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Bring on the debate

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Spiffy577

Weaksauce
Joined
Nov 10, 2005
Messages
88
I have been shopping and recently came upon the new i3 Clarkdales with GPU embedded in the cpu. I am building a htpc with light to medium gaming. I also do understand about the TrueHD and DTS (now) but with the weaker intel graphics, is the clarkdale a better buy?

Which should I choose?

DEBATE BEGIN!!! lol

Intel Core i3-540 Clarkdale 3.06GHz with
GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H

vs.

AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz with
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H (with ATI Radeon HD 4200 onboard)

(Yes, I understand this was part of a previous post but I thought it was important enough to give it's own thread...)
 
go with the i3 and let me know how it works :D. if you go the amd route, i would ditch the 785 and go nvidia 8200 8300.

8200=proven and works well
i3=hd audio bitstreaming, might be bugs to work out.

i am curious as to how well the i3 setup would adjust for over/underscan on my dlp.
 
If I were to go with the nvidia 8200 or 8300, which specific board would you recommend?

Although for all other readers, keep to the debate! lol... (Can you tell I am confused...)
 
Ok first and foremost, ditch the i3 540 as it is only 130Mhz or so faster than the $20 cheaper Core i3 530. That extra 130Mhz is not worth an extra $20. So with taht change in mind, the total will be $215. The total of the AMD setup is $150. A price difference of $65.

Now the AMD setup will definitely provide the better gaming performance. But as lowteckh mentioned, still not enough for medium gaming. In addition, the Gigabyte AMD 785G only supports a max of 5.1 via HDMI. Between the two setups, it depends on what you want more: Great audio via HDMI but crappier gaming or better gaming performance but crappier (relatively) audio via HDMI. In addition, you'd also have to figure out whether or not that greater audio is worth the extra $65.

So that's the main thing you have decide between the two setups you posted. But since this is HardOCP, I should provide other options:

Now as for the 8200/8300 chipset mentioned by Veedo, the 8200/8300 chipset has 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI. That is a just one step down from the i3's bit-streaming but one step above the 785G's 5.1 audio. However, the 8200/8300 ony supports DDR2 RAM which is a bit expensive these days. If going for a 8200/8300 setup, I'd go for this:
$75 - Asus M3N78-VM GeForce 8200 HDMI mATX Motherboard

Now if 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI is fine for you, gaming performance is of slight importance AND slightly increased power usage is ok, you can always go with the AMD setup you have now, you could go with the following setup:
$59 - AMD Athlon II X2 240 CPU
$65 - Asus M4A78LT-M LE AM3 AMD 780L mATX Motherboard
$45 - Gigabyte GV-R455D3-512I Radeon HD 4550 512MB PCI-E Video Card
---
Total: $169 plus tax and shipping

The HD 4550 is a huge step up from the onboard video of your previous setups but still not enough for medium performance in games. Hmmm now that I think about it, haven't looked up the GT 210/GT 220 cards yet for HTPCs.

Now if you want medium gaming performance + bitstream audio, then I recommend this setup:
$59 - AMD Athlon II X2 240 CPU
$65 - Asus M4A78LT-M LE AM3 AMD 780L mATX Motherboard
$100 - XFX HD-567X-YNFC Radeon HD 5670 512MB PCI-E Video Card
----
Total: $224 plus tax and shipping.

The HD 5670 offers pretty decent gaming performance AND bit-stream audio via HDMI just like the the Core i3. The only real con about the above setup is the increased power usage and heat but that power usage is worth it IMO for significantly better gaming performance.
 
damn, didnt notice the 5670's out yet. danny pretty much summed it all up. nice post mang :)
 
Thank you very much for the roundup! The bitstream audio you were discussing, that is the TrueHD and the DTS-MA? I would actually like that if I can get it but if it is way more expensive or anything it wouldn't be. That is why I was going away from the i3 setup. Didn't seem good bang for buck.

However my main concerns are for the htpc. Can the new setup still do 1080p? (which I am REALLY betting it can)

And is it relatively quiet? The new vid card seems to pack a better punch but it may also be a bit louder. (Note with research: It seems that the Radeon HD will eventually come with a version that would be passively cooled. That would kill the noise completely. But they are not out yet.) But I digress... Now, would say a MSI R4770 CYCLONE Radeon HD 4770 512mb work also? It seems to do a little better for gaming (strangely...) But the main concern is the TrueHd and DTS.

Lastly, if it does do the TrueHd etc, how would that be set up? Something from the board to the new vid card (to thus stream through the hdmi?) Wow, I really sound like a noob there... Technology changes so very quickly... Heh.

Thank you again SO very much... I am been holding back this whole time because I am confused.
 
I'm sorry, yes, they can bitstream. Nice.....

Again, how would you set that up though? It is software or hardware connections?
 
