Processor (CPU) for a HTPC
Although this system isn’t meant to play the latest games, you’ll still need a fairly hefty CPU depending on how much digital video you want to work with. There are two camps when it comes to processors, Intel and AMD. Both are equally capable and widely used. We’ll choose an Intel Celeron for this computer for its excellent price/performance ratio.
Within Intel there are several classes of CPUs, including the Celeron series and P4 series. For us, regular users we will only need a Celeron class CPU. To get even more detailed, each class of CPUs have clock speeds measured in Gigahertz (GHz). Faster speeds equals better performance. For our basic setup we only need a Celeron 2.26 GHz (B0002735E4).
If you want to go with AMD, take a look at their Sempron series. A Sempron 2400+ (B0002XGJLY) will provide performance and price similar to Intel Celeron 2.4 GHz.