[Dougie Fresh]

FWIW, none of my HTPCs have either CPU. I have a G620 in my bedroom HTPC and a G530 + HD5450 in my livingroom HTPC.

I do the following on my HTPC:

- Watch DVD rips
- Watch 1080p blu-ray rips (with HD audio on the livingroom HTPC)
- Watch live TV, mostly HD from a SDHDHR cablecard tuner
- Xfinity streaming, Netflix steaming, ABC.com, etc.
- Listen to music and watch home videos

Additional specs: 4GB DDR3-1333, 128GB Crucial m4 SSD (+250GB HDD in living room HTPC for recording buffer), Win7 x64. Main media center software is Windows Media Center but also XBMC for me when the wife isn't looking (she doesn't like XBMC) .

In the kids' playroom there is a E-350 for movies and TV (no Netflix -- they watch that on the Wii) and there's a Linksys DMA2100 extender in the basement workout room. Right now the E-350 is stuttering on 1080p movies but I haven't diagnosed it. Everything else works. The extender won't play HD movies at all. Everything else works.

My office PC is a i3-2100. My wife's office PC is a i3-540.

My future plan is to replace the G530+HD5450 with a mini-ITX A8-3800/A75 system I've been piecing together. Not that I need to replace it but every once in a while I need to eat some of my own breakfast so to speak and I get jealous of all the amazing systems I put together, send out but never get to keep .

[bluray]

My future plan is to replace the G530+HD5450 with a mini-ITX A8-3800/A75 system I've been piecing together.

If you want to go that route, why not the "A6-PACK".....it's cheaper, easier to find and less heat than A8...

[Dougie Fresh]

My future plan is to replace the G530+HD5450 with a mini-ITX A8-3800/A75 system I've been piecing together.

If you want to go that route, why not the "A6-PACK".....it's cheaper, easier to find and less heat than A8...

Thanks, I already have the A8-3800.

FWIW, it was cheaper than the A6-3500 and it has the same TDP (65W) as the A6-3500 so the heat should be the same, especially at low CPU usages of an HTPC.

[RaggSokk3n]

Ok, that's three votes for A6-5400K. Now, why?

Ivy Bridge/Sandy Bridge have a frame drop every 4 minutes (ish) because it can't display 23.976Hz refresh rate correctly. AMD Trinity CPUs have a frame drop every 4 hours (ish).

This is according to Anandtech. At least that is how I interpreted the results.

wrong wrong wrong... wrong wrong wrong
all gpus on today's market are unable to play a perfect 24hz

[wsume99]

As far as the i3-2100 vs. A6-5400 goes the OP said the cost was the same (it's $79 on TigerDirect). So in that case I'd go i3.

The only areas where I would choose the Trinity over Intel is when you need 3D and Trinity is the cheapest alternative OR you want to do some gaming. However I think that if you are into gaming then you should really get a dGPU and if you go that route then you need the best CPU performance for your $$$ and that is Intel.

After shipping cost and discount, Trinity is still cheaper on TigerDirect- Intel Core i3-2100 and AMD A6-Series AD540KOKHJBOX....

do need 3D then I'd go for the i3-2100 (assuming the cost is the same vs. the A6-5400) since XBMC relies more on the CPU than the GPU.

For light games and 3d, A6-3500 (HD6530d) is better than i3-2100 (HD2000), the cheaper A6-5400k with better HD7540d iGPU should be much better than HD2000.......tests by this guy- Graphics Core Performance.....

I'll just repeat what I said previously...

The only areas where I would choose the Trinity over Intel is when you need 3D and Trinity is the cheapest alternative OR you want to do some gaming.

So I am in general agreement with you EXCEPT the OP has stated that he does not do gaming and will be running only XBMC. Granted there is a $10 price difference between the two CPUs but for me $10 is a meaningless difference so the choice is down to whether I want a better iGPU (AMD) or a better CPU (Intel). Given the OP's proposed usage I think he has a better chance of utilizing the better CPU. If he's just running XBMC then the better iGPU that the Trinity offers is a total waste since all you need is a basic GPU.

