thoroughly confused :hdav card vs radeon 5xxx series?

[venkatcr]

Thanks Bala. I am quiet excited by the 890GX motherboard from Gigabyte. Most on-line reviewers are calling it the de facto standard for HTPC and the card has picked up more awards than I can count.

In terms of LPCM, the on board sound card as well as the in built 4290 graphics chip bitstream only 2 channel audio, and support upto 5.1 on their digital channels. They do not support HD Audio. If you attach a graphics equal to or above the 56xx series, through HDMI, these cards can transfer 8 channel audio in raw format to be decoded by the AVR.

Cheers

 

[suprateep]

Thanks Bala. I am quiet excited by the 890GX motherboard from Gigabyte. Most on-line reviewers are calling it the de facto standard for HTPC and the card has picked up more awards than I can count.

In terms of LPCM, the on board sound card as well as the in built 4290 graphics chip bitstream only 2 channel audio, and support upto 5.1 on their digital channels. They do not support HD Audio. If you attach a graphics equal to or above the 56xx series, through HDMI, these cards can transfer 8 channel audio in raw format to be decoded by the AVR.

Cheers

venkat sir if you dont game, 5770 would be a overkill for your system, would need a molex power converter, a fan that woudl be noisy because it heats up nicely (70C upwards at times in many cases) - a 5670 passively cooled (512 mb over 1Gb would mean 1k cost savings and bring the card aroudn 5.4k) would be a good addition to a HTPC for HD bitstreaming. A 5670 does not need a molex power connector can power up from pcie slot and performs great in 90% games upto 1280x1024 resoution and handle 1080p playback with 1-5 % CPU utilization at max. Just give that a shot

890 GX is a great mobo though. Cheers

 

[venkatcr]

Thanks for confirming my motherboard choice.

Yes Supra, the 5770 is an overkill, but I like it's great capabilities for an additional 1000 odd rupees. Both the Sapphire and Gigabyte have made great GCs that are very quiet. I heard them both and the noise level is very low (less than 20dB). They also seem to keep the card quiet cool and the dealers have assured me they can be used for 24 hours without any issue. One of the dealers actually has a Gigabyte 5770 turned on all the time, and it was quiet cool to the touch. I am assuming all this will be in an air conditioned room. I am also assuming that for a 3 or 4 hour movie task, the GC will not complain too much.

I am getting a 750 watt power unit and sending power to the GC would not be an issue. I am also fondly looking at a 1100 watts power unit from cooler Master if I have the funds.

I am indulging myself here. Maybe some of you can come and play some out-of-the-world games on the machine?

Cheers

 

[corElement]

I have that motherboard 890gpA-ud3h
It's very nice and stable, I run a 965be on it.

To be honest, I'm not satisfied with its audio.... my 2002 DFI nforce 2 ULTRA 400 with nvidia soundstorm 2 soundcard that ran off a modified ac97.. the first DDL onboard soundcard (Only for the nforce 2 mobos) sounded light years ahead of it. But its also true nvidia said the audio components for the nforce 2 onboard soundcard was too expensive for them to produce so they didnt put it on nforce 3 or any later mobos.

My opinion is get yourself a 2nd hand xonar d2 or d2x or hdav card that can be had for around 5k. But otherwise...the 892hd if youre not adaant about the SQ should serve you fine.

 

[venkatcr]

My opinion is get yourself a 2nd hand xonar d2 or d2x or hdav card that can be had for around 5k. But otherwise...the 892hd if youre not adaant about the SQ should serve you fine.

I am not interested in the motherboard or the GC to do any sound decoding. All I want them to do is to send the sound in raw format, particularly 8 channel HD Audio. My Onkyo 875 processes sound very nicely with high end DAC. This HTPC will be used exclusively for movies and I want it to provide the best possible graphics capabilities for the next few years.

I am assembling a separate machine for two channel audio that will have a Asus sound card in it. I already have all parts of that machine ready excepting the sound card.

Cheers

 

[thevortex]

Thanks Bala. I am quiet excited by the 890GX motherboard from Gigabyte. Most on-line reviewers are calling it the de facto standard for HTPC and the card has picked up more awards than I can count.

In terms of LPCM, the on board sound card as well as the in built 4290 graphics chip bitstream only 2 channel audio, and support upto 5.1 on their digital channels. They do not support HD Audio. If you attach a graphics equal to or above the 56xx series, through HDMI, these cards can transfer 8 channel audio in raw format to be decoded by the AVR.

Cheers

Thanks Venkat and Spiro - beats me as to why they are using the graphics card to channel the sound, but hey, I am no expert .

And about that Xonar card, why dont you check in Dubai about its availability? I am sure it is there to be found somewhere.

