Which would be better AMD or Intel?

[nstgc]

Nah, I would still go with their APUs over Intels.

For games, possibly, even though the CPU performance is too low for most games, but for movies/HTPC an i3 uses much less power and is more than good enough.

Aren't AMD's APU's cheaper though? Also, the new Lano's are more powerful than my old Phenom II 945 which was powerful enough for games.

I haven't looked at the prices, but I think they are.

AMD isn't that much worse tbh, and quite a bit cheaper. But Intel is just on another level. If money is no object, get an Intel, but if you are on a budget, getting a comparable AMD chip isn't blasphemy.

Actually.. An AMD HTPC will use more power, and as such cost more per day.

In fact, if you do not turn it off when not in use the Intel i3 based one will be cheaper after about 250 days of idling.

Unless you tend to run Folding, I doubt its that big of a cost. Remember CPUs and GPUs don't run full tilt most of the time. AMD I beleive uses less energy at low loads still (on their Llanos, not the bulldozers).

[edit]

compare:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007671%2050001028%20600166682%20600166681&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=343&Description=&Type=&N=100007671+50001157+600005584&IsNodeId=1&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&PropertyCodeValue=507%3A53969&PropertyCodeValue=144%3A245542&PropertyCodeValue=144%3A245540&PropertyCodeValue=144%3A245541

[per]

Aren't AMD's APU's cheaper though? Also, the new Lano's are more powerful than my old Phenom II 945 which was powerful enough for games.

Indeed, it was better than I thought. It is about in between a core i3 and an i5 which is good enough for anything except battlefield 3 multiplayer, more or less.

Or, well, WoW which for some reasons want unholy single-thread performance.

I haven't looked at the prices, but I think they are.

Unless you tend to run Folding, I doubt its that big of a cost. Remember CPUs and GPUs don't run full tilt most of the time. AMD I beleive uses less energy at low loads still (on their Llanos, not the bulldozers).

The price difference is not all that big, actually.

I searched for the cheapest motherboard + cpu combo with both platforms (the other components are identical, so that should not matter) in a Swedish computer store (note that these prices includes 25% VAT).

AMD: 729 + 680 SEK
Intel: 1005 + 599 SEK (there was actually a motherboard for 500SEK, but that one did not include HDMI)

So the total price difference is around SEK 200, or $33.

Now, as for the power usage:
A8-3850, total system load (from sweclockers, same 4G ram + 600Gb HDD in both systems):

While idle: 68W
Under full load: 276W

core-i3 (integrated GPU), total system load.
While idle: 51W
full load: 107W

So, ok, the power cost is only about half an SEK/day (around SEK 2/kWh including taxes etc).
So if you idle most of the time it takes about a year to even up the scores as far as cost goes.

Once the new ivy bridge CPU:s come out in march or so the power usage difference at least at full load will be larger, the idle power is actually largely ram + hdd + motherboard, not the CPU.

[nstgc]

I already agree that the once Ivy comes out it'll be game over. As someone said, the prices on their current line will drop if nothing else.

How many hours a day where you assuming this would be use for? I didn't do the computations my self (American's are internationally know for their laziness), but that doesn't look right.

[per]

How many hours a day where you assuming this would be use for? I didn't do the computations my self (American's are internationally know for their laziness), but that doesn't look right.

I assumed it would stay on 24/7, but only be in use 1-2h/day.

Much like my own HTPC. I am too lazy to turn it off.

To simplify I calculated with a total power usage difference of about 20W (the idle difference alone is 17W), which means it costs about 20/1000 * 2SEK/hour more to own the AMD machine.

This is SEK 0.04/hour, or around SEK 1/day.

[nstgc]

Stop being lazy! I earned the right to be lazy because my grandparents worked their asses off and because of my government's love of genocide -- you can not say these things!
[note] this is a joke.

[edit] Also, according to posts on Newegg state that the user bought the CPU, mainboard, and RAM for under $180. Using your conversion, thats 1090 SEK. With VAT it would be 1363 SEK which is less than the number  you came up with and has a the additional cost of RAM.

[per]

Also, according to posts on Newegg state that the user bought the CPU, mainboard, and RAM for under $180. Using your conversion, thats 1090 SEK. With VAT it would be 1363 SEK which is less than the number  you came up with and has a the additional cost of RAM.

For some reason you usually have to multiply dollar prices with 10, then add VAT to get the
Swedish prices. This was true when the dollar cost SEK 9, and now when it is at around 6...

The core i3 model seems to be priced around $98 in the US, and costs about SEK 880 without VAT, or close to $130 (it seems the dollar has regained some, and is now back to SEK6.7).

[nstgc]

I used the same conversion you used. If I did something wrong so did you.

[per]

I used the same conversion you used. If I did something wrong so did you.

It is not that the conversion was wrong, it is simply that prices of electronics are higher in the EU in general, and the nordic regions specifically.

I do not know why, but that has always been the case.

As an example my video projector cost around $2000 in the US, but close to 30k SEK a few years ago.

[nstgc]

Oh, that sucks.

 Well, in any case, in the US, the difference in cost is more than $33. Also, our electricity is (marginally) cheaper.

[kitamesume]

AMD isn't that much worse tbh, and quite a bit cheaper. But Intel is just on another level. If money is no object, get an Intel, but if you are on a budget, getting a comparable AMD chip isn't blasphemy.

Actually.. An AMD HTPC will use more power, and as such cost more per day.

In fact, if you do not turn it off when not in use the Intel i3 based one will be cheaper after about 250 days of idling.

Unless you tend to run Folding, I doubt its that big of a cost. Remember CPUs and GPUs don't run full tilt most of the time. AMD I beleive uses less energy at low loads still (on their Llanos, not the bulldozers).

[edit]

compare:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007671%2050001028%20600166682%20600166681&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=343&Description=&Type=&N=100007671+50001157+600005584&IsNodeId=1&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&PropertyCodeValue=507%3A53969&PropertyCodeValue=144%3A245542&PropertyCodeValue=144%3A245540&PropertyCodeValue=144%3A245541

i use my i3 as a seeder for 24/7 if that matters.

[nstgc]

Not really since the argument was for HTPCs which need not be left on all the time.

[kitamesume]

^ well there are some HTPCs that are hibernated instead of shut-downed for fast boot-ups, or sleep for even faster boot-ups, imho who wouldn't want a "ready to play from off-to-on in a few seconds".

obviously smart users would also use their HTPCs to do something else other than watch a movie, or else they'd profit more on buying a stand-alone player and just use a regular pc to convert the videos to a preferred container.

[Tatsujin]

AMD or Intel? I could possibly to get Phenomen 6x or Intel i5 4x, but dunno which would better.... For intel I would get the 2500k and not overlock it, but it's just 10 euro for the overlocking version, so it really doesn't matter

Intel.