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Official Sandy Bridge / LGA1155 for HTPCs Thread - Page 27

post #781 of 2220
3/24/11 at 8:58am
Pages 33-34 of Boxed Intel® Desktop CPU and Platform Roadmap WW3 – January 2011 summarize the main features. Z68 chipset is $8 pricier than P67.
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post #782 of 2220
3/24/11 at 9:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mickey79 View Post

Do you know where I can get more comprehensive list of features it has over H67? I would like to know what other features it offers over H67.

I believe the primary difference would be overclocking, multi-GPU support (x8/x8) and SSD caching, although I'm really hoping we'll see something like Optimus for desktop at the same time.
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post #783 of 2220
3/24/11 at 3:37pm
Newbie here!
Im looking either make or get an HTPC soon.
These are the components I am thinking of buying to make a HTPC

CPU
Sandy Bridge LGA1155 (3D) Intel i3-2100 - $129

MB
Gigabyte GA-H67MA-UD2H-B3 - $130

RAM
G.SKill Ripjaws X Series - 2x2GB - $47

PSU
Rosewill Green Series 430 Watts - $45

Case
HTPC Component Style - NMedia 5000B - $60

Optical
Bluray player with DVD/CD burner - Lite-On $50


Basically, I want to stream 1080p bluray rips from my HP WHS ex490 using windows 7 media center and media browser. Also, I would like to stream netflix, hulu, and other internet videos (hopefully in HD). Also, I want to use my Xbox 360 as an extender in another room. MAYBE (Not necessary) play some light gaming like starcraft 2
My question:
Is this set up going to be able to handle those duties. Maybe all at once? Do i need to up the CPU to i5? do I need a dedicated video card?

OR

Should I just scrap the idea of making an HTPC and buy something like a dell zino?

Please help
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post #784 of 2220
3/24/11 at 9:10pm
So amazon shipped the Gigabyte GA-H67MA-UD2H-B3. I swapped out my old but working msi h67 ed 55 and guess what the new board didn't even reach post. It powers up for 5 seconds then shuts off completely. Then automatically retries unsuccessfully. Tried to call gigabyte support but they are closed for the evening. Thinking of just sending it back. I probably just got a bad board. Don't hey test these things before shipping??
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post #785 of 2220
3/24/11 at 9:20pm
@tomjoetan

I have been doing the Xbox extender thing for a year and while it can do a lot of things, there are a lot of things it can't do. For example, to stream movies from a server or pc it's best to re-encode them in .dvr-ms or .wtv format, which is a pain. The Internet TV functions in Media Center inside Xbox are crippled...you can't look at internet content that is not inside the Xbox Live dashboard. I am getting around that with PlayOn media server on my PC and tubeCore plug-in for Media Center, but it can be buggy and unreliable. The best thing that the Xbox does as far as media is 1) Netflix and 2) Work with Media Center on my PC to act like an awesome DVR for my HD HomeRun networked tuners.

I should also mention that getting an Xbox connected to a PC as an extender can be frustrating due to firewall issues, etc. Also media library management is painful and flawed...I gave up trying to organize my CD collection in Media Player in order for it to display in Media Center on the Xbox...too many "Unknown Album" and "Track 1, Track 2.." listings etc.

For these reasons and more, I am also a newbie who is undertaking to build my first HTPC.

I will say that we have two Roku boxes...they work great and the amount of content is increasing almost daily. If you are new to streaming internet to a TV, these boxes are an inexpensive and hassle-free way to test the waters.
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post #786 of 2220
3/24/11 at 9:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

Pages 33-34 of Boxed Intel® Desktop CPU and Platform Roadmap WW3 - January 2011 summarize the main features. Z68 chipset is $8 pricier than P67.

Mine is up and running. I feel like keeping the other CPU in the desk and waiting for Z68 boards. The i7 is a beast. I would not trade the integrated graphics for P67. Only one h67 ATX board available and that one only with 5 SATA ports.

