[Malosar]

So I'm quite familiar with AMD APUs for HTPCs howevre I'm not that experienced with Intel CPU solutions (with onboard graphics). My friend is replacing his very old HTPC and is asking me for advice and he is looking at the Pentium G630.

I'm still waiting to confirm his exact needs as I don't think he will need for experience but one thing I'm not sure of is the HD audio aspects. According to Intel site, the processor much have Intel Clear Video HD in order to support HD audio codecs, and apparently the Pentium G630 doesn't not have that, which means it can't do HD audio correct? So he would need a discrete GPU.

Secondly, if he in fact wants full Bluray + 3D then he's going to need at least an i3 correct? And something like the i3-3225 IB has Clearvideo and thus will do everything he may need to do, without discrete GPU.

[Dougie Fresh]

The G630 will bitstream HD audio but it does not support 3D. You need at least an Intel i3 or AMD Llano or Trinity for 3D. All these support HD audio bitstreaming too.

i3-3225 is a great choice.

[Malosar]

ok that's great, but what part of the Intel specifications page indicates so? I find it frustrating that some mere searching here or googling doesn't immediately tell me what I need to know.

[bluray]

So I'm quite familiar with AMD APUs for HTPCs howevre I'm not that experienced with Intel CPU solutions (with onboard graphics). My friend is replacing his very old HTPC and is asking me for advice and he is looking at the Pentium G630.

I'm still waiting to confirm his exact needs as I don't think he will need for experience but one thing I'm not sure of is the HD audio aspects. According to Intel site, the processor much have Intel Clear Video HD in order to support HD audio codecs, and apparently the Pentium G630 doesn't not have that, which means it can't do HD audio correct? So he would need a discrete GPU.

Secondly, if he in fact wants full Bluray + 3D then he's going to need at least an i3 correct? And something like the i3-3225 IB has Clearvideo and thus will do everything he may need to do, without discrete GPU.

If he is looking at a G630, he is probably price conscious. If he want to bitstream HD audio and playback 3D, this latest Trinity "AMD A-Series APU (CPU+GPU) Dual-Core A6-5400K 3.6GHz" might be his cheapest solution.....

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ok that's great, but what part of the Intel specifications page indicates so? I find it frustrating that some mere searching here or googling doesn't immediately tell me what I need to know.

You have to set your preference straight before searching for HTPC hardware.....otherwise, you can get lost in the spec jungle....

[Malosar]

You have to set your preference straight before searching for HTPC hardware.....otherwise, you can get lost in the spec jungle....

Yeah I know, I'm waiting for his requirements. I just realized when he mentioned the G630 that I didn't know its HD audio capabilities, and I don't like not knowing.

[Dougie Fresh]

I don't have a definitive central source for this but all iGPU support HD audio bitstreaming over HDMI:

Intel: Clarkdale (except Gxxxx), SandyBridge, IvyBridge
AMD: Zacate, Llano, Trinity

The software and the motherboard have to support it as well.