[RaggSokk3n]

You still can't really compare the prices on the two due to the extra hours work the new amd might require (driver issues etc)

[bluray]

If he's just running XBMC then the better iGPU that the Trinity offers is a total waste since all you need is a basic GPU.

Actually; for XBMC only, I preferred AMD and Nvidia over Intel because I can fully use DXVA2 hardware acceleration .....whatever i3-2100 CPU can do, the A6-5400k CPU should be able to do too.....better iGPU is a plus...

---

You still can't really compare the prices on the two due to the extra hours work the new amd might require (driver issues etc)

What problem? I haven't had any issue with AMD driver. I don't expect Trinity to have any issue either.......

For me and some guys in here, it's easier for us to bitstream HD audio using AMD driver than Intel. Some Intel owners end up using Realtek HD audio codecs to bitstream HD audio.....

[RaggSokk3n]

You still can't really compare the prices on the two due to the extra hours work the new amd might require (driver issues etc)

What problem? I haven't had any issue with AMD driver. I don't expect Trinity to have any issue either.......

For me and some guys in here, it's easier for us to bitstream HD audio using AMD driver than Intel. Some Intel owners end up using Realtek HD audio codecs to bitstream HD audio.....

With all brand new hardware you risk hours of driver issues, setup issues etc, due to the short time it's been on the market. I'm NOT saying that the AMD is a bad choise, I'm saying that it might give you hours of trouble the first days - and that is worth taking in to the consideration.

For me the HD audio on intel was fast and simple to setup:
1. Install all drivers
2. Install XBMC (HD Audio)
3. Setup the setings acording to the first picture on your guide (found here)
4. Disable all other audio devices in win 7.
Took about 5minutes to setup

[bluray]

With all brand new hardware you risk hours of driver issues, setup issues etc, due to the short time it's been on the market. I'm NOT saying that the AMD is a bad choise, I'm saying that it might give you hours of trouble the first days - and that is worth taking in to the consideration.

For me the HD audio on intel was fast and simple to setup:
1. Install all drivers
2. Install XBMC (HD Audio)
3. Setup the setings acording to the first picture on your guide (found here)
4. Disable all other audio devices in win 7.
Took about 5minutes to setup

It's not that simple for everyone. I experienced it, and I helped several users with Intel HTPC in this forum. It seems that Intel detects differently with different AVR. It works perfectly fine on some AVR’s with the standard configurations in my thread.....several users had bitstreaming HD audio issue with their Intel HTPC since bitstreaming HD audio option available in XBMC 10.0 last July…….

---

My future plan is to replace the G530+HD5450 with a mini-ITX A8-3800/A75 system I've been piecing together.

If you want to go that route, why not the "A6-PACK".....it's cheaper, easier to find and less heat than A8...

Thanks, I already have the A8-3800.

You should be fine then.....

FWIW, it was cheaper than the A6-3500 and it has the same TDP (65W) as the A6-3500 so the heat should be the same, especially at low CPU usages of an HTPC.

You're very lucky. A8-3800 usually cost more than A6-3500. Eventhough it is 65w, but the 4-core and better iGPU still consumes more power and generates more heat than A6-3500.....

[bluray]

You still can't really compare the prices on the two due to the extra hours work the new amd might require (driver issues etc)

Now that I got a chance to go through several reviews on the latest Trinity, and I did not notice any reviewer having issue with the latest Trinity driver. One reviewer used the latest AMD 12.8 driver, and he even mentioned XBMC too....

Reviews-
-Test Setup And Benchmarks
-AMD's Trinity : An HTPC Perspective
-ASUS Shows Off Silent PC With AMD Trinity APU

If you live in UK, you can get Trinity HTPC from this place "Configure Your HTPC". They are offering a complete system, which mean that it is ready for XBMC out of the box......

This is a sweet fanless Trinity.....