I'm beginning to like the Fractal design case.
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post #787 of 2220
3/25/11 at 1:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomjoetan View Post

My question:
Is this set up going to be able to handle those duties. Maybe all at once? Do i need to up the CPU to i5? do I need a dedicated video card?

i3 is enough. Forget about gaming like Starcraft 2 with onboard video (you will be shocked at poor gaming performance).
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post #788 of 2220
3/25/11 at 1:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ymarker View Post

So amazon shipped the Gigabyte GA-H67MA-UD2H-B3. I swapped out my old but working msi h67 ed 55 and guess what the new board didn't even reach post. It powers up for 5 seconds then shuts off completely. Then automatically retries unsuccessfully. Tried to call gigabyte support but they are closed for the evening. Thinking of just sending it back. I probably just got a bad board. Don't hey test these things before shipping??

Sounds like a memory issue, the same issue as this one? I would try one stick.
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post #789 of 2220
3/25/11 at 1:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by phy88 View Post

Hi guys,

I'm building several htpc extenders with the i3 2100, DH67CFB3, x25-v SSD, and one 4GB DDR3 1333 Ripjaws memory stick (don't need two...the performance increase is marginal), and a slim dvd drive. No hard drives or GPUs.

Anyway, this is a really minor issue, but I'm trying to decide between the picoPSU-80 and picoPSU-90 with this 80 watt power brick. Either of these will be more than enough in terms of power, I think, so that's not an issue. The thing is that the picoPSU-90 has the p4 connector (the 80 doesn't), but it seems like it's slightly less efficient at lower loads? Since these systems will probably idle around 15-16 watts most of the time, should I just go with 80 and get the p4 adapter? What do you guys think?

Renethx? Anyone?
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post #790 of 2220
3/25/11 at 6:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ymarker View Post

So amazon shipped the Gigabyte GA-H67MA-UD2H-B3. I swapped out my old but working msi h67 ed 55 and guess what the new board didn't even reach post. It powers up for 5 seconds then shuts off completely. Then automatically retries unsuccessfully. Tried to call gigabyte support but they are closed for the evening. Thinking of just sending it back. I probably just got a bad board. Don't hey test these things before shipping??

Gigabyte boards are known to have this feature. Power cycling is apparently how they deal with problems. I'd unplug everything, reseat the motherboard and then plug it back, with one stick of RAM. If that fails, unplug and then plug back in one thing at a time.
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post #791 of 2220
3/25/11 at 6:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by phy88 View Post

Renethx? Anyone?

Since you're getting a dual core desktop CPU and since you need the connector, get the 90 W. You may rebuild later. Power efficiency difference here is minimal (and that's an understatement). I've had video issues with a single stick. Could have been a fluke.
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post #792 of 2220
3/25/11 at 7:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

i3 is enough. Forget about gaming like Starcraft 2 with onboard video (you will be shocked at poor gaming performance).

Actually, it could handle Starcraft II at low settings/resolution (e.g. 720p Low) quite easily. However, playing with those graphics settings isn't particularly enjoyable. Medium is really the minimum you want to shoot for and for that, onboard isn't quite enough.
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post #793 of 2220
3/25/11 at 7:53am
Have read most of this thread but didn't see the answer I was looking for.

I plan on upgrading my HTPC starting with i3 2100 to replace my aging s939. But motherboards.... I only have a need to stream Hulu, Netflix, 1080 in multiple formats from my network(wired) and use it for occasional browsing and other small tasks (24fps doesn't matter, either does audio tbh) I see they have H61 and H67, am I correct in saying that H61 does not support Clear View Technology(CVT) ? Would that make or break the H61 for my needs ? I plan on using the i3 graphics. I have a full size atx case and want to be somewhat forward thinking for future upgrades. Is there a better/proven board for what I'm doing.

Just for reference these are the boards I am looking at.

H61 - MSI H61M-E33 LGA 1155 H61 mATX Intel Motherboard

H67 - Intel BOXDH67CLB3 LGA 1155 H67 ATX Intel Motherboard
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post #794 of 2220
3/25/11 at 8:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by phy88 View Post

Renethx? Anyone?

picoPSU-120 + 102W Adapter Power Kit, $55, may be a better choice. Then even if you decide to add a discrete graphics card such as GT 430 or HD 6570 later, you will be fine.
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post #795 of 2220
3/25/11 at 8:14am
Is the lack of Clear Video with H61 a confirmed fact? I haven't seen such a restriction in the datasheet.

