i am rigging up a htpc which will also be used for gaming at resolutions of 1900*1200
since 5870 is out of question due to budget constraints.. i thought i'll settle for its younger sibling the 5850...
the major concern is bit streaming blu ray audio.. since this is primarily a htpc i was wondering whether the 5850 would be able to bit stream dts master hd and dolby true hd like its older sibling ??
Yes it will:
from firingsquad.com
Integrated HD audio controller
Output protected high bit rate 7.1 channel surround sound over HDMI with no additional cables required
Supports AC-3, AAC, Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio formats
There's a review out there that shows a 5850 plugged into a receiver and the receiver is showing bitstream HD audio, but i can't find the link atm. A few 5870 reviews have them.