[RaggSokk3n]

You still can't really compare the prices on the two due to the extra hours work the new amd might require (driver issues etc)

Now that I got a chance to go through several reviews on the latest Trinity, and I did not notice any reviewer having issue with the latest Trinity driver. One reviewer used the latest AMD 12.8 driver, and he even mentioned XBMC too....

Reviews-
-Test Setup And Benchmarks
-AMD's Trinity : An HTPC Perspective
-ASUS Shows Off Silent PC With AMD Trinity APU

If you live in UK, you can get Trinity HTPC from this place "Configure Your HTPC". They are offering a complete system, which mean that it is ready for XBMC out of the box......

This is a sweet fanless Trinity.....

The issues mentioned might first show after a while, that's why you never recommend brand new hardware to anyone except "nerds" who won't mind the tinkering. If you need my sources: www.lenovo.com they never go for brand new hardware in the business computers for a reason and that's why they are the preferred brand of huge it consultant companies like csc.

[bluray]

The issues mentioned might first show after a while, that's why you never recommend brand new hardware to anyone except "nerds" who won't mind the tinkering. If you need my sources: www.lenovo.com they never go for brand new hardware in the business computers for a reason and that's why they are the preferred brand of huge it consultant companies like csc.

Unless it is a refurbished or used item, everything you buy and build are brand new. The potential of having issues are there for every electronics and products you buy and build. Even though Sandy Bridge and Liano are on the market for a very long time, some users still encounter problems and some received it as DOA. You just have to take a risk and hope for the best. Chances are it will be fine......!

I can use automobile in this discussion too-
My friend bought a brand spanking new “2013 Hyundai Santa Fe”, and it is running fine so far. My aunt bought a very well known good and reliable “2012 Honda CRV”, and it is towed back to the dealership after 3 months……

As far as company don't want to buy brand new computer; it is because they don't want to pay for high price of the brand new model.....it's reserved for the big guy.....I can see it with my own eyes. I'm using the Sandy Bridge in the office, and the big guys are showing up at the meeting with their iVy Bridge.....

[DavidT99]

Actually the automobile comparison is not the same thing, every product has the ability to breakdown. For your comparison to be comparable you would be talking about every Honda CRV from 2012 having the same problem and being towed back to the dealers.

David

[RaggSokk3n]

The issues mentioned might first show after a while, that's why you never recommend brand new hardware to anyone except "nerds" who won't mind the tinkering. If you need my sources: www.lenovo.com they never go for brand new hardware in the business computers for a reason and that's why they are the preferred brand of huge it consultant companies like csc.

Unless it is a refurbished or used item, everything you buy and build are brand new. The potential of having issues are there for every electronics and products you buy and build. Even though Sandy Bridge and Liano are on the market for a very long time, some users still encounter problems and some received it as DOA. You just have to take a risk and hope for the best. Chances are it will be fine......!

I can use automobile in this discussion too-
My friend bought a brand spanking new “2013 Hyundai Santa Fe”, and it is running fine so far. My aunt bought a very well known good and reliable “2012 Honda CRV”, and it is towed back to the dealership after 3 months……

As far as company don't want to buy brand new computer; it is because they don't want to pay for high price of the brand new model.....it's reserved for the big guy.....I can see it with my own eyes. I'm using the Sandy Bridge in the office, and the big guys are showing up at the meeting with their iVy Bridge.....

Seams you misunderstood me, they use new components but do not jump directly to new sockets etc.
Now for the reason companies use lenovo, highest reliability of all oems in the world. Due to all components being proven to work over longer periods of time before they put them in production.

[Dougie Fresh]

I think in the car analogy, it's more like buying a car in the first model year it comes out. Some people say to never do it, don't take the risk and let others work out the bugs. Some people don't care, they want the newest and are willing to deal with the newness. It's really no different. Take SandyBridge for instance. Early adopters had the bad SATA port problem. That got fixed. Ivy Bridge there was some heat issue with overclocking. No idea if that's been fixed. If you got in on those early you might have gotten stuck with the issues.

To each their own though. Let's hope it's all good in the long run.