htpc audio hardware help needed.
#1
This audio thing is really driving me crazy, and so I'm asking for a little direction.

First off my "haves" I have a newish 720p plasma that I will be using for a while. So 1080p or even 1080i isn't that big of a deal, I have a 7.1(sometimes 7.2) audio system driven by a denon 887 It can process audio via HDMI, s/pdif or multichannel analog in.

My wants are, new htpc that fits on a shelf, runs linux, plays blurays (ripped is fine for now), outputs 8 channel audio, and has no problems with hulu, and can do my encoding.

I already have a case . And I would like to get an AMD Athlon II X4 620 or 630 for encoding speed that thats AMD motherboards. Blu-ray drives are easy, as are hard drives and ram.
But what motherboard? Linux users, please reply with what your using and how your getting your 8 channel audio out.
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#2
Maybe I should add a bit more info as far as what my thoughts have been about various different audio formats and motherboards boards.
Price is pretty important, I would like the whole video/mobo/cpu combo to be around $150-$170ish. (Oh and the CPU socket sitting a bit further back then usual would be nice too, would help with case clearance)

Audio Best to worst:
  • HDMI - Can do 8channel LPCM and anything less then that. Possible support for TrueHD or DTS-HD in the future.
  • Analog 8 channel -easy to setup, worries about being able to matrix 7.1 out of 5.1 source material or even worse 2 channel material. Also it may bypass room EQ settings and ignore subwoofer output levels and crossover points. (These level and eq issues would make this the least desirable option) [edit] looks like I can adjust the SW levels, but nothing else, are their options in alsa for eq curves and surround delays?[/edit]
  • S/PDif - What I'm using now, it works but I would like to be able to not have to upmix everything from 5.1.

Motherboard options
  • AMD/ATI - For all models, No good video support, no 8 channel LPCM audio over hdmi, unfortunately the only AMD chipsets that are not 3+ years old
  • NV 8200/8300 - These are probably my best bet for an IGPU but these boards are getting hard to find, and nvidia seems to be getting out of the chipset market so who knows what will happen with drivers in the future.
  • NV 6100/6150 - These would be good for a cheap bare-bones option, Analog or spdif audio would work. DVI > HDMI adapter would get my video out.
  • Any old motherboard with spdif to use as a fall back, and a GT220 to get HDMI video and maybe audio from. This could work as a fall back option for and AMD/ATI motherboard. (although i sense problems mixing ATI on board graphics with a NV card)
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#3
I'm about to build a system as well also running Linux, how do you like that case? Is it well made, worth the money? Is the power supply and case fan loud?

Thanks,
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#4
Looks better then I thought it would, Haven't started it up yet as I have nothing to put in it yet. The power supply is a funny shape so I hope it's not too loud.
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#5
Ok, so this thread is turning into my ongoing thought process... Seems like just writing it our here help me work through the problems.

Some options here, Newegg combo deals with the AMD A2 X4 620 on the first 2.

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Combo $158.99
The Gigabyte is a nice board, lots of options. esata, firewire, hdmi dvi and optical, plus 8 channel analog outputs. Who knows where video or audio support will end up with this, or if I will ever be able to get decent 7.1 audio out without adding a card.

ECS A780GM-M3 AM2+/AM3 AMD 780G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Combo $141.99 ($123.99 after rebate)
The ECS is pretty basic, it's got a spdif header so I could add in a coax jack for 5.1 DD/DTS. No HDMI, but does have DVI, that puts me about where I am now with my older computer, But at $35 less then above( and $60 less then below) I could wait and see what happens with GT210/220 hdmi support and pick one of those up in a few months/ a year and get all my audio that way.

ASUS M3N78-VM AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard -$181.50
Not a bad board, but works out a little expensive, it would have some GPU video acceleration and does have hdmi+dvi, and optical out, plus 8 channel analog. The 8200's aren't nearly the GPU the 210 is and it gets a bit of crap for being a slug so, that worries me a bit.

JetWay JXBLUENC78S-LF AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - 165.97
Similar to the Asus, but crappier and cheaper. HDMI only, but I should be able to force my own resolutions if needed right? spdif output and 8 channel analog to fall back on if needed.

Of these 4 I probably like the features of the Gigabyte 785G motherboard the most. I'm the most worried about the stability and reliability of the ECS and Jetway boards. The Gigabyte would work at least as good as my current HTPC, (amd 3000+ a GF6600gt and spdif) and with the beefier CPU I should be fine without gpu acceleration (right?) And in the future maybe decent ATI linux drivers will come out that do give some decent gpu decoding support. BUT, never LPCM over HDMI. (silly 785) The Asus 8200 board would give me almost all I might want now, except the best performance/price ratio. The ECS plus a 210 would probably do that ($158.98) or ($179.97 for a 220).
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#6
In case anyone cares. I went for the cheapy ECS option, with an even slightly cheaper X3. This should give my budget plenty of room for a nice video card in the future. (I just have to wait for better GT220 low profile fanless cards to come out.)

So far this has turned into a super budget htpc.. I'm at $182.04 for case, mobo, cpu, and memory. (after rebate ;P)

HEC 7K09BB (black) micro ATX desktop
ECS A780GM-M3 AM2+ 780G
AMD|ATH II X3 425 AM3
1Gx2|STT DII800

I may just recycle a hard drive I have kicking around, so I'll just need to add a bluray and video card.
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