 

[corElement]

I am not interested in the motherboard or the GC to do any sound decoding. All I want them to do is to send the sound in raw format, particularly 8 channel HD Audio. My Onkyo 875 processes sound very nicely with high end DAC. This HTPC will be used exclusively for movies and I want it to provide the best possible graphics capabilities for the next few years.

I am assembling a separate machine for two channel audio that will have a Asus sound card in it. I already have all parts of that machine ready excepting the sound card.

Cheers

I see, so all you need is the pathway for codec data.. yes, then you're good to go.

 

[spirovious]

D2X used for 6.5k on TC posted in offer section.

 

[spirovious]

Thanks Venkat and Spiro - beats me as to why they are using the graphics card to channel the sound, but hey, I am no expert .

And about that Xonar card, why dont you check in Dubai about its availability? I am sure it is there to be found somewhere.

I remember long discussion in HTPC thread regarding GC necessary OR not.
A good GC can decode video better & will also output 7.1 HD-aud via HDMI.
I know your pt that GC may not req for HTPC,but proper MB with HDMI out.
There is a point,but rev says GC does that even better with ease.

 

[thevortex]

I remember long discussion in HTPC thread regarding GC necessary OR not.
A good GC can decode video better & will also output 7.1 HD-aud via HDMI.
I know your pt that GC may not req for HTPC,but proper MB with HDMI out.
There is a point,but rev says GC does that even better with ease.

Yes, I remember that, Spiro. And it may be valid for people who want to output HDMI audio from their PC and take that to an AV Receiver.

But that is not necessarily the best sound quality. So I stay away from that. To me only two practical options exist for pristine sound quality out of a PC. Analog out from a professional sound card or USB out to a DAC.

 

[thevortex]

Also on the subject of ease, Spiro, I am sure the latest Core i7 will play videos with consummate ease as compared to say the Athlon 965BE. I guess its always the price to performance ratio that makes sense.

Just as in Hifi - at least for the most part .

 

[spirovious]

Yes,but many can say that we miss a preamp necessary for mov watching,caliberating spk.
SW can do that,still HW is prefered.

 

[sam9s]

Thevo-If you see ATI 4series,they can send HD-aud via HDMI on GC,but only 2ch.
5 ser & above handles 7.1 HD-aud.

Spirovious 4850/4870 supports HD Audio Over HDMI. You dont need 5 series specific card for that.

 

[sam9s]

Thanks Venkat and Spiro - beats me as to why they are using the graphics card to channel the sound, but hey, I am no expert .

And about that Xonar card, why dont you check in Dubai about its availability? I am sure it is there to be found somewhere.

Its an added feature for GPUs, plus its far convenient as we get Integrated HD audio controller with support for multi-channel audio formats, including AC-3, AAC, DTS, DTS MA and DD True-HD, enabling a plug and play audio solution over HDMI.

 

[spirovious]

Spirovious 4850/4870 supports HD Audio Over HDMI. You dont need 5 series specific card for that.

Yes & its close to 5 series.

 

[thevortex]

Yes,but many can say that we miss a preamp necessary for mov watching,caliberating spk.
SW can do that,still HW is prefered.

Well, let them say what they will, Spiro .

Seriously though, for movies and 5.1/7.1 systems I see the point in looking for a HDMI out.

 

[thevortex]

Its an added feature for GPUs, plus its far convenient as we get Integrated HD audio controller with support for multi-channel audio formats, including AC-3, AAC, DTS, DTS MA and DD True-HD, enabling a plug and play audio solution over HDMI.

Am curious - can the integrated graphics in the Gigabyte board discussed (890GX) not do that?

 

[corElement]

it can do Dolby digital live (ac3 live encoding) but it needs a dedicated pathway (gpu) and a bluray drive for true hd (lossless unlike ac3).

aka.. the alc892 will just do the processing.

 

[suprateep]

Thanks for confirming my motherboard choice.

I am getting a 750 watt power unit and sending power to the GC would not be an issue. I am also fondly looking at a 1100 watts power unit from cooler Master if I have the funds.

Cheers

Just one suggestion - see if a corsair TX 950(around 9k and worth every penny - can run a nvida 480 too IMHO) fits the bill for you. I have a VX450 on my PC and its more than sufficient for my proccy, mobo, soundcard and 3 hdds and maybe a 5670 later on.

Anyway for you here is the link:
Welcome to Corsair :: Enthusiast Series TX950 — 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply Product Information
PC Perspective - Corsair TX950W Power Supply Review

 

[venkatcr]

But that is not necessarily the best sound quality. So I stay away from that. To me only two practical options exist for pristine sound quality out of a PC. Analog out from a professional sound card or USB out to a DAC.

As you yourself said further down, HTPC will be purely for movies and I am not planning on an Asus HDAV as I am happy with the AVR I have.

Of course when it comes to music, what you say sounds good.

Cheers