The differences are:

- 6 PCIe lanes vs 8 in H67
- 10 USB 2.0 vs 14 in H67
- No SATA 3.0 vs 2 SATA 3.0 in H67
- No AHCI, no RAID vs both supported in H67

Integrated Graphics support with PAVP is identical.
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post #796 of 2220
3/25/11 at 8:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

Is the lack of Clear Video with H61 a confirmed fact?

Its a fact.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post20205732
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post #797 of 2220
3/25/11 at 8:28am
No clear video.

http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=52807,52806
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post #798 of 2220
3/25/11 at 8:29am
Let me look some more, was going off of this, remove the spaces. Post count, cant post links.

http:// ark.intel. com/Compare.aspx?ids=52807,52806

Man you all are quick, Deal breaker ?

Second edit, Thanks for the link, definitely deal breaker putting it all together, to many limitations for future use.
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post #799 of 2220
3/25/11 at 8:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

Pages 33-34 of Boxed Intel® Desktop CPU and Platform Roadmap WW3 - January 2011 summarize the main features. Z68 chipset is $8 pricier than P67.

Thanks; the very low price difference & it's release very near to my pulling the trigger is making it a very strong contender for my board.

I was just looking at the Dell Zino and wondering -- is there any 3D capable HTPC's out there? Most that I've seen are HDMI 1.3 that don't support Full 3D Blu-ray playback.
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post #800 of 2220
3/25/11 at 8:33am
Could it be that h61 is how the defective chips are getting recycled?
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post #801 of 2220
3/25/11 at 8:36am
All the latest GeForce discrete graphics cards (GT 430, 440, etc.; precisely speaking those with VP4), Intel HD Graphics 2000/3000 and AMD HD 6xxx discrete graphics cards supports MVC (BR 3D codec) hardware decoding and HDMI 1.4a 3D video formats.
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post #802 of 2220
3/25/11 at 8:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomjoetan View Post

Optical
Bluray player with DVD/CD burner - Lite-On $50

where are you finding a BD reader that also burns DVD/CD for $50?
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post #803 of 2220
3/25/11 at 8:59am
Another source of confusion.

ASUS P8H61-M Specifications summary from the manual, page ix:

Quote:


Hardware Decode Acceleration for H.264, VC-1, and MPEG-2

ASRock H61M Specifcations from the manual, page 6:

Quote:


Supports Full HD 1080p Blu-ray (BD) / HD-DVD playback with DVI and HDMI ports

Some H61 mb support AHCI (all ASRock, ASUS P8H61-M PRO etc.), some (MSI, ASUS P8H61-M) don't. But this is expected:

Quote:


The PCH provides hardware support for AHCI functionality when enabled by appropriate system configurations and software drivers.
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post #804 of 2220
3/25/11 at 9:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

Is the lack of Clear Video with H61 a confirmed fact? I haven't seen such a restriction in the datasheet.

It's still possible Clear Video Technology is a function of the processor instead of the chipset. I think it's been mentioned somewhere that really low end Sandy Bridge won't have CVT so perhaps they're basing the specifications on the platform as a whole? H61 is targeted towards entry level so they're probably expecting Celerons and Pentiums to be paired with it instead of Core i3/i5/i7.

Another, Intel's ARK isn't always completely accurate (e.g. regarding support for ECC RAM on i3/i5 Clarkdale).

Oh well, even without hardware acceleration, the new Celeron and Pentium Sandy Bridge will probably have no trouble decoding 1080p H.264/VC-1 streams.
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post #805 of 2220
3/25/11 at 9:14am
For others looking, this is why I was wondering, again remove spaces
http:// www. microcenter. com/specials/email/CPlanding0325.html?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=E1015%20Computer%20Parts%20LP%2020110325&utm_source=ACT_BYO&
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post #806 of 2220
3/25/11 at 9:22am
From SemiAccurate:
Quote:


Update 2: March 24, 2011, 3:00pm CST - Intel contacted us and requested a story correction claiming that video was a part of the Celerons. To make sure we were understanding the technical details correctly we asked Intel to answer a list of questions about what is and is not missing from the new Celeron GPUs. These parts are 6EU GPUs with a lot of non-EU circuitry removed as you can see from the die shots currently available.

