new cpu. i3, i5 or i7

[paulpowell1967]

what cpu is best for a new build media centre?
any advice appreciated.

[shaithis]

Of the three you listed.....if it is only being used as a HTPC, the i3 is all you need.

I would consider a Llano though.....it has superior 24p playback for BluRays and considerably better 3D power should you fancy the odd cheeky game.

[Dilz]

Get the i7 2600k

[MiiCK90]

If your not using it for anything other than a media centre, don't need any more than an i3, if your gaming it's i5, if your doing anything else like graphic editing then get an i7.

[Mapester]

If one was to purchase a Llano for the intended purpose of using as a media center, does/would it have full linux support, or are they biased towards windows. My current Media box is based on a Nvidia ION and runs XBMC on Archlinux and plays all 1080p content. So would one of these Llano based box's be equal or superior to my current Intel Atom / Nvidia ION box.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

If one was to purchase a Llano for the intended purpose of using as a media center, does/would it have full linux support, or are they biased towards windows. My current Media box is based on a Nvidia ION and runs XBMC on Archlinux and plays all 1080p content. So would one of these Llano based box's be equal or superior to my current Intel Atom / Nvidia ION box.

The IGP in the AMD A6 and A8 CPUs is between an HD6450 and HD6570 for media usage. They are generally a better GPU for media usage than an HD5550.

I would have a look on Phoronix as they have reviews of the A8 3850 and A8 3870K under Linux.

[ChaosSystem]

If you are going for a Linux based Media Center PC, then a ATOM/ION based system is fine.

[abcsom]

You could look at a low power atom/ion solution, is the idea for the system to host the media or just play it back, if it play is back you need to worry very little about its spec interestingly something like a raspberry pi could be a good practical, green an cheap solution if your not worried by using linux.

For my media system I just used a cheap AMD x2 chip with integrated gfx, sound and a bluray drive. It works like a dream along with being low power and inexpensive parts to replace. From what your looking at tho an i3 would be more than sufficient.