5970 for HTPC?

[anoa]

I am very new to all of this and I, like a lot people, are putting together my first computer build. I would say this computer will be used mainly for gaming, but I would also like to be able to use it as a HTPC.

I know the 5970 is great for games, but I am not sure how it would feed my home theatre. My concern is the lack of HDMI port. I imagine I could use a dvi/hdmi adaptor to get video, but then how do I get the HD codecs (TrueHD, etc).

Would it be better to use 2 x 5870. I believe they have HDMI ports and I would imagine this would include the HD sound.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[daedalus685]

The DVI to HDMI adapters shoud carry the audio fine.

Remember that these things are bloody huge though... You will want the PC in another room if you are watching anything but a micheal bay movie. This thing will suck up a rediculus amount of power to be used all teh time as a HTPC.

 

[anoa]

I've always been under the impression that DVI was video only and that's why hdmi was better since it carried audio as well. If DVI carries audio that is great news. I'll look into that.

Yes the PC will be in another room and it would only be on when I wanted to watch a movie on my home theatre setup, not that often really.

thanks,

 

[shadow187]

I know some issues arise with audio and HDMI>Dvi adapters. Also, the thing is a foot long, I think. Make sure you have a big enough case.

 

[daedalus685]

The adapter that comes with the cards area bit different than teh ones you woudl get in a store. They allow the audio pass through. I don't know off the top of my head which pins the DVI female on the cards use for audio. I'd imagine they use teh analog pins as data when in digital link mode.

 

[anoa]

Yeah, it's a big one, but I think i'm ok. I'm kind of leaning toward using the Cooler Master's 932 Case.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4146085&CatId=1510

I'm still probably a month away from starting the build. So hopefully by then I'll have all of this worked out. I already feel like I've learned so much about all of the components need in the short time I've decided to go the build route.