Hello,
I registered here a while ago - when someone posted how to get CableCard working on non OEM systems. Visited a few times, but hadn't started the project for an HTPC, so didn't post anything.
NOW, I am starting to build an HTPC and need some guidance on maximizing the rig. I would like input from the folks here. Parts will be bought as they become available on sale/rebates etc. So yes, money is a concern.
My target setup is something like what Mike has going on at www.windows7htpc.com (EXCELLENT RESOURCE, btw). There will be a weaker/low powered WHS in a closet to actually store the media on.
The house has two laptops that DW and I use for our regular daily machines/work/email etc. They are both decent Core2Duo (Lenovo T400 and T500 less than two years old) but in no way going to be doing any media enconding etc. So the HTPC will need to be powerful enough to handle ANY CPU/IO intensive tasks like encoding, or even mild video editing.
This is what I have as of now (parts, pricing etc).
Still need: CPU, Audio card, Mobo, Memory, DVD drive, BD Drive (w. dvd combo), Media Center iR (don't need a remote, i have a Harmony 890), and a SIMEREC Universal IR Remote Control PC Power Switch (PCS-2).
Questions:
1. I know the geforce card has an internal audio cable to push HDMI out to receiver and is labled HDCP ready. Does this mean that I can do BitStream DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD to my Denon 2808CI amp?
2. If yes, what kind of audio card would you reccomend? Mike and others have said that the ATI 5xxx chips have Bitstream capability. Since I've already got the Vid card, is there a relatively cheap audio card that I can use and still be able to do this?
3. Everyone says to look at the new Intel chipsets anounced this past week. I'm guessing that would be if you are looking for a dedicated HTPC that does HTPC and near nothing else? like if you were going for a STB look/feel? As stated above, I need an all-around beast to handle any tough jobs around the house, so should I skip over these chips? My current top candidate is an i7 860.
I know this is a lot of questions from a noob - but I kept pinging Mike with all my questions, figured he'd be tired of me by now. Though, he still answers :-). A big thanks to his site, it just ignited my HTPC project!
<Reserved future use>
Well.....I cant leave you hanging and I love the questions so here I go!
1. You will not be able to Bitstream DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD with your current 9800gt video cards or on-board motherboard sound.
2. Mike has excellent advice on the new ATI 5xxx series and the first fanless one's just hit the market however I am still waiting for a single slot. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131300 Your other option is to pick up a dedicated audio card that will Bitstream your DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD such as the ASUS Xonar series http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132009
3. Those new chips look great and I'm sure they would serve you well for pretty much any general tasks however I always advise going with a dedicated HTPC box due to how much time it takes to dial it in.
thanks for replying! I was almost going to post it at missing remote or something.
anyhow - if i've got to buy a $200+ audio card to do the samething the new Radeon's do, then i guess i need to shed the 9800's on fleabay. and quickly! what i don't know is even if i did get a fancy sound card that can do the HD audio, if the simple little internal cable that ships with the 9800's can carry that data.
As for going for that dedicated STB feel - while it would be nice - for my first HTPC, i'll have to do full bore. I need a real (non-laptop) machine around the house too. The WHS machine is weak by today's standards so it'll be a good to have a dual purpose.
I'm planning on using those tips posted aorund on how to standby and wake htpc when not in use (hopefully they'll work right).
okay - another follow up. I if i trade off those two GEForce cards for the Radeon chipset - am I going to lose any encoding performance? From what I've heard about on the CUDA chipset there's a lot of benefits using the GPU to do some pretty intensive tasks.
either way, i can't drop a WHOLE lot extra on a sound card. PNY support tells me that any card that does audio out of SPDIF will work okay. They will not reccomend such a card (one that can bitstream out of SPDIF).
i'd like to keep sound card cost under $50ish if possible.
anyone know if there's a cheapish audio card out there that can do spdif with these HD audio formats? OR if this is even possible? I thought SPDIF doesn't have the bandwidth. Anything that I find online seems to point at PS3 issues. nothing about what i'm trying to do. PNY has no support forum so can't ask there .
armedmetallicaI thought SPDIF doesn't have the bandwidth.
This is correct. Any card that inputs SPDIF (either internally or externally) can only do 2 channel PCM, Dolby Digital, or DTS. No 5.1 channel LPCM, no TrueHD, No DTS-HD MA. If you want bitstreaming of TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, then you have to get a Radeom 5xxx series card.
5.1 and 7.1 LPCM are obtainable with the GT 2xx series, Radeon 4xxx, and Radeom 5xxx.
If bitstreaming HDMI is really that important, best thing to do is wait until the 56xx and 54xx come out, unless youi really want it now, and you decide to get that fanless 5750
See that's what i thought after hearing it. but PNY is saying it can be done, contact NVidia. I didn't think SPDif could do it.
Yeah, bitstreaming is kinda important. Correct me if i'm wrong, but that would send the unaltered data right to the Amp to do all the hardwork/decoding (I have a 1.5 year old Denon 2808 that I paid a pretty penny for). wouldn't it be better to have an amp do the decoding vs. a cheapo card?
I'm not a gamer. I already have a xbox 360 if i feel like playing a game. But i'm kinda lamenting the fact that I'd be giving up the CUDA. I don't have to have it now, this is for a build that'll take over a month. I'd rather get a better price/performance than have it NOW. :-)
Would I be trading video/GPU performance to get somewhat better audio? I've seen that chart from Tom's hardware published in November of last year that has the Vid card hierarchy. Is there anything more recent? Something kinda like the cpu benchmark site, but for vid cards?
Anyone here have a GeForce (9800 or other w. Cuda) that sees a significant performance increase?
Thanks for your reply!
Dalhectar 5.1 and 7.1 LPCM are obtainable with the GT 2xx series, Radeon 4xxx, and Radeom 5xxx. If bitstreaming HDMI is really that important, best thing to do is wait until the 56xx and 54xx come out, unless youi really want it now, and you decide to get that fanless 5750
I thought any radeon 5xxx can do bitstream? is there a release date for the 56xx or 54xx?
A quick search on NewEgg for HD 5750 brought back about 15 cards that are all around the $150 mark. Engadget says the 5750 does it (lol for less than $110). Ref: http://hd.engadget.com/2009/10/14/ati-radeon-hd-5750-brings-hdmi-bliss-to-htpcs-for-160/
I can easily trade off the two 9800's at $100 each. If i can only find out how that on SLI would compare to 5750 single.
Sold one of the 9800's to raise cash for a Radeon based card. Other is on eBay.
Update: Ebay one also sold!
Build completed! 6/9/2010!
OP updated with new components.
Currently running 100 cycles of BurnIn Test from Passmark. Tests: (CPU, HD, 2D and 3D video, RAM and Optical)