Socket 775 htpc build

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sepayne21

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a friend of mine is giving me his old socket 775 motherboard (with windows vista ultimate) b/c he's upgrading his mobo. I'm wondering how fast of a cpu I need for an HTPC build.

also, I'm going to need a video card with audio capabilities through the HDMI output. I was thinking all of the HD4000 series and up from ati have audio support through the HDMI, but I didn't know what video cards nvidia has for audio support through HDMI ports.

I'm thinking of going with this processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116348

will this be good enough for an HTPC? I want to be able to record 2 shows at 1/watch 1 and record 1 at a time with a haupauge dual tuner

or, will I need a quad core to do this. also, I plan on overclocking this cpu to at least 3GHz and I'm pairing it with 2x2gb ddr3.
 
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o1die

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If your old board supports it with the current bios version, then I would get that cpu. The quads are nice, but produce more heat and use more energy. If you don't care about heat or power comsumption and your htpc case is large enough to move some air, then the quad core would work better.
 
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sepayne21

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I'm not concerned about power consumption or heat. My main concern is money. I don't want to spend $100 more on a quad if this dual core will do the job. I'm also going to be playing blu-ray's but I don't plan on ever going 3d.

so, will this proc be enough? basically I want the cheapest processor that will be able to do this. I don't plan on using it for anything else... I already have a 6 core gaming pc for vid encoding/gaming. this is strictly for recording tv programs and playing (non-3d) blu-ray.
 
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sepayne21

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are there any nvidia cards that have audio through the HDMI that I can compare.

the reviews don't look good on that card... it seems the 5xxx series have driver issues that the 6xxx series have fixed (unfortunately the mainstream 6xxx series haven't been released yet).
 
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sepayne21

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I'll need an add on vid card. the mobo is an asus maximus extreme with a copy of windows vista ultimate. it's either buy an add on vid card, or buy a new mobo (with decent onboard gfx) and a copy of windows.

buying a new mobo is not cost effective.
 
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o1die

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It is if you sell the old board. It all depends on whether you plan on gaming on your htpc. For everything else, onboard video may work fine. The board I recommended is specifically designed for htpc's. But a separate video card is always faster.
 
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rwpritchett

rwpritchett

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I just wanted to make a slight correction. Some, but not all, cards from Nvidia can bitream full HD audio over HDMI too. For example: GeForce 430, 450, 460, and 560Ti. The GeForce 430 was specifically designed for HTPC use.

Just letting the OP know to open up some options for a card.
 
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saaiello

saaiello

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Forgot they added that when Fermi came about. For his needs though the HD 4350 at $29.99 is perfect.
 
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rwpritchett

rwpritchett

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^That's right. Though it can do 7.1 LPCM. At this point, there really is no reason to get a low-end 4xxx card when a 5xxx card does more for the same or lower price. When are the low-end 6xxx cards coming out?? Then AMD/ATI will really have a good HTPC card: HD audio bitstreaming + HDMI 1.4a (3D blu-ray support) + low power.
 
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loneninja

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6XXX is actually out, problem is the 64XX, 6570, 6670, 6750,6770 all went OEM exclusive with no confirmation as to whether they'll ever have a retail release date. But when Nvidia still hasn't caught up in the mainstream market, why bother releasing such products when the market is still flooded with 5XXX cards.
 
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sepayne21

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it's an asus maximus formula. I don't have the model number, but I'll pick it up on friday.

so, you guys say the nvidia geforce 430 has native sound through the hdmi output? if this is true, i may go with nvidia. can anyone confirm?
 
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