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ATI Radeon HD 2600

post #1 of 12
12/28/07 at 8:41pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I am looking at converting a system into a HTPC setup and had some questions about the ATI Radeon HD 2600.

1) What are the differences between the ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256MB and ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 512MB, besides the obvious difference in RAM?

2) I will be using this to mainly play HD movies (720p/1080i - h264) from the hard drive, so is it worth it to go with a 512MB card, or will 256MB be enough?

3) I have read that these cards have support for HDMI / 5.1 surround. How exactly does this work? I don't see any HDMI output on either card. Do you have to get a DVI to HDMI cable? How does the sound work? Is that just for HD / Bluray discs, or will it supply sound from any source?
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post #2 of 12
12/29/07 at 1:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dante2010 View Post

Hi,

I am looking at converting a system into a HTPC setup and had some questions about the ATI Radeon HD 2600.

1) What are the differences between the ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256MB and ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 512MB, besides the obvious difference in RAM?

XT has higher clock rate
Quote:


2) I will be using this to mainly play HD movies (720p/1080i - h264) from the hard drive, so is it worth it to go with a 512MB card, or will 256MB be enough?

I would say Pro is enough
Quote:


3) I have read that these cards have support for HDMI / 5.1 surround. How exactly does this work? I don't see any HDMI output on either card. Do you have to get a DVI to HDMI cable? How does the sound work? Is that just for HD / Bluray discs, or will it supply sound from any source?

With onboard Soundchip, there is a special DVI to HDMI adapter from ATI (included with XT model)

See that many posts for HD2x00 in this forum.
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post #3 of 12
12/29/07 at 3:40am
Hi.

I purchased an HIS 2600XT model yet the adapter with the card is a simple VGA-to-DVI one not the DVI to HDMI one. Is there any way of how I can get hold of one of the DVI-HDMI adapter?

Thanks!
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post #4 of 12
12/29/07 at 6:51am
Check Newegg Item # N82E16800997021
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post #5 of 12
12/29/07 at 9:42am
Thread Starter 
So the video card uses the onboard sound from the motherboard? Or does it have a sound chip on the video card itself?
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post #6 of 12
12/29/07 at 9:50am
video card has the sound chip. but somehow its activated to the hdmi only when you use that adapter
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post #7 of 12
12/29/07 at 3:26pm
Good luck installing the audio drivers as realtek doesn't tell you what you need before hand.
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post #8 of 12
12/29/07 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 
So the sound via the HDMI port is hard to get working then?
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post #9 of 12
12/29/07 at 4:46pm
It will take over for the on board audio. If you want to use that, you have to make changes in your audio properties (forgot exactly where).
The Realtek HD audio needs the M$ 'HD Bus driver' installed first (2k & XP). Of course, there isn't a damn thing from UnRealtek or the manufactures of the devices (video card, MB etc.) that even hint at this except mention of the HDMI audio issue with these 2600 cards..

Both issues are hidden in the M$ KB.
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post #10 of 12
12/30/07 at 9:02pm
Thread Starter 
OK, so I bought an ATI Radeon 2600 XT on sale at a local shop. I've got it installed and the latest Catalyst drivers installed (07.12). I have been able to hook it up to my HDTV (SONY KDF46E2000) via the DVI to HDMI dongle. I am getting a picture and was able to install the proper drivers to enable sound via HDMI as well.

All seems great except that when I set the resolution to 1152x648, the sound stops. This resolution seems to be the only one that looks good on my TV. Setting it to 1280x720 distorts the text and such so that it's hard to read. But the sound works in that, and most other resolutions.

Is there some trick to getting sound working in 1152x648?
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post #11 of 12
12/31/07 at 1:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dante2010 View Post

All seems great except that when I set the resolution to 1152x648, the sound stops. This resolution seems to be the only one that looks good on my TV. Setting it to 1280x720 distorts the text and such so that it's hard to read. But the sound works in that, and most other resolutions.

Is there some trick to getting sound working in 1152x648?

HDMI is very limited in the resolutions allowed, so it is unlikely to ever work at the non-standard resolution you want.
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post #12 of 12
12/31/07 at 5:58am
Is the audio through your TV or through your receiver?
If it is from the TV, it is a TV issue. Remember it is a Sony.

There is a dedicated thread for the 2600;
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=872538
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