*BIG sigh...* Well Ladies and Gentlemen, I have been fretting over this issue for a long while now. JUST for kicks, I decided to look up my receiver to make sure everything would be kosher.

I have an Onkyo 603. It doesn't have hdmi. NOR does it have TrueHD OR Dts-Ma. Freakin kill me.... Albeit, this system is for a new receiver later (aka I still want the TrueHD and Dts) but I wasn't going to get that yet. My plasma has hdmi, so I can plug in the video there. I will still have to plug the audio into the receiver via the spidif. Or whatever........

Ug.

If you would still help me with my questions, I would be grateful. : )
 
Any of the setups mentioned in this thread will be capable of HD 1080P content. The HD 4770 only supports 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI at most. Which means TrueHD isn't possible. To get bitsream audio from a dedicated video card, the HD5xxx series card is needed.

The audio is setup by both software and hardware.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
Well Danny, you have convinced me... I think I am going to go with that setup. I checked my receiver this morning and it does have hdmi, thankfully. It does not have the TrueHD but I will upgrade later for a theater room downstairs eventually.

Thanks again Danny and everyone!
 
No TrueHD isn't a problem. Just have the software output as 5.1/7.1 LPCM.
 
Since your receiver doesn't do true hd, AND you are planning to upgrade down the line. I'd go with the 8200 board, and then pop in a 5670 down the road. Since it doesn't matter whether or not you have the TrueHD now, pay an extra $10 on the motherboard, and wait until the 5xxx series drops in price a bit. Hopefully the release of fermi will result in price drops all across the 5xxx series, and then you can save some dough, or maybe even scoop a 5770.

Or, just go with the 5670 setup now as that's a great build ;)
 
i would definately add any low profile gpu to that htpc build as integrated graphics 99% of the time just are not good enough for full game acceleration
 
Ok, LAST question.

If I were going to wait on the ATI 5760 board, which mobo would you recommend for now, with using the onboard video? The 8200? And if so, why exactly?
 
Spiffy577 said:
which mobo would you recommend for now, with using the onboard video? The 8200? And if so, why exactly?
Click to expand...

It depends on the following:
- Do you want 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI?
- What is more important: Future CPU upgrade path or better audio fidelity?
 
5.1 would be fine for now because I only have a 5.1 system. I can get the 5670 in two+ months (after the other major video card gpu comes out hopefully pushing prices down or coming out with a passively cooled 5670). Also, this is basically for a htpc first so I am not thinking I want to upgrade the cpu really anyway (to keep heat and fan noise down). I was planning the x2 2.8 or 3.0 ghz.

So... I don't know. lol. Did that help at all? : )

(REALLY appreciating the patience... Heh...)
 
Oh, sorry, 7.1 hdmi would be nice yes. That I can say. Probably also better audio (presumably with the 5670 later)
 
Personally, if I was in your shoes and was planning on buying a HD 5670 later on, I'd settle for the 785G and its 5.1 since I like AMD's chipset and future CPU upgrade path better than Nvidia's chipsets. In addition, considering that a majority of my future and current PC builds will have DDR3 RAM, going with a 785G AM3 setup will allow me to share/use the DDR3 RAM for troubleshooting.
 
So, (we have talked about so much...) are you talking about the ASUS M4A78LT-M LE or the GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H that I was originally going with? Oh, I have s-vid (kill me) or hdmi in for my receiver. So the Asus doesn't have hdmi onboard. I should probably go with the Gigabyte then eh? And the gigabyte does hdmi with 5.1 onboard correct?

This is what I have mostly decided on so far.
AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor Model
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active
Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EADS 1.5TB SATA
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Good?
 
I was talking about the Gigabyte mobo. AFAIK, only Gigabyte 780G/785G mobos can do 5.1 audio via HDMI.

Setup looks good.
 
Cool... Thanks again for all the help. I think I will finally pull the trigger. lol...
 
Spiffy577 said:
Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EADS 1.5TB SATA
Click to expand...

I have a WD10EADS 1TB and a WD6400AAKS 640GB. When I play a movie off the 1TB, I see less than perfect playback. 5-10 sec lags every 10 min or so. The WD6400 plays fine. Not sure what is going on, but I suspect the green drives may be to blame. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your build. I'll be waiting for your results. ;)
 
bitbum said:
I have a WD10EADS 1TB and a WD6400AAKS 640GB. When I play a movie off the 1TB, I see less than perfect playback. 5-10 sec lags every 10 min or so. The WD6400 plays fine. Not sure what is going on, but I suspect the green drives may be to blame. Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your build. I'll be waiting for your results. ;)
Click to expand...

PEBKAC. 2 1.5TB Samsung 5400rpm, 2 1.5TB WD greens, 2 1TB WD greens, 1 1.5TB Seagate low spinner. Less than perfect playback happens only when certain programs are doing file verification/unpack and I'm definitely not the only one streaming high bit-rate crap off a WHS.
 
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