Sandy Bridge GPU vs. 1156 GPU vs. Mobo Integrated GPU vs. "Straight Up" GPU

[ImmaPC]

So I'm building an HTPC for my family. Obviously, cost is somewhat of a factor as I am trying to keep this sub-$600. It will be used for some internet, movie/music playback (little to no encoding) and some light gaming. For internet, I'll be getting a wireless WiFi card of some sort, perhaps buy a motherboard that comes with it. Movie playback will be at 1080p over Blu-Ray. In-game eyecandy/graphics will be at maximum around Half-Life 2 level, but I just wanna make it decently playable; I don't want everything max'd but hopefully not 22FPS with minimal settings.

My questions pertain to exactly what the title reads. What would you guys recommend out of these options? Or perhaps will they all do the job just fine and it absolutely doesn't matter whatsoever? What would be the cheapest regardless of performance?

(sorry for rambling/potentially sounding annoying. Thanks for reading and info/feedback you may have)

[_dangtx_]

go for something like a hd5770 power wise,just in case.

156 i3 will be fine. or 1155 i3, but that one doesnt oc if you care.

the hd3000 on the sb chippies is good, but you cant get it on lower end ones.

[ImmaPC]

@dangtx:

Thanks for the advice man :). After reading up on a bunch of SB reviews/Clarkdale reviews etc. I'm kind-of leaning away from IGP's. I mean there's this test here where it gets decent FPS w/ modern games, except there's an issue. It's not that it's on low settings, which as I said before doesn't matter much, but rather that it's at 1024x768. I mean, I'm gonna be doing 1920x1080, 1280x720 for older games (i.e. Halo) A *bit* extra graphics boost wouldn't do any harm. Not to mention that the best one (as you mentioned) only comes on 2500K and 2600K, which are like ~$220/$330 respectively. And holy crap the 5770 can be had for ~$100. Beautiful.

Still considering IGP's though... I mean dang, is the $100 well spent? It won't be for Crysis or anything, unless I use it to game on the TV, which doesn't sound like a bad deal...

Wait, hang on. For $220 I can buy a 5770 and an AMD Athlon II X4 600e and still have money to spare, hell an X4 640 or Phenom X4 840...Steal. Heck even if I were considering a 2600K with hyperthreading, I could pick up a 1055T/5770 and still have money to spare. Or mebbie just a plain ol' i5-750 or something and 5770. Win. Opinions?

[JJThomp]

Originally Posted by ImmaPC

@dangtx:

Thanks for the advice man :). After reading up on a bunch of SB reviews/Clarkdale reviews etc. I'm kind-of leaning away from IGP's. I mean there's this test here where it gets decent FPS w/ modern games, except there's an issue. It's not that it's on low settings, which as I said before doesn't matter much, but rather that it's at 1024x768. I mean, I'm gonna be doing 1920x1080, 1280x720 for older games (i.e. Halo) A *bit* extra graphics boost wouldn't do any harm. Not to mention that the best one (as you mentioned) only comes on 2500K and 2600K, which are like ~$220/$330 respectively. And holy crap the 5770 can be had for ~$100. Beautiful.

Still considering IGP's though... I mean dang, is the $100 well spent? It won't be for Crysis or anything, unless I use it to game on the TV, which doesn't sound like a bad deal...

Wait, hang on. For $220 I can buy a 5770 and an AMD Athlon II X4 600e and still have money to spare, hell an X4 640 or Phenom X4 840...Steal. Heck even if I were considering a 2600K with hyperthreading, I could pick up a 1055T/5770 and still have money to spare. Or mebbie just a plain ol' i5-750 or something and 5770. Win. Opinions?

I really don't recommend a 1055t unless you are, watching a movie, playing a game, playing music, and on a voip program at the same time. The 1055t really doesn't perform well when only doing 1 thing an i3 would be better IMO.

Personally I recommend an i3 1155 and a gtx 460 768 will do fine (not SE). the 460's can be found for around $100 (Pay $120 max).

[_dangtx_]

if youre not sure about the gpu, get the i3 going and see what gives. in the meantime either use your old dedicated gpu or
get a cheap used one. used for 100 bucks you get lots of bang per buck. i missed a deal on a pair of 5750's at 90 bucks lol

[ImmaPC]

Wait, isn't 2100t hyperthreaded dual-core? If that's the case why not just buy a full-on quad-core from AMD or something?

As for GPU, 5770 is probably def. the way to go. I'm feeling right about it lol. Thanks for the tips