AMD CPU for HTPC

[Bachfire]

I am building a new HTPC which will be used for watching TV, storing movie/music files and playing music and video files. I need some suggestions on which AMD CPU would be best for my needs. I will not be using this HTPC to play any 3D intensive games, therefore I don't know if I will need a dual core CPU or if the single core AMD Athlon would serve my video and music requirement well.

Any recommendations would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

[Endersothergame]

Pretty much any Athlon CPU should be able to cover that, anything from the AXP's all the way through to the A64 X2's I mean if your trying to encode on the fly you will naturally need a lil more CPU power but to do as you have lsited above, my old AXP 1800+ would more then be able to do the job. Truth be told I have seen some HTPC's based on P3 class CPU's

[OS-Wiz]

IMO, when going into HTPCs your first concern is a cool running CPU. And I'd get a S939 system, leaves many doors open for upgrades. The Opterons made with the 90nm process run cool -- here's the cheapest I could find that comes with a HSF over at newegg:

AMD Opteron 148 Venus 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model OSA148BNBOX - Retail
64 bit Support: Yes
Cooling Device: Heatsink and Fan
Hyper-Transport Support: Yes
L1 Cache: 64KB+64KB
L2 Cache: 1MB
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, 3DNOW! Professional
Operating Frequency: 2.2GHz
Process Type: 90 nm
Series: Opteron
Voltage: 1.35/1.4V
In Stock
$3.99 Three Day Shipping
$233.00

[iLLestPC]

Yeah, what he said. Running cool is important.

[Vengance_01]

Thats way to much IMO. I would recomend the cheapest socket 939 chip you can find, used, new what ever. :)

[eshbach]

in my personal media center I have a socket 754 A64 3200.

the new socket 754 3200 chips run so cool that the stock fan actually turns off at idle.

[kpxgq]

yeah you can prob find a used 754/939 amd64 for cheap... something like a 3000+ for less than $100 would be perfect since it runs cool and has plenty of power for HTPC needs

[shadow_chazzer_killer]

get the AMD X2 3800+ or 4200+ might save some time for ur encoding n other stuffs related to it........but if ur not gonna play 3D games then go with the AMD64 2800+ or 3000+ that would be all u ll need......