[gryphon5]

Hello,

Having had little success with the Intel GMA 950, I am now planning to build a new HTPC, the parts I plan on using are;

1. Inno3D SL7N73PV-HDMI (Onboard nvidia 7100 3D GPU [w. OpenGL 2.0 & Pixel shader 3.0 support]) - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140304
2. Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53GHz - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145258
3. Kingston 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/129954
+ standard DVD-ROM & SATA HD

For the interested reader, I'm waiting to put all this into this cheap HTPC case - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/127950. I hope the 220W PSU will be up to the job.

My question is, do people think the above hardware be powerful enough for playing x264 1080i content (or at least 720p)?

This would make a nice living room machine for just over £200 all in.

Thanks,
Tom.

[Geeba]

Not an expert but I'd go for a higher "future proof" CPU....

Also a flame proof suite.... many more hardware post and you likely to feeeeeel the wrath of the Devs..... have you had a reply from Spiff before? Ouch!

[Geeba]

Quads are like a £100..... and clock to huge speeds...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduc...=CP-161-IN

[ShortySco]

What geeba said in his first post.....

Yeah, i have almost that same setup, diff m/b but using the 7100 chipset. 2GB Ram, similar case but with a 250w supply (Compucase 7k series).

Works pretty good overall and can play the killa sample just without dropped frames, i believe yours could too, perhaps with slight overclocking... but XBMC seems to be getting more efficient all the time, i have an E8200.

Only problems i've had so far have been in user.exe :p

Shorty

[BLKMGK]

IMO just make sure you get a 45nm dual core CPU. The 45nm run much cooler and overclock well. A quad might be overkill since the CABAC patch apparently doesn't scale too well past two cores. The 65nm quads do not overclock THAT well and get REAL hot - I have a 65nm quad that ALMOST hit 3Ghz but wowzer is it loud trying to keep it cool! This is in a machine for transcoding and has never run XBMC so do not know how it would do but as it happens there's a Q6600 in it I believe. The 65nm C2D I have hit 3Ghz but for the cost use a 45nm and clock it up. The CPU you've chosen looks like a good one to me...

Oh the P/S looks fine to me too! Consider maybe a SATA laptop drive - same connectors as desktop and smaller\quieter\cooler.

[Geeba]

Got a Q6600 running 3ghz on air here.... and according to Toms Hardware you have to clock a dual to 3Ghz to match the performance of a non clocked quad

Intel do a range of dual and quads designed for OC now also and they're pennies more cost wise...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlis...subid=1093

I run XBMC on my Quad it devours everything I throw at it.....

[althekiller]

You CAN'T compare a dual and quad core system at ANY clockrate if the application doesn't scale well. I don't care how many lame PC hardware review site links, you post you will not sway my education. That being said, XBMC doesn't scale well! FFMPEG can only decode with 2 cores in a BEST CASE scenario, which means, if your scheduler isn't retarded, you'll use 2 cores MAX. Moral of the story, do NOT waste money on a quad core for XBMC.

[BLKMGK]

Thank you althekiller - that is exactly what I was trying to say! My particular Q6600 won't quite do 3Ghz - or at least won't for the hours it takes to encode a video at 100%. It will do it fine for games etc. but 8hours or encoding it just gets too hot. The 65nm C2D I have in my XBMC machine is fine at 3GHZ and with the CPU usage glitch is probably maxxed out fulltime - it never complains. A 45nm would be even better and clock higher - my E8400 in this desktop runs 100% usage for days on end sometimes and is fine - at 3.8Ghz.

The Q6600 stomps the E8400 at ENcoding - by hours - even though the quad runs almost a gigahertz SLOWER. ENcoding is capable of using more than 2 cores. For DEcoding I use a C2D at 3Ghz and it's fine. When I mux video and audio together the E8400 stomps the quad, muxing isn't multicore. Would a quad work in the XBMC machine for DEcoding? Sure but there's no need right now - it's for video playback and can do it flawlessly with 2 cores. I've only been tempted to move that machine to a 45nm CPU because I know I can clock even higher at cooler temps and it would compile more quickly. (lol)

So, as I tried to say before, get an Intel multicore 45nm CPU that can run at least 3Ghz - overclocked or not who cares. The Q6600 is a 65nm and 3Ghz isn't a guarantee especially if you want QUIET operation - IMO not a great choice.

