CPU for htpc?

I don't currently use an HTPC as I shifted to using the Shield TV. So, a Tegra X1. But in all seriousness, while I can't say I use one today, I can provide information into my decision making process when I was using an HTPC. I decided that given how much time the PC would spend powered on, and given the low processing power requirement for most tasks, I prioritized low power draw CPU's. So, the last HTPC I had was using a a Pentium G2130. It had enough power for live TV recording and viewing, streaming, and even some light gaming with the Radeon 7770 I was using at the time. If I was going to be building an HTPC today, I'd probably go with a Ryzen 3 1200 or i3-8100 as they are both quad core 65W parts that would provide enough horsepower for gaming, but also should sip at power while only watching TV or a movie.

Alternatively, I'd also probably wait for the Ryzen based APU's that are on the way.
 
Depends; is it going to be 100% for media consumption, or are you going to play games?

If you are exclusively consuming media, I would consider a Shield or a Roku or something. They're simpler, lower power, and grandma can use them.

If you are going to do anything else - living room gaming, web surfing, using it as a computer - then your choices get more complicated. Mine is currently running an i3-7350k, which is way overkill for any media consumption duties, but works very well as a CPU for Wii and Wii U emulation which happens quite a bit on my HTPC. I've got a GPU on mine as well, to help with the gaming side.
 
System in sig is my htpc - runs everything in my man cave including 1080p gaming and VR, I don't have a separate system (I can game in VR while the main screen is in use if there is any conflict, but it's almost never an issue, hence why I have one system to do it all - plus gaming on a 135" screen is nice). Most modern processors gate down and use very little power at idle regardless of the cores they have, so you won't save hardly anything at idle/low utilization by going i3 vs. i7 or r3 vs r7. Maybe a few cents a month. At full utilization, sure, but you can do a lot more with an i7 or r7, and if they're not fully utilized they do a decent job gating power. I can hardly see the power utilization difference if I let the processor idle via p-state or if I force overclocking to keep it at 3.8ghz on all cores at all times - if there's no utilization it doesn't use much power even with it clocked up. Sure it uses more than if you let it idle and power down cores, but the difference is surprisingly little and dwarfed by the rest of the av equipment.

How do I know? Well, I have a UPS system that also shows power usage and if the computer isn't doing anything it barely registers on it. I have a server rack in the back corner of the room that holds everything - htpc, dvr, ps3, denon av receiver, printer and UPS system. I had a power failure that took out my dvr and projector around 6 months ago (which were luckly both replaced under warranty) so added the UPS to give me time to gracefully shut everything down if the power goes out and to prevent any surging (if it dies, it doesn't turn back on when the power comes back on, you have to power it up and gives you clean power). With everything on and in use it has around 15 minutes of reserve, but with the PC at idle and projector off it's got over 90 minutes of reserve. Shutting the PC down completely gives another 10 minutes or so, the rest is running the internet/network and the projector uses way more power than the pc at idle (same for any tv). So maybe 2 hours total, which is plenty of time to fire up the generator if it's out that long.

Point is, the cpu power use at idle or low utilization is pretty much inconsequential compared to the rest of the stuff, so that's not what I'd be worried about when selecting one. The power bricks constantly plugged in to run other ancillary stuff have more draw than idle cpu usage, by quite a bit. Select it based on what you plan to do, the power utilization will only really show up when it's loaded and then you kind of get what you get - if you need more processing power it uses more power.
 
Power savings wasn't the primary differentiating factor for me, just a side bonus. And really, that was when comparing it to the Roku and Shield which *will* use less power than a full blown PC, as evidenced by the fact a Roku will run off a damn USB port for power.

The Ryzen 7 and i7 CPUs can gate down when near-idle to almost zero power use, sure, but they're not equal in other factors to an i3 or Ryzen 3, namely price. So, it comes down to my initial point - if all you want to do is consume media, then just buy a device to consume media. It'll be cheaper - a Roku is like $50 - and use less power and again, grandma can navigate a Roku remote. If you want to do *more* with your system, then buy the CPU that fits it; high single threaded performance if that thing you want to do is emulated games, more generalized multicore performance (i5/i7/Ryzen5/7 as necessary) if you want to do heavier gaming.
 
For strictly media watching, why not something like an Odroid-c2, a Raspberry Pi 3, or an Amazon fire stick. They are all low power and do the job pretty well. I've also used laptops and old computers too. All depends on what you want to achieve. Will it be strictly for media consumption or will it do double duty as a gaming rig?
 
Intel nuc i5.
It's tiny, easy, silent. It has integrated IR header with BIOS support.

It can easily handle 4k playback and some ambitious 1080p gaming.

But most of all it's just plain easy, and that goes a long way for me. Why the i5 over the i3? Better GPU for a very small upgrade cost.
 
Zangmonkey said:
Intel nuc i5.
It's tiny, easy, silent. It has integrated IR header with BIOS support.

It can easily handle 4k playback and some ambitious 1080p gaming.

But most of all it's just plain easy, and that goes a long way for me. Why the i5 over the i3? Better GPU for a very small upgrade cost.
Click to expand...

Aside from the growing pains of the NUC 7th generation, this is good solid advice. I currently have 2x NUC7i5BNH setups and while 1080P media has been perfect, and I've had very few issues, the 4k has been a bit more complicated. Intel took months to release drivers to fix stuttering and other issues. Some users are still reporting issues.

If you want to use Plex with your NUC, you might just have to use Plex Media Player for 4k vs OpenPHT as OpenPHT has some problems with hardware acceleration and 4k.

It would be good to know more of the OP's desire for his setup.l
 
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