CPU i5-2500K but not overclocking it?

Hi all,

So I'm planning on building a HTPC in the next few months and have this question.

At the moment I plan on getting the i5-2500k but not overclocking it so that I can uses its intel HD 3000 graphics for the HTPC to play full HD with out requiring a dedicated Graphics card.

What are peoples thoughts on this?
AC

 

What graphics does the i5-2500 have?

 

2500 has hd2000
2500k has hd3000

if not overclocking, then onboard graphics is only other reason to get 2500k over 2500

 

My thoughts are that it's an expensive CPU for a HTPC. You'd be better off with a cheap CPU (i3?) and a cheap low profile graphics card than going for a Sandy Bridge 2500k build.

 

depends if your going sff, with no room for descrete graphics card

 

the CPU power of the i3 alone is enough to playback HD content without the help of graphics acceleration surely?

 

the build i have in mind at the moment is this, i plan on a £600 budget:


Prossesor: I5-2500k £173.94
Motherboard: Asus P8H67-M Pro £84.80
Case: Silverstone GD05B £71.96
Optical Drive: LiteOn iHOS104 £39.22
RAM: Corsair 4GB (2GB x 2) £38.54
Hard Drive: seagate 500GB £31.14
OS: Windows 7 64bit £75.54
Power Supply Colours IT 400W £19.07

Total :£534.21

i'd like it to be as silent as possible and have thought about swapping the hard drive for an SSD. which would give me about £100 for a SSD but i doubt i would get a decent one for this price.
it would be used for Blu-ray playback, itunes media, web browsing, tv, iplayer etc.

so do you think swap out the CPU for a lesser one and get a dedicated graphics card?

 

Colours IT 400W is a horrible horrible thing.
Don't put it in your lovely htpc

 

ah, thanks for that. How about this:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/350w-be-quiet-bn134-80-plus-86-eff-sfx-micro-atx

Would change the total of the build to be £556.74
AC

 

As everyone else says, it seems a bit excessive for the minute extra graphics performance, but the difference in price between the 2500K and the 2500 is not massive. You could consider one of the lower-end i5s (2400 or 2300), although the reviews I've read suggest that their performance to price ratio is not nearly as good as the 2500.

 

this.

the core i3 has been used in many an HTPC build, and its about $100 cheaper.

 

As the others have said, just go with the cheapest that you possibly can processor-wise.

I wouldn't even go i3. After having a look, an Asus M4A78LT-M 760G board and an X3 445 would be plenty for an HTPC, and would cost £110 or so.

 

Buying the 2500K for a HTPC is like buying a tank to kill a wasp.

It's a HTPC. Stick with the i3

 

so just stick with the current i3 then. i always do tend to be overkill when it comes to picking PC components.

How about this build:

Prossesor: i3 540 £77.94
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H  £64.98
Case: Silverstone GD05B £71.96
Optical Drive: LiteOn iHOS104 £39.22
RAM: Corsair 4GB (2GB x 2) £38.54
Hard Drive: seagate 500GB £31.14
OS: Windows 7 64bit £75.54
Power Supply: Be Quiet £41.60

Total : £440.92

This is cheaper and would allow me to get a SSD if recommended. My only thing about this is would it be alright graphics wise and should i wait until the sandy bridge i3 range so its more future proof?
AC

 

^ that looks more like an HTPC to me.

im not sure what future proofing an HTPC needs. HD is HD. worst case scenario is you have to add a PCIE graphics card later down the road to handle more resolution.

 

Hd Rez won't change

If it can output 1080 now it's not gonna not be able to in 3 years time

2500k in htcp is over over kill

 

im sure they said the same thing when the CD came out, then the DVD, and now blu-ray.

if we went from 480, to 720, to 1080, why not keep going? especially as TV's keep getting bigger and bigger. 1080 on a 50"+ screen is considerably more grainy than on a much smaller screen (not that you sit that close ). i see the possibility for growth especially in the projector market, where screen size is measure in feet rather than inches.

but, no matter what you get for embedded graphics, if resolutions keep going up its going to become insufficient. its a lot more cost effective to add a PCIE card later down the road, which can continually be upgraded to keep up. if your going to try to play the same game with embedded graphics, youll have to upgrade your motherboard and CPU (and memory) every time your current one falls short.

that said...i think 1080 will continue to be the standard for quite some time, which an i3 can handle with headroom for growth.

 

the new hd res is coming soon

4k summat like 4,096×3,072 is due this year

 

i got a 2nd hand core i3 for £45, and a H55 board for £20

Whole build on my HTPC has run me £350 and that includes a brand new Antec Fusion remote black and a wireless bluetooth keyboard

 

Yes but how soon are people going to have (be able to afford) the TVs for that?