Which CPU for Plex transcoding

[lunix]

Hey,

I have an underpowered HTPC with an AMD E350. It works fine for watching anything directly on the connected TV (even HD movies in any format), but doesn't cut it for streaming 1080p material to the iPad and other devices using Plex Media Server.

I'm looking for an upgrade that can stream/transcode 1080p in any format - maybe even two at the same time.

I'd like to keep the power consumption low, especially in idle (as the HTPC will be idle most of the time.)

Gaming is not an issue for this build.

So, which CPU would you guys recommend? I'm thinking either
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116947

Or an AMD APU, but don't know much about their power consumption.

For the i3, do I need a T version, or is the idle consumption fine for the other models?
Should I go for 4 cores?
In the latter case, should I wait for Kaveri, or which current CPU?
Which CPU would you recommend overall (I'm not married to these options)?


Whichever platform is required, I'll need a mobo in mATX with more than 4 SATA lines.

Thank you for any suggestions!

 

[seinfeld]

what motherboard are you running? might be easier to just drop in a 4 core amd, and just keep everything else the same! power managment in amd stuff is great.

 

[lunix]

It's a fixed board/CPU combo at present, can't keep the mobo.

But I did come across some power consumption results on the A10 that looked pretty good, esp the A10-6700. Both, i3 "T" and A10-6700 are a little more expensive than I'd hoped. But it may be well worth it.