Intel Clarkdale and H55 audio problems - Page 3

So I bought 2 new motherboards and 2 new sets of memory this weekend to test out the various problems I have been having. Here are my prelim results:

Intel DH55TC motherboard

I have been running Sandra burn in all last night with no problems. I also have HDMI passthrough working with TMT3 170. I am using the latest Intel drivers for the graphics, chipset, ME, etc. I downloaded them all last night. I also updated the BIOS to the latest version. I am currently using 4GB of Kingston HyperX DDR3 1333.

Everything seems to be working fine so far but that isn't saying too much since the real problems manifest themselves when we use the HTPC regularly with low power/sleep settings. That takes about a week worth of moderate use.

I have CONFIRMED my audio issues are related to the Denon now. With all 3 motherboards, the does not work with the default Win 7 audio output. To get audio from Media Center and the rest of the system, I MUST select 24bit 41000Hz as the default output.

Checking the xvYC setting in the Intel Graphics options still disables my OSD from my Denon. The same with all 3 boards.

One problem I am seeing and I don't know if this is the case with the other boards is my mem voltage is over spec. I never noticed this until I installed the Intel desktop management tools. It should be running around 1.5V and it is running about 1.68V which puts it in the "red". I don't OC and generally like to run my HTPCs in the max power saving mode.

Biostar TH55B motherboard

Didn't get very far with this board. While it was noticebly faster than the other boards and it has some nice features, I knew I was going to have problems when I tried to install the Intel ME software. I got an error basically saying that the board didn't support it. Without the Intel ME installed, you have no hope of playing back audio via HDMI passthrough. So I replaced the board as soon as I confirmed that the passthrough didn't work.

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I still have to a lot of testing to do but will update as I test. I think I will give Denon a call this week as well.

I've been using the Intel board all weekend with the new Kingston memory. Not a single crash. Not display driver hang on reboot. This board is very bare-bones. Not a whole lot of features...not that I really need more features, just an observation. One thing it is missing that would be nice is EuP. These processors have the ability to run at really low power consumption and this board doesn't support it.

I replaced the new Kingston memory with my older OCZ memory that I was using with the last board. Again, not a single crash. Been recording a ton of shows, watching bluray, sleeping, waking, and no problems yet. My wife banging on it all week will be the true test.

My old build was a i7 920 on an x55 chipset board. I had a GTX260 and Xonar 1.3HD slim. I also had 2x 2TB drives. Rock solid but big, bulky, noisey, and generated a lot of heat. I mainly bought this stuff so I could game on my 65" as well as have a killer HTPC.

My new build is quiet and generates almost zero heat. It also is very small because I am using the video from the CPU. The i5 661 is fairly competent as well and can run on about 1W of power with the right board. For an HTPC I think it is superior and it is also much cheaper.

While Denon makes a great product, the HDMI implementation has problems with my current HTPC (and others' PCs). There are workarounds that I have listed in this post that make it work almost perfectly.

My problems seem to be board/memory related. The Intel board is rock solid but is ZERO frills. There are plenty of people using the H55 Gigabyte boards with success.

So figure out what is most important, HTPC or 3D video (games). If you lean towards the HTPC, then without question the i5. If you want some gaming, you may need to go with an i7, video card, and Xonar but know that it will costs you at least $500 more.

The thing that your board needs is the "Intel Management Engine". There doesn't seem to be an easy way to figure this out other than trying to install the Intel Drivers or reading on these boards. Without this you will not be able to bitstream with the i5.

I've spent the last two weeks on the phone with Denon trying to work with their engineers about confirming the audio problem to be a Denon issue. I gave them this link and had 2 or more conversations with Denon support. I told them that after 2 months of testing, 4 different motherboards, 2 different computers with the same audio issues no matter what. That combined with the fact that many of you Denon users with the H55 setup had the EXACT same audio issues.

Well, I just downloaded the newest Denon firmware and the audio works with ALL the Windows output settings!!! It looks like this new firmware fixes whatever problems I was having.

I am wondering if the rest of you are seeing this fix your audio issues as well.

My AVR automatically checks for new versions from the internet. I'm not sure what version because I'm not in front of the AVR and it doesn't say when you download it. I'm guessing you can get it off of Denon's site. I have a 4310...not sure all the other AVRs were updated.

I won't be back home until this weekend. I'll check then. Most AVRs nowadays have a USB port. This is how I updated my older 4308. Does the 1910 have a USB port? You should be able to update it this way if you don't have an ethernet port.

I am also thinking about calling Denon up and letting them know this fixes my audio problems. This may help expedite the changes throughout all their AVRs. Just need to find some extra time.

Just got off the phone with Denon. Apparently the fix for the H55 was released because people were having problems with Avatar as well and they needed to fix that.

I also asked him about the 1900 and 3000 series. He told me that they aren't as easy to update because of the lack of ethernet. He didn't know specifically what the process was.

I would suggest calling Denon and asking...especially if you have having problems with the audio or video playback of Avatar. Might just kill 2 birds with 1 stone!

Hope this helps.

The support guy said that it had some Avatar fixes in it...not really sure what those fixes are but it also contained fixes for my audio issues.

Have you been having the same audio problems that I describe in this thread? Does changing the default Windows audio output to 24bit 41000Hz fix your audio?

Let me know if this new firmware allows you to set your default audio to whatever settings available. Good luck!

I'm using the latest, 2041 but I have tried every version from 1995 up. For this issue, driver version doesn't make a difference.

Well there was most certainly a firmware update for the 4310. I downloaded it and it fixed my audio issues. Did this support person you talked to acknowledge that they updated the 4310? I would tell them whatever "fixes" went into that firmware need to be added to the 3000 and 1000 series.

The guy I talked to didn't know what fixes were part of the update but mentioned that a bunch of firmware updates were made for Avatar. He didn't say it was for their bluray players. I assumed that it was for the AVR since that was what we were talking about.