Media Center

[chavo]

I have recently posted several threads about an upgrade. I have now gone out and purchased some new equipment and i will be re-using some other equipment.
Media center needs to be a micro board and i currently have a Gigabyte G31 MATX board.
I plan on using it with a EVGA 8800 GTS (320mb). 2 gig of corsair value Ram and either a Q6600 or an E8400.

Will this board benefit more from the Q or the E? i know both chips are very similar in performance and i also realise the board will be the limiting factor here.

Which of those chips would you put in that system? or would you get a new board?

bearing in mind the systems primary use is for watching MKV files but i will be playing games on occasions. (50 inch full 1080 res for films but not for games with that graphics card!)

[dangel]

Either will do - in fact an old athlon x2 (ddr1) did me for a long time at 1080p with a 8600GTS(still got that). For me slight revamp i bought the cheaper dual core going for that reason. Heat and noise might be of more concern.

[GaryRW]

I'd agree with dangel - for HTPC I think any current dual core is more than sufficient (except maybe dual core atom, but gaming would exclude that anyway ).

The issue with processor is just how much gaming you'll do, but again at that resolution with that graphics card, I'd be surprised if it was the CPU holding you back with the e8400 you've suggested.

Personally I think for HTPC use, the question should probably be what is the lowest power processor that can handle the job, as faster/bigger processor usually means hotter, which usually means more noise. How noisy is the 8800 GTS?

[Funkstar]

Personally I think for HTPC use, the question should probably be what is the lowest power processor that can handle the job, as faster/bigger processor usually means hotter, which usually means more noise. How noisy is the 8800 GTS?

However, if you go for the really basic CPUs they have to work harder so can't power save quite as much as faster ones.

I'm sure a read an article that measured the difference between an average dual core AM2 and a bottom of the line single core and the dual actually used less power. Partly because it was a more advanced processor, so had better power saving modes and if finished any work faster so was able to go into those modes quicker.

[shaithis]

+1 for the dual. Less heat + variable speed fans = quieter system.

Although I guess the moment you throw an 8800GTS in for gaming, heat and noise concerns have gone out the windows

As for gaming on that screen, should be fine. It isn't the size of the screen that determines the gfx power needed, its the resolution. 1080p is only 1080 lines (and normally 1920 pixels across)....the same as most 22"+ monitors these days.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

IIRC the OP would have to buy an E8400 and already has a Q6600 if you look at their previous posts. I would probably look at re-using the Q6600 if possible and undervolting it using RMClock.

[Biscuit]

i run my HTPC with a celeron E1200... granted i use linux and dont have any 1080p material but it runs like a dream.

[InkZ]

Just make sure you use hardware decoding for MKV if possible. Cuda or DXVA and it doesn't really matter for your CPU as long as it is powerful enough tot decode the audio. Personally, I'd prob chuck in the dual core.