Blu-ray Done Right: How Does Your Integrated GPU Stack Up?

Conclusion

First off, we want to congratulate AMD, Nvidia, and Intel for upping the ante over the past year and delivering some really useful hardware and software able to handle HD playback. Only a short while ago it seems that HD playback on an integrated IGP was a tradeoff at best and horrendously buggy at worst. This time around, things went so much more smoothly that we feel comfortable saying that Blu-ray playback with an IGP is viable, which is no small accomplishment. It certainly doesn't hurt that modern-day budget CPUs are worlds ahead of where they were a year ago.

With that out of the way, where do we begin? Let's start with a look at the GeForce 8200. While it's a competent platform, it's a dismal choice on which to base the purchase of a Blu-ray-equipped HTPC. Basic 1080p playback is viable, but don't ask the chipset to perform good noise reduction or it will stutter terribly. Indeed, if you choose an AMD CPU for your HTPC, the Radeon HD 3200/3300/4200 IGPs are the only real choice if video quality is a concern. The GeForce 8200's only appealing factor is its relatively low-power usage in comparison.

That brings us down to six contenders: the 780G/790GX/785G, the GeForce 9300/9400, and the intel G45. We can further discriminate with the question: how serious are you about home-theater audio? If you are an audiophile, you should know that out of these remaining options, only the GeForce 9300/9400 can handle uncompressed eight-channel LPCM audio over HDMI 1.3. This means that if were hoping to use PowerDVD to decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD MA and send the LPCM to your receiver, then the 780G/790GX/785G family of IGPs aren't for you.

But before discounting them completely, we will say this: the 780G/790GX/785G IGPs can easily handle six-channel DD/DTS audio, and if you were planning on using a card like Asus' Xonar HDAV 1.3 anyway to bitstream those high-def formats, then this shouldn't be an issue for you. Once you consider this and take into account that 780G motherboards start at $60, which is about $40 less than their 785G and GeForce 9300 counterparts and almost enough to pay for a CPU, the 780G becomes a very attractive option. Perhaps it's the ideal choice for those of us who aren't serious enough about their home theater audio to upgrade our amps specifically to play back the latest audio formats.

However, if you do want the flexibility of eight-channel LPCM and the best integrated video quality possible, then you have to choose the GeForce 9300/9400 or Intel G45. Just pay attention to the driver you're installing and PowerDVD's hardware de-interlacing settings, respectively.

Either way, I can say without hesitation that if you choose the 780G/790GX/785G, GeForce 9300/9400, or Intel G45 IGPs for home-theater use, then you won't be disappointed.

On a final note, I would be remiss to avoid pointing out that any motherboard with a PCIe slot can be transformed into an HTPC powerhouse with the addition of an inexpensive discrete graphics card like the Radeon HD 4650. If you're looking for more than just HD video playback (the occasional game at 720p, perhaps) then the discrete route is well worth the extra money spent.

  • Proximon
    Great article. I think maybe the 4650 is a bit overkill, but that's just nitpicking.

    As long as you are talking about HTPC builds though, you might want to mention temps... aren't the 9300/9400 boards very hot?
    Reply
  • epsiloneri
    Power draw is not interesting because of the electricity bill, it is the generated heat needed to be dissipated with the associated noise levels due to cooling that is critical for an HTPC.
    Reply
  • HalfHuman
    i don't get it why a home theater would use a 1200w power source. at the same time i don't get why would someone evaluate the power efficency using this kind of power sorce. if you ask me i'd make this crazy ass power supplies illegal. a normal hometheater should not use more than 50w at idle and 100-150w at load. seems that this is what these actually consume. factor in the less than 5% load on the power supply and you get a masterfull 50-60% power efficency. i'd love to see some proper power supply test.
    Reply
  • falchard
    BUT CAN IT PLAY CRYSIS!
    Reply
  • falchard
    BTW, I would like to see a "Can it play Crysis" article in the future that runs down every video card and IGP, then determines if it can possibly play Crysis and at what settings.
    Reply
  • HalfHuman
    the 1200w power supply is green as in blue-green mould green.
    this is in fact an excellent power supply... if you use it. at 100watts load it has a "cool" 76% efficency. if the intel pc uses less than 82watts in load and 66watts in idle you can only imagine the efficency a power supply has at below 5% load. the site suggest around 65% so instead of having a proper power supply using 40watts or less when idle, you get this "green" efficient hummer who swollows 66w. i really like you articles guys but this kind of testing is not the way to go.
    Reply
  • Efficiency isn't even tested below 20% load i believe But it should still be around 70-80% it is a Thermaltake Toughpower 1200w and all of them(3 listed on their site) are standard 80% eff rated or bronze. Ture a more modest Delta,Seasonic 250w or 300w would be much more appropriate for a htpc.
    Reply
  • HalfHuman
    20% for this would be 240watts and efficency would still be reasonable.
    i posted some link but i see it's been removed. that review said something about 65% minimum.
    Reply
  • drew_a
    Uh, guys... you might want to edit this article...
    "For the last CPU utilization test, we will check the capability of these graphic chipsets to accelerate picture-in-picture (PIP) video streams. To do this, we will use the Blu-ray dick Sunshine, which utilizes the H.264 codec and features PIP commentary during playback."

    on page 6
    Reply
  • icepick314
    "If you are an audiophile, you should know that out of these remaining options, only the GeForce 9300/9400 can handle uncompressed eight-channel LPCM audio over HDMI 1.3."

    i did NOT know this...

    i thought only way to listen to uncompressed audio on blu-ray was using Asus Xonar HDAV 1.3 audio card to bitstream to your receiver...

    it's nice to know that IGP has enough power to handle 1080p while streaming HD audio codec....
    Reply