Hardware Suggestions for HTPC with HD (1 Viewer)

john4780

Portal Member
March 2, 2007
12
0
Hey Everyone,

I would like to thank everyone for bringing MediaPortal to where it is. .. It is truly an awesome application! I have used it for a few years with analog and now want to use it with HD capabilities as I now have a Samsung 46" 1080p television.

My current HTPC is a AMD 2400+ with gig of ram and Nvidia 5700 Ultra. It has served me well over the years for analog but it just cant handle any HD content from the ATI 650 Tv tuner card.

So here are my goals for a new HTPC:
-Handle Blu Ray
-Handle HD Television
-Output Dolby 5.1 Digital Signal for audio to my surround sound (preferably via optical cable)
-Preference for quiet (does not have to be silent but I don't want a leaf blower)
-Output video to TV using HDMI
-Continue to use ATi 650 tv tuner
-Leaning towards an AMD processor over Intel (unless there is a compelling reason to go Intel)

1. Will any of these integrated boards be able to handle HD? AMD 790, 780, NVIDIA Geforce 8200 Integrated

2. Is it better to go with a graphics card or use integrated video cards these days if I only want to use it to view HD content and no gaming??

3. If graphics cards are the way to go which models do you guys recommend?

4. Which gives better picture these days ...Hardware or Software decoding
-If software, what do you guys recommend?

5. For audio I am completely lost in what sound card will actually pass a 5.1 digital signal to my surround sound with my ATi 650 TV Tuner card when it comes to watching HD programming

Thanks in Advance,
John
 

EScavenger

New Member
March 4, 2009
2
0
Not sure what chipset you want to use, so you might want an answer by someone that's more on top of this then I am, but I was thinking of this setup.

Spring Combo Special 9: Asus M3N78-VM GeForce 8200 Motherboard, AMD X2 7750 CPU, and 4GB DDR2 1066 Memory [4x1GB]-Best Computer Online Store Houston Buy Discount Prices Texas-Directron.com
which for 20.00 more gets you faster memory.

Asus M3N78-VM GeForce 8200 Motherboard, AMD X2 7750 CPU, and 4GB DDR2 1066 Memory [4x1GB]. Combo includes CPU Cooler. for 201.99

or

Winter Combo Special 7: Asus M3N78-VM GeForce 8200 Motherboard, AMD X2 7750 CPU, and 4GB DDR2 800 Memory-Best Computer Online Store Houston Buy Discount Prices Texas-Directron.com

Asus M3N78-VM GeForce 8200 Motherboard, AMD X2 7750+ CPU, and 4GB DDR2 800 Memory (2x2GB). for 179.99

from what I was able to gather the 8200 will do HD.

This motherboard has built in HDMI, DVI, and Optical. But not had a lot of luck with onboard sound so I might get a PCI-Ex1 sound card.

I am sure if you shop around you could get some of the parts cheeper, but easy to get it in a package like that.

They have pretty good prices at Directron, but you can get cheeper other places.

Electronic Scavenger
 

etheesdad

Retired Team Member
  • Premium Supporter
  • November 8, 2008
    831
    139
    Adelaide
    1. Will any of these integrated boards be able to handle HD? AMD 790, 780, NVIDIA Geforce 8200 Integrated

    see this thread re MP and 780G
    https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...ce-amd-780g-mediaportal-43361/?highlight=780g

    From what I read the guts of the discussion is that its ok if you have a beefy cpu but you'll struggle with 1080i with mid or low-range processors which is probably true of any current integrated graphics.

    2. Is it better to go with a graphics card or use integrated video cards these days if I only want to use it to view HD content and no gaming??

    Discrete card generally better than integrated because they're more powerful and rely less on cpu. That said, you dont need a gtx280 to run an htpc. Noise considerations are equivalent as all decent discrete HTPC cards are available in passively cooled variants (ie no fan)

    3. If graphics cards are the way to go which models do you guys recommend?

    HD4550. Google some reviews if youre interested to know more. Offers some nice benefits over comparably priced nvidias (including 7.1 out through hdmi). The 9600gt also gets pretty good reviews but is more of a gaming card (not that that means its not suited to htpc use). 9500gt is ok too.

    dont buy today though. see here
    http://www.rlslog.net/ati-plans-major-price-cuts-for-radeons/

    5. For audio I am completely lost in what sound card will actually pass a 5.1 digital signal to my surround sound with my ATi 650 TV Tuner card when it comes to watching HD programming

    See above. You can use on-board sound and output through a decent discrete video card. Not necessary to buy a discrete sound card (as far as my experience goes)
     

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