AMD CPU Equivalent to Intel i3 530?

I am building an HTPC and was really interested in the i3 CPU because of the speed, integrated graphics, lower power consumption, and the ability to do True-HD audio all on the chip. Trying to keep it simple without additional Graphics/Audio Card. 1080p, Blu-ray, encoding, light gaming.

Been reading the "Building HTPC" thread and info is a bit dated.

Has AMD released an equivalent chip to the Intel i3 with integrated graphics and True-HD audio yet.

Just curious, as the i3 is a bit more than I want to spend, and I know AMds are usually a bit more bang for the buck.

I have been watching i3 mobo combo deals (such as Fry's) but seems to have missed all the great deals from a few weeks back, and am getting to the point where I don't want to wait anymore

Since it is going to be a 24/7 HTPC in my family room I was trying to come up with a low power/low noise solution. Originally was looking at the Intel Atom options with integrated GPU(Ion), but they seem a bit limited at this moment so I was trying to build something a step up from that, but not a full blown PC.

If I went the HD5450 card route, what would be a lower wattage AMD CPU that would give me comparable performance to an i3(Athlon II X3?)

HD5450 - How would it do with light gaming(Can you give me some reference games that would play well) - I wasn't planning on gaming on it, but it would be nice to have the capability if i even found the time/interest.

thanks for the link.

I agree - I am pretty well set on getting the i3 530 at this point- Just got to get the right deal at Fry's - Like the $100 i3 plus mobo they had a few weeks back.

Those Ion setups are interesting, but seem to choke on flash still and struggler with 1080p, which I feel still needs to be part of the HTPC capabilities.

Actually there are many people still having problems with Flash with the Intel Atom and Ion, even with the latest Flash release that is supposed to be more Ion friendly. So much so that everybody is wating for the Ion 2, which is due out later this year.

But the benefit is they are very low wattage, which is perfect for HTPC.

I ended up picking up an AMD II X4 635 2.9ghz Quad Core CPU with Asus M4A785T-M/CSM board as a combo deal at Fry's for $100 AR(with the tax). Price was too good to pass up.The board seems to be pretty good(good reviews) has HD4200 onboard graphics. It is actually quite a bit more powerful than the i3 CPU according to the benchmarks previously posted, but my only concern comparing it to the i3 is it runs 95W so it will use more power - I might underclock it a bit since it is more than I need for my HTPC right now.

I know the GPU is not optimal - Can't do TrueHD audio, but I figure I could slap a card in there down the road if I need t.

I figured it was a good deal, so I grabbed one, and I can also see if Fry's puts a i3 combo deal on this weekend(with what board), and always return it if needed(Although i hate returning to Fry's)

Now I just need to find a killer deal on some DDR3 1600 ram.