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getting 1080p started with my new htpc

  • 13-09-2008 6:00pm
    #1
    subway
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,131 ✭✭✭


    after thinking it through for a while i picked up a bargain dell e520 machine this morning for 120euro.
    specs are basic enough, e6300, 1 gig ram and nothing else really.

    i have my tv card, im trying to get someone to swap my 2 gigs of ddr ram for their 2 gigs of ddr2 so i can upgrade the ram.
    i have a fanless psu thats ready to drop in and i have 500 gigs of sata drives and 1tb of ide drives ready to go.
    everything is in place 1080p tv, remote, sound etc so i just need to confirm the final hardware specs before we go live.

    my requirement is this i want to be able to play 1080p mkv/h264 without issue. and silently :)
    everything else i have covered.


    so do i need a processor upgrade? what would you recommned and what should i do about cooling?
    what graphics card should i buy?

    budget is as low as possible, but tell me what i need and ill save up and buy it.

    thanks for reading :)


Comments

  • #2
    mediacentre.ie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 114 ✭✭mediacentre.ie


    I would get one of these if you can. Radeon 3450, 3650 or the new 4650 when it comes out.

    these will enable you to play blurays with out having to upgrade anything else.

    you can get the 3450 for less than €50


  • #3
    subway
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,131 ✭✭✭subway


    great, didnt think it would be that simple.
    theres a lot of conflicting info floating around about 1080p.

    my main concern was the low end proc, but hopefully that will be that :)

    just on question, could you recommend an nvidia equivalent? i have always used nvidia cards and have a preference for them.
    if the ati is better, then i will go with your initial recomendation


  • #4
    mediacentre.ie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 114 ✭✭mediacentre.ie


    8400GS, 8500, 8600GT. If have no interest in gaming and solely want HD playback then you can get most of these for under €50

    go for something that is passive and has a HDMI out put.

    The reason I did advise on nvidia is they have made a real mess with there drivers when it comes to HDMI sound.

    the drivers will disable analog sound to use the spdif pass through on the card. it does this even if the card doesn't have a spdif connector.

    leaving you with no sound on you TV. I was always a big nvidia fan but this issue has been there for at least a year and they still can't fix it.

    I got a brand new 9800GT and it still had the issue. so I RMA'd and got a radeon 4850. It is a much better card.

    If you have a audio receiver then you are ok.


  • #5
    Wiggy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 225 ✭✭Wiggy


    mediacentre.ie wrote: »
    The reason I did advise on nvidia is they have made a real mess with there drivers when it comes to HDMI sound.

    I hope this isn't off topic - if so, I apologise.

    I just fitted an XFX MG-63MI-7109 Motherboard to my HTPC. It uses nForce 630i/7100 chipset.

    I'm using Vista Ultimate as the OS. As far as I can tell, the board is only giving two-channel stereo via the HDMI out. In Control Panel\Sound, the HDMI speaker config utility only lists 2 speakers in the options list.

    Any idea how to get this to work?


  • #6
    subway
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,131 ✭✭✭subway


    picked up a 3650, gonna install it later this week.
    thanks for the advice


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  • #7
    mediacentre.ie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 114 ✭✭mediacentre.ie


    Wiggy wrote: »
    I hope this isn't off topic - if so, I apologise.

    I just fitted an XFX MG-63MI-7109 Motherboard to my HTPC. It uses nForce 630i/7100 chipset.

    I'm using Vista Ultimate as the OS. As far as I can tell, the board is only giving two-channel stereo via the HDMI out. In Control Panel\Sound, the HDMI speaker config utility only lists 2 speakers in the options list.

    Any idea how to get this to work?


    If it is using spdif then this will only carry two channels to your TV. you need to set it to passthough with latest realtek drivers. this should enable 5.1 but only if you TV is capable of decoding DD or DTS.

    this is a good help

    http://ac3filter.net/guides/ac3filter_spdif


  • #8
    Wiggy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 225 ✭✭Wiggy


    mediacentre.ie wrote: »
    If it is using spdif then this will only carry two channels to your TV. you need to set it to passthough with latest realtek drivers. this should enable 5.1 but only if you TV is capable of decoding DD or DTS.

    this is a good help

    http://ac3filter.net/guides/ac3filter_spdif

    Thanks for the link.

    Does this SPDIF config data apply even when the physical interface is HDMI?

    The mobo has an HDMI OUT, which is connected to the HDMI IN on my 5.1 receiver. There is an SPDIF out on the mobo - but it's just a set of pins not connected to anything.


  • #9
    mediacentre.ie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 114 ✭✭mediacentre.ie


    I'm fairly sure that nvidia transfer spdif over HDMI but I am not 100% sure. I suppose the nvidia or avs forums are your best bet.


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