Hi all,

I'm setting up a Mini-ITX HTPC for the living room. It will be diskless and net boot a MiniMyth instance. Here are the components I will be using: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Publi ... r=19363286

That being said, I'm in a debate between the currently selected i3-2120T and the much lower priced G530 (close to $100 less). Here is what I know:

• Benchmark wise, the chips are similar
• Theroetically, the i3 should be cooler since it's 35w vs 65w
• The i3 may have better graphics performance, but negligible for my use (except potentially flash, see below)

Thigs I need this system to do (in Linux)

• Play 1080p x264 content
• Play 1080i mpeg2 content with deinterlacing
• Play 1080p Flash content. This one is the Big question since this is Linux, and where my current AMD 5000+ is lacking.

I was also curious as to if I may be able to run the i3 fan less in the future.

Thanks,
Ben

Forget random benchmarks. The 2120T is faster than a G530.
It takes a G620 to equal its single-threaded performance. It guess it depends on the application but I'm not sure you'll find one where its multi-threaded performance doesn't beat any Pentium/Celeron.
In general, the i3 T dual-cores are poor value. Intel's TDP values are useless to compare individual models. I'd probably go for the G530 depending on its price relative to the slightly faster models. And if I wanted the i3 features for some reason, I'd probably pick the cheapest one. Note that you need a T model if you want the low-profile cooler. In that case, I'd probably go for the cheapest Celeron or Pentium T model.

I don't know what it takes to guarantee flawless 1080p on Linux. I'm not sure it can be done. I've never used high-res content through Flash. It's such garbage.
I don't think Flash supports GPU acceleration on Linux unless you've got an Nvidia.

Nvidia or Broadcom. You can follow all the wailing and gnashing of Linux user's teeth at Phoronix.com. There's hope of a 3rd party bringing an add-on solution.

Good to know.



How does this relate to potentially going fanless in the future? Also, while the TDP values may be useless, I'm a bit concerned about running the G530 off the 80W power supply. You think it would be OK?




Yea, I've been familiar with the lack of hardware acceleration for a while, that's why I'm switching off my old 5000+. I end up having to run a script that switches resolution prior to starting Hulu Desktop. That being said, I'll be using Intel graphics integrated off the chip for now, as I'm trying to keep this as minimal an install with as low a power/heat profile as I can.

Thanks,
Ben

Actually, I should also mention that I'd like the system to be able to playback active 3D. That was part of why I picked this particular motherboard, since it supports HDMI 1.4a.

Thanks,
Ben

Well, my i3 2100T consumes at the most 50W (under prime95), so my guess is G530 can go as low as 40W, but depends on the mobo, psu and attached perif, i think 80W should be enough.

Mmmm, idk about 3d on intels iGPU, im not totally sure, but its worth investigating, i think ivy bridge will bring that.