The question of what exactly is missing was not an easy one to answer, Intel seems to have removed a great deal of technical information from their web site. Intel does not even list the type of HD' graphics, 2000, 3000, or a newer generation, much less state the EU count for their GPUs. See here, here and here.

Adding to the confusion was Intel listing the vague terms Clear Video Technology and Clear Video HD Technology without providing any definitions nor background information to help us translate the marketing-speak nonsense into something technically understandable. That said, the Celerons didn't have either, the bigger parts did have the HD version, but the non-HD was not listed. HD is presumably a superset of non-HD, but since there is basically zero documentation on this anywhere we can find, it may not be the case.

Not wanting to update the story until we knew what was and was not in the new Celerons, we asked Intel. Basically we requested technical clarity on a long list of questions and asked about every little feature we could think of, and Intel graciously answered them all. With that in mind, we can update a few things about the feature set of the new GPUs.

Intel said that the biggest difference was that the Celerons lack Quicksync', aka hardware assisted video encode. Video decode for H.264, VC-1, and MPEG2 are still fully hardware decoded in the Celeron GPUs. All of the APIs listed as supported, DirectX 10.1, OpenGLx, and the rest are the same as the CoreSomething models too.

The other major difference between the two is post processing, and those are all missing on the Celerons. These include Skin Tone Enhancement, Total Color Control, and Adaptive Contrast Enhancement. This is a curious choice because these should be done in the EUs, not the hardware, and the count of those hasn't changed in the Celeron, nor has the clock moved much. It looks like this is a software/market differentiation thing more than anything else.

There you have it. Sorry for any delays, and thanks to the guys at Intel for taking the time to answer our long and somewhat noxious list of questions.S|A

Perhaps the lack of Clear Video Technology referenced in the specifications merely refers to post processing support and not hardware decode acceleration?
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post #807 of 2220
3/25/11 at 9:29am
I miss the days when you didn't have to skim over every detail on hardware to make sure you was getting what you thought. Now you have to check voltage, bus size, etc etc. The lines are blurred more every time new stuff comes out. I like low, mid, high end. Too much in between now.

However, I may agree with you ilovejedd. Sounds exaclty like they are describing.

Per Intel http://www.intel.com/technology/graphics/ctv.htm
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post #808 of 2220
3/25/11 at 9:57am
From the information by SemiAccurate, I assume (need actual test)

- H61 and H67 are identical in the support for integrated graphics.
- All SNB supports hardware decode acceleration for AVC/VC-1/MPEG-2/(MVC?). All support hardware deinterlacing (?).
- Pentium/Celeron SNB do not support some post-processing tasks.

Then low-end SNB will be defeated by AMD in graphics (thanks to Intel's stupid strategy ). Even AMD Zacate fully supports all the features of AMD EyeSpeed Technology (the successor to Avivo HD?).
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post #809 of 2220
3/25/11 at 10:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

Then low-end SNB will be defeated by AMD in graphics (thanks to Intel's stupid strategy ). Even AMD Zacate fully supports all the features of AMD EyeSpeed Technology (the successor to Avivo HD?).

Well, even before, it looks like Intel has already thrown the towel in the sub-$100 market. It's always been the case that if you've got a low budget, AMD offers the best value. The only saving grace Intel had is the insane overclockability of their Allendale, Wolfdale and Clarkdale processors (at least compared to AMD offerings at the time). With Sandy Bridge and multiplier only overclocking, they've lost that advantage. This is why for a basic HTPC/desktop, I'm very keen on Llano. It promises to be a good balance of CPU and GPU performance with low power consumption suitable for HTPC and even casual gaming at what's bound to be a very nice price point.
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post #810 of 2220
3/25/11 at 10:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

From the information by SemiAccurate, I assume (need actual test)

- H61 and H67 are identical in the support for integrated graphics.
- All SNB supports hardware decode acceleration for AVC/VC-1/MPEG-2/(MVC?). All support hardware deinterlacing (?).
- Pentium/Celeron SNB do not support some post-processing tasks.

Then low-end SNB will be defeated by AMD in graphics (thanks to Intel's stupid strategy ). Even AMD Zacate fully supports all the features of AMD EyeSpeed Technology (the successor to Avivo HD?).

Zacate is on life support from its graphics side. It has to support everything or it would slow to a crawl. Apart from the first few chips, every Celeron was designed to suck.
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