Skylake for HTPC

[IT Troll]

The new mainstream Skylake processors have now been officially announced and should be available this month.

The T-series parts look especially appealing for HTPC use. They are available with either 2 or 4 cores and have on-board Intel HD 530 graphics capable of hardware decoding H.265/HEVC content. Best of all they do all this whilst consuming less than 35W!

arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/09/skylake-for-desktops-new-socketed-processors-from-core-i7-to-pentium/

I'm afraid the writing is on the wall for my aging VGX-XL...

[Oliver]

Yeah, unfortunately our beloved VGX-XL machines are aging and newer better system are available and at reasonable prices.

Though it goes to show just how amazing these machine are to have survived around 7-9 years and still be very capable and used regularly.
Personally I see no reason for any further power, my updated XL301 starts up in less than minuet, plays 1080p, plays 3D and runs Win10 all without any issues, I can't see me wanting anymore anytime soon, though I guess its probably cheaper and easier to buy new than upgrade these XL machines.

It's such a shame modern motherboards and PSUs don't fit into the XL case (well not without some serious modding) as I prefer the look of these to any other media centre before or after

[IT Troll]

I don't really need any extra performance but I do feel that the VGX-XL is running on borrowed time. My biggest fear is that a capacitor on the motherboard will suddenly go pop. In comparison, more modern motherboards are really well built with durable, quality components.

Also with these low power components I think I can build a much quieter system; with a semi-passive PSU, 35W CPU and no need for a graphics card.

My VGX-XL has served me well, but better to retire gracefully than go out in a puff of smoke.