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baldmosher · (This post was last modified: 2011-12-23, 13:07 by baldmosher.)

I am a bit of a stickler for video quality, are there any comparisons out there? Google is not the best of help.

I'm mainly looking for older comparisons e.g. HD 5450 / 6450 / G210 / GT220 / etc.

They can all do what I need, as I don't need 3D. I just want good quality playback.

PS I'll be using this with a G530 or G620, or possible AMD A6 build, so comparisons with the onboard intel GPU would be useful too.

EDIT:
just found a nice summary in this thread although doesn't really answer the question it has added another option into the mix (6450)

**Beer40oz** · 2011-12-04, 02:35

Win7?

live4ever · 2011-12-04, 03:56

An important question to ask is - what is the source of the majority of your files.

Untouched BD?
Captured tv (interlaced 1080i)?
576 res DVDs?

live4ever · 2011-12-04, 03:58

An important question to ask is - what is the source of the majority of your files.

Untouched BD?
Captured tv (interlaced 1080i)?
576 res DVDs?

toymachine2009 · 2011-12-04, 04:13

AMD FTW! + ATI FTW! + Win 7 FTW! = HTPC FTMFW!!

**Beer40oz** · 2011-12-04, 04:42

toymachine2009 Wrote:amd ftw! + ati ftw! + win 7 ftw! = htpc ftmfw!!

+ 100

baldmosher · 2011-12-04, 16:37

Yes, Windows 7 x64.

A separate ATI HD 5450 card would cost about £10 on eBay - so even the G620+GPU option still works out at less cost than the AMD w/ onboard GPU. Yes, AMD+ATI is arguably the best option for a HTPC, but FM1 leaves me with terrible upgrade path, and I'm not just building a HTPC here, I'm building a decent small living room PC that will also eat HTPC stuff for breakfast.

Original sources will be a wide combination of stuff - some SD DVD rips, some 720p and 1080p rips, perhaps even BluRay discs and HD audio one day, but I already have a decent separate BD player, and amp is not HD capable.

Thinking about it, I assume the GPU also handles all the sound output, is that correct? If so, on that note, same question applies..... I'll be using a variety of MP3 and WAVs - including a lot @ 48KHz and perhaps even one or two @ 96KHz if memory serves correctly. However I would consider a discrete XFi card if that would yield big improvements in sound quality. I did have an M-Audio Audiophile card a long time ago and that sounded frickin' gorgeous. But they are VERY expensive. I tend to use Mediamonkey for audio but hoping to switch to XBMC once I've got my head around searching the XBMC music library.

(I will also have a DVB-T2 card installed, but I'm guessing the GPU makes no difference to the quality of that?)

Basically what I'm saying is I want raw quality over raw capability. I'm hoping someone has used a few different GPU cards and can give me a comparison? Or knows of a labs test online somewhere e.g. home theater magazine reviews.

bluray · 2011-12-04, 21:59

baldmosher Wrote:Yes, Windows 7 x64.

Original sources will be a wide combination of stuff - some SD DVD rips, some 720p and 1080p rips, perhaps even BluRay discs and HD audio one day, but I already have a decent separate BD player, and amp is not HD capable.

This build will fulfill quality playback of all those files then:

1. Case- SILVERSTONE Sugo Series SG06-B. Silent fan and efficient PSU are included.
2. MOBO- ASRock A75M-ITX FM1 AMD A75. It'll allow you to turn on/off HTPC with MCE IR/Remote.
3. APU- If you want the best, go for this- AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz and if you want slightly less core and still can playback everything, go for this- AMD A6-3500 Llano 2.1GHz (2.4GHz Max Turbo)
4. HDD- Patriot SSD 32GB.
5. RAM- G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB.
6. BD-ROM- LG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X

baldmosher · 2011-12-05, 01:34

Thanks but I'm not looking for a build I'm looking for a playback quality comparison of GPUs (in terms of video and, if applicable, audio)

A6-3500 is one of the possible configs in my sig, A8 is way over budget.

baldmosher · 2011-12-05, 02:01

PS if I'm going AMD, won't I be wanting 1600MHz RAM?

bluray · 2011-12-05, 02:38

baldmosher Wrote:Thanks but I'm not looking for a build I'm looking for a playback quality comparison of GPUs (in terms of video and, if applicable, audio)

A6-3500 is one of the possible configs in my sig, A8 is way over budget.

You can find all the info on it here then- Great Gift (AMD A8-3850) and Powerful HTPC on a budget. After I started these threads, eSkro has added it to his guide! Smile

QLink · 2011-12-05, 16:37

maybe take a look into this review (Video Quality Tested: GeForce Vs. Radeon In HQV 2.0)

i guess that's what you are looking for.

baldmosher · (This post was last modified: 2011-12-05, 18:16 by baldmosher.)

QLink Wrote:maybe take a look into this review (Video Quality Tested: GeForce Vs. Radeon In HQV 2.0)
i guess that's what you are looking for.

Yes! That's EXACTLY what I'm looking for! Not only does it have some useful info on the settings and comparison between AMD and GeForce it also has a good comparison between lots of different GPUs in the range. Awesome. And it's no contest really.

I'm very glad I'm already leaning towards the A6-3500, this has reinforced that view, but I'm even more glad that I didn't just settle for Intel and then possibly add a discrete G210 or HD5450 later....! Anyway no sign of the PowerVR GPUs being compared anywhere.....

Now just to find info on comparative sound quality.....

(I take it that it is just me that finds it impossible to find anything remotely useful on tomshardware just by searching?? Apparently they also have a motherboard search engine - to select board by feature - but I've never even found the search engine!)

EDIT: actually I think I might be getting the hang of their search engine, I just narrowed down the normal 5,000 results to 6 by adding two more keywords... there is hope.