[grumpygamer]

Hello there,
I am in the process of building my new kodi machine and was wondering if there are any downsides on running it on this processor

E3-1230L v3 (25W, 4C/8T, 1.8 GHz to 2.8 GHz, 8MB L3) (no IGP)

since no one uses xeons apparently
This processor runs on a 1150 socket so it's a TAD outdated as well and would prevent me from upgrading later on to a 1155 socket-based processor.

Also I am not sure whether it is better to use that with an added GPU or just have a 4570T (intel 4600 IGP)

Usage is obvioulsy watching HD movies, 10bit encoded animes and playing with retroplayer (and maybe dolphin emulator).

Thanks for any advice

[DJ_Izumi]

Well... You're going to need SOME kind of GPU since Xeons have no IGP. You can't hook it up to a display without some kind of graphics device.

That asside, it should be powerful enough to do all decoding tasks in software if you want. I have a 3770K cut down to two cores rather than four and it does even HEVC 1080p without issue.

[USCMitch]

I could be wrong but didn't the LGA 1150 replace the LGA 1155? If I'm right, you would be able to upgrade to other LGA 1150 CPUs.

[grumpygamer]

Ah, you're right. But I got the wrong processor, I was looking for one of these:
E3-1230L v3 (25W, 4C/8T, 1.8 GHz to 2.8 GHz, 8MB L3) (no IGP)
E3-1220L v3 (15W, 2C/4T, 1.1 GHz to 1.3 GHz, 4MB L3) (no IGP)

but they are nowhere to be seen

[DJ_Izumi]

So do you not actually HAVE any CPU's on hand? If not, why specifically go for Xeon's on a socket that's shared with consumer processors and interchangable with them?

[USCMitch]

To get back to your original question, the only downside I can see is the lack of an integrated GPU means you will have to purchase and install a discrete graphics card. This is probably overkill for your stated uses and will just consume more power, as well create more heat and noise. If you really want a beefier processor for your media box, I'd recommend something along the lines of the i5-4440S or i5-4690S. It is more than enough for watching media, but has a TDP of 65W. Even it's overkill, but it's cheaper and cooler than a Xeon plus discrete GPU.

[skylarking]

Well... You're going to need SOME kind of GPU since Xeons have no IGP. You can't hook it up to a display without some kind of graphics device.

Some Xeons do come with integrated GPU, see Xeon Processor E3-1200 Product Family for deatils

Why the OP wants to use a Xeon rather than a consumer i3/i5/i7 is another question in itself and he has given no hint why he wants to go down this road.
But if it's ECC memory the OP wants to benefit from, some i3 and Pentium variants contain both IGP and support ECC.

I have an i3-2130 which uses the 8GB ECC memory installed in my HP Z210.
That CPU provides Intel HD Graphics 2000 which sends video to my TV via a DVI-HDMI cable (though I had black screen issues which were sorted once Intel updated their IGP drivers).

But as already mentioned, a consumer CPU with IGP may be a better/cheaper solution if your not really needing ECC memory

[grumpygamer]

well, the reason is the ultra-low TDP of those XEONS, one is 15W!
Ideally I'd like to be able to play retrogames with it and play 10bit content (requires CPU power), but my wife leaves it on most of the time so I'm looking to not grow my monthly bill
Another reason for the low power TDP is I want to fit it in a small case.
So you see I'm just pursuing the holy grail of a low power machine that can do anything!

[DJ_Izumi]

You could just under clock a consumer CPU to reduce it's TDP. I have an i7 3770K with two of it's four cores disabled just to reduce it's heat output and power consumption. And, honestly, those low TDP Xeon Haswells cost as much as consumer Haswells that are 6-8 times faster. It would take a long, long, LONG time for that Xeon's power savings to even pay for itself. The low wattage Xeon's come at quite the price premium and so do their associated components like motherboards and such. They mostly just accomplish having a lower TDP by having a much lower turbo speed in comparison to the consumer products. I doubt it'd ultimately save much power overall even, especially if you're going to be using a desktop motherboard and power supply.

There's also the lack of an IGP in the Xeon's you specified. This means you'll have to use a less power efficient discrete graphics card to get anything out of these things. I don't think that low voltage Xeons are the way to go if you want a very low power box. Something more like a NUC or Android box would be better suited and the entire package would consume far less power than something made from desktop/workstation/server components.

[USCMitch]

Again, you may want to look at an i5-4440S or i5-4690S. Integrated GPU and TDP of 65W. I can't speak to the gaming aspect but for media playback it never breaks a sweat and it's in a Wesena ITX5 case with a single case fan. Replaced the stock CPU fan with a low profile Noctua and its cool and silent. And they're not terribly expensive at $230 new from Amazon.

[grumpygamer]

I was on a budget of 100 pounds for the processor, maybe an older gen on eBay can do the trick
What about a 3570t?

[DJ_Izumi]

I was on a budget of 100 pounds for the processor, maybe an older gen on eBay can do the trick
What about a 3570t?

For that much money you can get just about any processor that's more than suitable for Kodi. You'd only be excluding processors that are 'stupidly excessive'. The i5 3570t or even just the vanilla i5 3570 would be more than ample to do what you want it to do.

[grumpygamer]

D'you think it would be able to handle retroplayer - namely the libretro cores?
How about 10bit encoded material ? That is CPU decoded.
And how about 4k video? I'm guessing that's up to the intel 4000 onchip GP...

[DJ_Izumi]

That CPU could do 4K HEVC without the GPU and everything else. Yeah, the 3570 is good and powerful.

[noggin]

That CPU could do 4K HEVC without the GPU and everything else. Yeah, the 3570 is good and powerful.

What code are you running to get 4K HEVC running with CPU decode on a 3570? And what frame rate. I was struggling to get 2160/59.94p HEVC to decode on a 4GHz i7-2600K in software - and that was using OpenHEVC's ffmpeg branch which was supposedly faster than the normal ffmpeg builds?