above this one.

Couple that with the fact that the i3 uses less energy, runs much cooler, is more future proof, etc etc and its not such an easy decision. And much of the previous information on this website is just incorrect about what Intel can and cannot do in the HTPC platform.

Oh, and Intel overall is cheaper now than AMD. Especially if you don't need or want 3D (which you can add later via a $20 graphics card anyway).

snowboarder33 · 2012-08-14, 04:42

(2012-08-13, 21:26)Arkitket Wrote: ...My question is: Is HD-3000 that much better than HD-2000 in terms of HTPC need?

I'm curious about this as well. It would be about a $35 jump for me, so I wonder if it is even worth it.

And for that matter - how does HD-1000 compare?

assassin · 2012-08-14, 04:44

(2012-08-14, 04:42)snowboarder33 Wrote:
(2012-08-13, 21:26)Arkitket Wrote: ...My question is: Is HD-3000 that much better than HD-2000 in terms of HTPC need?

I'm curious about this as well. It would be about a $35 jump for me, so I wonder if it is even worth it.

And for that matter - how does HD-1000 compare?

No difference.

I use the HD1000 (G620T) in my bedroom and the HD2000 on my 65" Panasonic Plasma (i3 2100) and they have the exact same PQ. Same with the HD3000.

I am going to test the HD4000 very soon but think for 1080p it will be the same as well. All look fantastic on XBMC btw.

snowboarder33 · 2012-08-14, 04:53

(2012-08-14, 04:44)assassin Wrote:
(2012-08-14, 04:42)snowboarder33 Wrote:
(2012-08-13, 21:26)Arkitket Wrote: ...My question is: Is HD-3000 that much better than HD-2000 in terms of HTPC need?

I'm curious about this as well. It would be about a $35 jump for me, so I wonder if it is even worth it.

And for that matter - how does HD-1000 compare?

No difference.

I use the HD1000 (G620T) in my bedroom and the HD2000 on my 65" Panasonic Plasma (i3 2100) and they have the exact same PQ. Same with the HD3000.

I am going to test the HD4000 very soon but think for 1080p it will be the same as well. All look fantastic on XBMC btw.

Good to know. Thanks much!

jaochoo · 2012-08-14, 04:59

(2012-08-14, 04:44)assassin Wrote:
(2012-08-14, 04:42)snowboarder33 Wrote:
(2012-08-13, 21:26)Arkitket Wrote: ...My question is: Is HD-3000 that much better than HD-2000 in terms of HTPC need?
I'm curious about this as well. It would be about a $35 jump for me, so I wonder if it is even worth it.
And for that matter - how does HD-1000 compare?
No difference.

That doesn't make the decision much easier:
- Graphics? "No difference."
- Cores, GHz? "Its not about "dual core" or "quad core" or "GHz" anymore."

That sounds like any CPU works and one should just go with the cheapest price. (I'm deliberately exaggerating.)

As for "all about architecture" it's something really difficult to understand for an end-user. As for "benchmark scores" and the link you posted, it's interesting read, but when it comes to performance differences of just 5-13%, is that really that big of a thing or could one say that all four CPUs perform somewhat equally.

assassin · (This post was last modified: 2012-08-14, 05:17 by assassin.)

Again.

Cost. Power consumption. Ease of cooling. Upgrade paths. Driver stability. Etc. Etc.

All should be considered.

My point was a blanket statement that quad core beats dual core just isn't always the case.

Arkitket · (This post was last modified: 2012-08-14, 07:10 by Arkitket.)

My budget won't allow for an Ivy Bridge right now, so I think I'm going to go with a Sandy Bridge and get the H77 motherboard, that way I can upgrade in a year or 2 to an Ivy Bridge when they are cheaper.

I think I will go with an i3-2120 (or 2130 if I can get it on sale). It seems to add the best bang for my buck when it is only $5 more then the i3-2100. I don't need 3D support, so hopefully the HD-2000 graphics will suit me well.

I am either going to get the ASUS P8H77-M Pro motherboard or the Gigabyte GA-H77M-D3H motherboard. I like the Asus, lots of media connections in the rear, even an eSATA port (which could definitely come in handy) and 6 SATAIII ports in the front. The Gigabyte is decent, doesn't have as many ports overall, and has 5 SATAIII in the front, although they are upfacing, whereas the ASUS ones are forward facing.

I like the idea of Gigabytes 3D bios, makes BIOS user friendly to a degree, although I am not sure if that should be enough for me to choose it over the ASUS. ASUS's UEFI bios is apparently known to be pretty good. So far I like the ASUS a little bit more.

I am wondering though, the i3-2120 caps RAM speed at 1333, should I go with 1600 and step it down, that way the RAM is future-proof a bit and will can be capitalized on if I ever upgrade to an Ivy Bridge?

EDIT: According to a post over at Tom's I don't need to step it down, I just need to manually set it to 1600MHz and set the timing within the BIOS and it should work fine with the i3-2120

Arkitket · 2012-08-15, 22:14

Also was curious, would 8Gb of DDR3 be overkill?

I was going to get 4Gb of the Ripjaws Low but they would be just a little too high if I chose to get an aftermarket cooler such as the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B. I was then looking at the low profile Corsair Vengeance, but I could get 8Gb's of the G.Skill Ares low profile for $10 more than the 4Gb Corsair Vengeance.

I know that transcoding is CPU intensive, I was thinking of just getting something like Handbrake to convert all of my files during the night into MP4 with H264, would that be as CPU intensive? or does that require RAM?

bluray · 2012-08-16, 17:43

(2012-08-14, 05:41)Arkitket Wrote: I think I will go with an i3-2120 (or 2130 if I can get it on sale). It seems to add the best bang for my buck when it is only $5 more then the i3-2100. I don't need 3D support, so hopefully the HD-2000 graphics will suit me well.

You'll enjoy i3-2120......4GB of ram is plenty for HTPC.....HandBrake is excellent choice for transcoding blu-ray, and it is CPU intensive but you'll be fine with i3.....

assassin · 2012-08-16, 17:51

The i3 is a beast FWIW. Stronger than Llano quad core.

Arkitket · 2012-08-16, 19:51

Thanks for the help guys Big Grin

If I had more money I would step up to am Ivy Bridge i5 like the i5-3450, but right now that is just too much for my budget (read how much my wife will let me spend lol), It is hard to explain the costs and why they are needed. In a year or so I should be able to upgrade the CPU.

As far as RAM, if 8Gb is over kill then I will save $10 and just go for the Corsair Vengeance Low Profile instead of the GSkill Ares.

Do any of you have experience with either Gigabyte motherboards or ASUS motherboards? That's the last difficult choice I have to make, whether or not to go for the cheaper Gigabyte, or if the ASUS has enough features to warrant $30 more.

**Dougie Fresh** · 2012-08-16, 20:02

I like both Gigabyte and ASUS. I'd look at the features and see if you really need them -- if it's extra ports of some kind or ability to overclock they might not apply to what you want to do.

One nice thing about Gigabyte if you're planning to sleep the PC, Gigabyte doesn't blink the power LED while in S3 sleep. I'll always pick Gigabyte for HTPC if it's available for that reason alone.