Do I need an external GPU for 1080P playback? (1 Viewer)

[Marcusb]

why not just try it and see. Since you have bought the mobo anyway (are will be buying) then get that and upgrade if needed. That way you haven't wasted money if not needed.

Also, I'm pretty certain the 7100 will have dual channel capabilities. Most AMD boards since the GF4 days have dual channel. Is it 7100 or 7050?
For the 6 series, it was 6150 for the top model and 6100 for the budget. For the 7 series, it was 7050 for the top model and 7025 for the lower model.

 

[Zappza]

It is the 7100.
The thing is that the chipset (nForce 630i) doesn't seem to support dual channel.
Reviews on the same chipset, only with other manufacturers sort this out:
eVGA Computer Reviews - nForce-630i+GF7150, DDR2, m-ATX,Socket-775, HDMI/HDCP, GbLAN, PCI-Ex16 - 112CKNF77A1

And btw, it isn't and AMD chip, it's an nVidia chip. I have no idea what so ever, why they would leave out dual channel.

However, I think I will try without the graphics card first. Read in a Dual Channel VS Single Channel memory test on tomshardware.com that the differences very minimal know, although they mattered a lot more back in the days. DDR-800 RAM should be quick enough anyways.

 

[Zappza]

I have now done a complete turn over.

I am going for an AM2 based setup now.
The GigaByte GA-MA78GM-SH2 based on the new AMD 780G chipset looks like a perfect chipset for an HTPC.
That, and a AMD64 Athlon X2 5000+ Black Editon will be the processing power of my setup. Will overclock the CPU a bit, so that I have power when I need it, but I will enable Cool n' Quiet so that it will be silent and low performance otherwise.
It has all the features I wanted, Dual Channel memory, GbLAN, DDR2, Optical S/PDIF out, HDMI, DVI and all else that your heart may want.

Looking forward to getting it ^^.

 

[alpinestars]

The GigaByte GA-MA78GM-SH2 based on the new AMD 780G chipset looks like a perfect chipset for an HTPC.

Good choice!

I got this board last Friday. bluray discs with BD+ (e.g. Die Hard 4.0) are playing wonderful at 30-45% processor load (x2 4600+ EE) with the integrated HD 3200 (780G).

BR
alpinestars

 

[Zappza]

Yes, I read all the reviews and that was one of the main reasons I chose it.

Will probably buy a Blu-ray reader in a couple of months, and until then I will use x264 and hopefully most of my movies will play using HW decoding ^^,

 

[kingnubian]

Great choice of board. I went Intel based, plus an HIS HD3450, because of the parts I had already on hand but if I was buying from scratch then a 780G board would be top of then list for a dedicated HTPC. You are sure to enjoy your purchase.

P.S. My HD3450 does do 1080i with my setup no problem.

 

[Zappza]

Hehe, I wasn't really buying from scratch, but I sold my other parts to a friend, so that I could buy these ^^,