[czsmith]

Hi,

I have a problem... I have HTPC with AMD Athlon BE-2400 (2.3GHz) but this cpu can't playback HD 1080p movie (HDrip, x264, mkv).

There are two possible solutions:

- buy Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 and new motherboard, but it's more expensive solution

- or buy AMD Phenom QuadCore 9500 ... because I need not new motherboard, it's cheaper solution... but I don't believe AMD


Will Phenom 9500 be able to playback HD 1080p movie (HDrips, BD discs,...) OK?


thank you

 

[czsmith]

nobody has experience with AMD Phenom?

 

[kapone]

The BE 2400 probably is not enough to play HD at STOCK speeds, but it overclocks easily and can certainly play HD.

 

[ES_Revenge]

You can go ahead and buy the Phenom if you want, as your motherboard already supports it.


The Phenom isn't that great (compared to C2Qs and even C2Ds where quad core support is not present in the application) but the Phenom still shines over C2Ds in video decoding where 4 cores are put to good use.


You can do as the person above mentioned and see what you can do with OC'ing the CPU; but if you can upgrade to a Phenom it's not that bad an idea as it'll still be faster than the A64 in all cases

 

[bjterry62]



Quote:
Originally Posted by czsmith /forum/post/12960469


Hi,

I have a problem... I have HTPC with AMD Athlon BE-2400 (2.3GHz) but this cpu can't playback HD 1080p movie (HDrip, x264, mkv).

There are two possible solutions:

- buy Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 and new motherboard, but it's more expensive solution

- or buy AMD Phenom QuadCore 9500 ... because I need not new motherboard, it's cheaper solution... but I don't believe AMD


Will Phenom 9500 be able to playback HD 1080p movie (HDrips, BD discs,...) OK?


thank you

Why not get a video card that handle the HD so your processor doesn't have to? You can then keep the setup you have. See this thread .


BT

 

[SpHeRe31459]



Quote:
Originally Posted by bjterry62 /forum/post/12970534


Why not get a video card that handle the HD so your processor doesn't have to? You can then keep the setup you have. See this thread .


BT

Yes that's the smart way to go. Let the graphics card take care of the decoding. As an example, with a GeForce 8600GT, I can watch H.264 and VC-1 HD DVD and Blu-ray movies quite comfortably on an Athlon X2 3800+ which is lower speed (2.0 Ghz) then the BE-2400 (2.3Ghz).

 

[DjPiLL]



Quote:
Originally Posted by SpHeRe31459 /forum/post/12972582


Yes that's the smart way to go. Let the graphics card take care of the decoding. As an example, with a GeForce 8600GT, I can watch H.264 and VC-1 HD DVD and Blu-ray movies quite comfortably on an Athlon X2 3800+ which is lower speed (2.0 Ghz) then the BE-2400 (2.3Ghz).

I have a HD3870 with a 4200+ and my HTPC smokes with the LG drive. Very nice playback.


If you can upgrade your CPU to an X2 thats probably sufficient enough... but I would also upgrade the video card to something more HTPC geared.

 

[SpHeRe31459]



Quote:
Originally Posted by DjPiLL /forum/post/12972646


I have a HD3870 with a 4200+ and my HTPC smokes with the LG drive. Very nice playback.


If you can upgrade your CPU to an X2 thats probably sufficient enough... but I would also upgrade the video card to something more HTPC geared.

His CPU is already an X2 (the BE-2400 is a low voltage version of X2 4400+), which is why I was pointing out that I can do HD DVD/Blu-ray on somewhat less.

 

[SpHeRe31459]

Oh I just noticed you want to play rips not legitimate discs. The software that supports hardware acceleration is mostly geared towards optical discs. You may find that getting hardware acceleration to work properly with MKV containers isn't that easy. Thus yes, you may want to invest a more brawny CPU. A Phenom is a bit overkill, that BE-2400 runs really cool, making a jump to the hotter running Phenom may be a mistake, not to mention the current Phenom silicon seems to be less then ideal thanks to eratta.

The X2 5400+ is the highest CPU that is 65W TDP, after that it goes up into hotter power consumption. At 2.8Ghz I would think the 5400+ is enough and it's only $105.


Also I didn't see what your current graphics card is.

 

[czsmith]

thank all for suggestions

 

[Pixelgrease]

Actually, I used a BE-2450, but I could playback Elephant Dream 1080p without any glitches on my 690g motherboard, ASUS M2A-VM, and CPU utilization seemed to be around 25%. The BE-2400 is just a hair wimpier... the key being that 1080p non-copyprotected content is easy for the processor/chipset. The manual specs 1080p playback for Blu-Ray as requiring a faster processor.


My advice; rip your legal copy of the Blu-Ray DVD using AnyDvd-HD and play the rip. And buy a Phenom because AMD needs the money. Upgrade to a 780g motherboard too.


I'm using Vista MC for playback.

 

[lordfasheezy]

can some one please answer this query, it'll be appreciated very much. i'm also planning on building a HTPC and am confused which processor will be best from the following


E4500

E4600

E7200


i'll watch 1080p movies from rips, not legitimate discs. so please answer accordingly.


thanks again and your whelp will be appreciated.

 

[lordfasheezy]

anyone ? i really some help here :S

 

[arfster]

Perhaps if you wait more than 11 minutes before posting again someone might be around to help you.


Personally, I'd get the e7200. While the other two will probably be OK with most rips at present, more complicated encodes are possible in future (and i mean the near future).