Yet Another HTPC Build - Suggestions?

S

Spiffy577

Weaksauce
Joined
Nov 10, 2005
Messages
88
Hey all,

This is what I am going to build, I think. I know it is a bit light on the gaming. I would like to bump that up a bit. Any suggestions? Or suggestions on the build? Or have you seen cheaper prices? All of these prices are from the egg.

Thanks!

Josh

CASE: nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 5000B Micro ATX HTPC Case $59.99
MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $89.99
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS $69.99
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core $58.99
RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel $56.99
HD: Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EADS 1.5TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal $109.99
 
Well, I guess the first question I have is...... Do you want to be able to Dolby True HD/DTS-HD?

Also, you'll love that PSU, it's damn near silent.
 
I am not sure... Does this board not have that onboard? Is it super important? I have an older onkyo now and I am not sure what it supports... lol
 
Wow, I have been doing some looking around about the TrueHD stuff. That is a deep rabbit hole. Is there a board that actually does that without down sampling? It seems the gigabyte onboard audio does do it but it down samples it to 48 / 16. (Did that actually make sense? Because I am just pulling it out of my ....)
 
Spiffy577 said:
Wow, I have been doing some looking around about the TrueHD stuff. That is a deep rabbit hole. Is there a board that actually does that without down sampling? It seems the gigabyte onboard audio does do it but it down samples it to 48 / 16. (Did that actually make sense? Because I am just pulling it out of my ....)
Click to expand...

I haven't looked into what nVidia cards will do it but you need to get a 5xxx series card from ATI to do it. Some do it out of the box and some require a firmware update. I've heard of NO on board video that does it. Also, if you want to do any gaming I would get a stand alone card besides unless you're on a tight budget. It wouldn't cost you much more.
 
- None of ATI's current onboard video solutions can provide more than 5.1 Audio via HDMI.
- Nvidia's 8200/8200/9300/9400 chipsets and the onboard video associated with those chipsets as well as ATI's 4800 series cards and Nvidia's GT 2xx series (I think) supports 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI.
- For bit-streamed audio though, you will need to go with either ATI's 5800 series video cards or the new Core i3 CPUs + a mobo based on the H55 chipset.
 
Ok, the new i3 chipset with a compatible h55 board will do the full TrueHD correct? So the GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI will do it? This is throwing me for a loop. MAJOR advice needed. : )

Thanks!
 
AHHH!!! Ok, I am better. Would this system be better? How's the onboard graphics?

Intel Pentium G6950 Clarkdale 2.8GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Model GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EADS 1.5TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare $109.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 $69.99
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit $59.99
nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 5000B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case $59.99
 
Oh, there isn't an onboard video...

Remember, this is for an HTPC. Quiet, cool, and runs 1080p. TrueHD would be nice.
 
Yes, Clarkdale's integrated on die GPU can bitstream, but it's pretty new too so ymmv. Personally I'm banking on it, literally.
 
Graphics chip is onboard with the cpu built in.
CPU/GPU same chip.

Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Spiffy577 said:
AHHH!!! Ok, I am better. Would this system be better? How's the onboard graphics?

Intel Pentium G6950 Clarkdale 2.8GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Model GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EADS 1.5TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare $109.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 $69.99
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit $59.99
nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 5000B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case $59.99
Click to expand...

This review of the Clarkdale sums up what is required for Bitstreaming (TrueHD and DTS-MA)

that spec'd system looks good except the Pentium G6950 is not a good choice. Intel deliberately made that chip with less functionality. Those lowest price Clarkdale (that has both graphics and cpu on the same chip) that can do bitstreaming is the i3-530.
 
Ok, so you are saying, if I get the GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI with an i3-530, I will not need an external video card even though one is NOT on board? Anyone know the performance of say, 3d etc?

This is a completely new technology and I am completely lost on it. What does this do exactly? With the trueHD etc. (Btw, isn't the TrueHd and DTS-MA an audio thing? Or the TrueHd is video and DTS-MA is audio?) I understand that the i3 does the graphics on chip, instead of the board. I just want to make sure I have my ducks in a row.

(Btw, I did read the review on the i3. Thank you very much for that. Comprehensive.)
 
You don't need a seperate video card, outside of very special circumstances, for a HTPC if you go with the i3 530 + a H55 motherboard since that CPU has a built video chip.

TrueHD and DTS-MA are both audio related subjects and both pertain to high-end audio. Basically if those two features exists, you will get better audio.
 
I don't know what kind of gaming you intend to do with this HTPC, but keep in mind that an i3 has an "Intel" GPU, so don't plan on it being great for gaming. Can it game, yes, but it won't be great at it. My understanding is that this latest generation of Intel GPU's is much better than their earlier ones. But still, they are nowhere near ATI or nVidia graphics for gaming. (Also note that i3 doesn't introduce updated Intel graphics, they are merely taking existing GPU that used to go on motherboards and putting it on the CPU's chip).
 
So has anyone seen of any good reviews on the 3d and gaming features then? I have googled but haven't found much...
 
Spiffy577 said:
So has anyone seen of any good reviews on the 3d and gaming features then? I have googled but haven't found much...
Click to expand...

The onboard video will be fine for most desktop usage and HTPC usage. For gaming however, it's Intel onboard video. So really not that good.
 
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)
 
I've always found the Intel GPUs to completely suck for most everything. The onboard Radeon 4200 from the previous post performs ok for some 3d gaming. TF2 is playable on it.
 
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