[Geeba]

Geesssss... no need to get off your horse! the LAME link was just to a price! not a comparison of any sort... but if you do take the time to look up comparisons where people with proper test beds and proper benching software have compared CPU's you'll find a bigger percentage of the time they sway towards the Quad CPU's for out right GRUNT.... And over clocked it will keep up with its dual core counter part especially when the software written not to use multi cores.... who just uses their PC only for XBMC? which I know doent use multi cores... I rip/encode video/music on mine, play games as well as just watching media and it trowsers BOTH my dual core machines.. I was starting to scratch my head so for peace of mind I ripped a dvd with DVD decripter.... started at the same time AutoGK to encode it.... put it this way the quad has finished... the dual has just started its 2nd pass...... I bought a Zalman nVidia air cooler and its quieter than the hard disk.... even at almost 3Ghz

Like I said earlier it was just a bit more future proof.... they're not about to start reducing cores or writting code not to take advantage of them.. Octo Cores are already a reality.... price of a Quad...not different enough not to buy it in my eyes.

Oh and isnt garrenteed to run at 3Ghz? hmmm maybe you should click the LAME link! they actually gareentee 3.30Ghz.... for 130 quid! so even at 3Ghz cant see noise or heat being a huge problem even with a smaller heatsink.

[althekiller]

You mis-type that location? I'd expect ignorance like that from an American, but damn that post takes the cake.

Why the hell would I want to read a review written by some nerd getting paid to write reviews for hardware, when with the correct technical documentation, I can anticipate the results? I have a computer engineering degree, I'm not going to have some twat with a communications and journalism degree telling me ANYTHING.

Lastly, most people asking for hardware recommendations here are looking to build a HTPC for their living room. That's right, DEDICATED to XBMC. A quadcore in this type of system is worthless, a complete waste of 2 computed cores, 6MB of cache and 50W of power (based of 45nm intel stats). When FFMPEG can scale decoding to more threads then it could become a feasible option. Until then, geek out on your own time, I won't stand for terrible unfounded recommendations here.

[Geeba]

My ignorance? you've just Tar'd with the same brush a whole nation....!

I'm a highly certified Cisco and Nortel engineer but I still listern and read what others have to say... life is to short to have a blinkerd view of it.

You wrote..."When FFMPEG can scale decoding to more threads then it could become a feasible option"

I wrote in my first post..."Not an expert but I'd go for a higher "future proof" CPU.."

So we we're thinking along the same lines.... but now Gryphon5 do a bit of reading in the other hardware topics/web and make your own mind up... whatever you choose I'm sure you will be happy with it. only you know what you use your PC for.

.

[gryphon5]

Thanks for all the advice, I think I will go for the 3ghz C2D to be sure;
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139971

I'd prefer not to overclock in the hope that I can get a slower/quieter cpu fan since its going to be sat in the living room.

Cheers,
Tom.

[BLKMGK]

Hrm, I'm an American.... While stats are all well good and fine I honestly like to do things with my own hands - especially when it comes to things like overclocking etc.. I've been doing that activity since it required crystals from walkie talkies to bump speeds up over the 4.77mhz - these were 8088 XTs! Some of my first water cooling experiments were MOST amusing. I've been at this awhile to say the least and most of what I've learned didn't come from a book or a website so I take both with a grain of salt. Can we stop with the who's bigger thing now? Seems silly....

As it happens my XBMC box is indeed in the living room and it is DEDICATED to XBMC usage, runs only Linux as well. A 45nm C2D running about 3ghz is all that's needed. Gryphon if you can find one that's significantly cheaper and a little slower do not be afraid to overclock it as even on the stock fan they will do 3ghz just fine. I can understand being hesitant however, particularly when folks seem to disagree on the best path here.

The E8400 is capable of running a good bit faster than needed so as long as other subsytems are up to it you ought to do very well with that one. The onboard video would be the last thing to give me pause since someone with a 3ghz quad is reporting issues with playback and has onboard video - others with onboard video haven't had that problem though so I'm puzzled to be honest. DO let us know how this build works out though as you're not the only one building such a box for sure!

[gryphon5]

Just to let people know..

I went with the E7200 2.53gz C2D in the end. With no overclocking or tweaking of any kind, it is perfectly able to play 720p content. I need to find a suitable 1080i sample to stretch its legs, as well as tweaking boot times, overclocking etc. Does anyone have any testing suggestions?

I do admit though, I ended up going with Windows so I could use AnyDVD to slow the DVD spin speed.

[par-joha]

[...]
I do admit though, I ended up going with Windows so I could use AnyDVD to slow the DVD spin speed.

Just FYI, you can slow down the spin rate in linux as well, see below.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=26864

/ Pär