Like the rest of Intel Atom systems, home theater PCs (HTPC) based on the CPU have come a long way over the last few years. The Intel NUC5PGYH offers hardware accelerated video decoding up to 4K (HDMI 1.4b output) via the quad-core Intel Braswell Pentium N3700. Now add in 7.1 multi-channel audio support, Windows 10 preinstalled, RC6 CIR (consumer […]
Read more
The review is really light on the critial aspects for HTPC use (read MIA), but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t contain a lot of useful information about this budget ($65) Skylake CPU. When Intel releases a new processor family, we immediately start seeing reviews and opinions on the enthusiast grade processors such as the i5-6600K and the i7-6700K, both of […]
Read more
In the Sandy Bridge generation, Intel has brought to market numerous CPUs that cover a wide range of thermal and performance envelopes. The T-variant parts having TDP values as little as 35W are an intriguing choice for small form factor (SFF) enclosures because their cooling and peak power consumption requirements are much less. What happens when we compare the T-variant […]
Read more
At the end of May, Intel introduced new Sandy Bridge architecture Pentium-branded chips that offer great performance for HTPCs on a budget. Things are about to get even cheaper with three new 35W T-branded parts (Pentium G530T, Pentium G630T and Core i3-2120T) . The rest of the non-T parts coming are Pentium G630, Pentium G860, Core i3-2125 (with HD3000 graphics), […]
Read more
Intel’s Sandy Bridge Pentium chips released about a month ago piqued our interest for what could be a perfect combination of price and features for many HTPC builders. X-bit labs reviewed the G850, G840 and G620 and found them quite capable and recommended them specifically for HTPC use. With the G620 performing similarly to the Clarkdale i3-530 and sipping only slightly more power […]
Read more