AMD CPU for HTPC

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  1. #1
    Catfish
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    Question AMD CPU for HTPC

    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!

  2. #2
    Reef Shark Endersothergame's Avatar
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    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
    Achilles

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  3. #3
    Old School OCer OS-Wiz's Avatar
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    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
    The Money Trap = Intel i7 930 | Corsair H70 | ASUS P6X58D-E | 3 x 2GB G.Skill DDR3 2000 6-9-6-24 | EVGA GTX 580 DS SC | OCZ Vertex 2 90GB SSD | WD VelociRaptor | Klipsch ProMedia | Cooler Master HAF 932 | Antec TPQ-1200W | Dell U2711 2560 x 1440 27" | Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit | APC RS1500

  4. #4
    Catfish iLLestPC's Avatar
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    Yeah, what he said. Running cool is important.

  5. #5
    Great White Shark Vengance_01's Avatar
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    Thats way to much IMO. I would recomend the cheapest socket 939 chip you can find, used, new what ever.
    Updated 12/27/05

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  6. #6
    Really Cold Shark eshbach's Avatar
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    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.

  7. #7
    nuclear launch detected kpxgq's Avatar
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    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
    bitfenix prodigy, i5 4670k, asrock z87e-itx, zotac gtx 970, crucial m500 msata, seasonic x650, dell st2220t

  8. #8
    Hammerhead Shark shadow_chazzer_killer's Avatar
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    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......
    Last edited by shadow_chazzer_killer; 02-04-2006 at 06:16 AM.

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