On 10/29/2012 2:51 AM, Andrei POPESCU wrote:
On Du, 28 oct 12, 22:09:01, Mark Allums wrote:Ah, I misunderstood your requirements quite a bit. i3 is adequate for media center work. Some Atoms are fine for decoding 1080p, but it's better to rely on dedicated hardware.Do you know for sure (i.e. first hand experience) they can do it? Hardware decoding needs proper software support as well and I'm not fond of compiling VCS snapshots to get it. If the hardware decoding works, fine, but I wouldn't rely on it... yet. I'll have to look for an Atom that can match my Dual Core. Kind regards, Andrei
I read an article. However it was a very specific thing. Only a couple of model nos. were qualified. I'm afraid I can't recall the source of the article. I am not keen on Atoms for desktops or media centers, because the choice of hardware, e.g., motherboards, are very limited. Most of the Atoms go into low end netbooks and the like, and even if you find anything, the saving in Euros will not be worth the trade off in power, in my opinion.
(If you will allow me some weasel room, well, my opinion is strictly limited to reading tech blogs and online articles, and may be out of date, so you should continue to search. If I come across anything interesting in the near future, I will post a link on the list.)
However there are lower end Intel parts, like the Pentium or the Celeron, that may suit your needs. I like the Core parts, but my needs are often a bit more strenuous.
At any rate, relying on the GPUs of Ivy Bridge i3s would be fine, decent drivers combined with good media codecs will take care of 1080p with lots of CPU cycles left for the UI, with some web browsing thrown in for good measure. No special hardware beyond the CPU+GPU itself.
Many would tell you to look at AMD, since they have a lot of choices in the lower end and midrange, and their integrated GPUs are very good. However, my experience has been that AMD machines have more stability problems, and people tend to end up frustrated more often.
I hope I'm not offering too many generalities, and not enough specifics. I tend to pay more attention around the time that I myself am planning a purchase. I haven't cost-ed and spec'd a machine for production in years, and my personal machines are a few years old as well, so I haven't been preternaturally alert to these things. I take a desktop/workstation perspective these days, so setting up a server is not something I've thought much about lately.
Good luck! Mark