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s2tephen · 2013-02-25, 17:48

Can anyone please tell me if this is suitable hardware to be able to run 1080p films on XBMC.

AMD A4 5300 3.4 ghz CPU
8 Gig Ram
AMD Radion HD 7480 D

or
Intel i7 3770 S
Intel HD 4000 Graphics
8GIg Ram

Many thanks

**Prof Yaffle** · 2013-02-25, 18:13

Dunno about the AMD chip, but that Intel config would play several at the same time, I suspect... it does depend a little on what OS you're planning, of course, but bear in mind that XBMC displays HD movies on some really low-end devices, especially if you've got decent hardware accelerated graphics.

s2tephen · 2013-02-25, 18:19

Win 7 is what i think i will be using
No ext display card I think the hd4000 or the Radion 7480d are part intergrated into the CPU so want to use that as the case will not be large enough to accomadate one.

I am using the amd config but sometimes a bit glichy so thinking of the upgrade to the intel.

Diggs · (This post was last modified: 2013-02-26, 01:32 by Diggs.)

Wow, comparing apples to olives here.. The Intel I7 cost $329 USD and is far more than you need in a HTPC that the primary goal is 1080P video. Not to mention going that route you now have to upgrade the motherboard also. Why not simply upgrade the AMD APU? You should be able to simply drop in the A10-5800 APU for $130 USD and be done with it and save that $200 for other goodies. I am running an older A8 chip that isn't as nice as the A10 and 1080P video has never been a problem, always perfect playback. The A10 isn't needed, and you can certainly go for a cheaper APU that will work. From the reviews I have been reading that setup should be running well for xbmc and 1080P. I am guessing you are running into some setup/driver issues.

bluray · 2013-02-26, 05:05

(2013-02-25, 17:48)s2tephen Wrote: Can anyone please tell me if this is suitable hardware to be able to run 1080p films on XBMC.

AMD A4 5300 3.4 ghz CPU
8 Gig Ram
AMD Radion HD 7480 D

I'll playback 1080P with ease......

(2013-02-25, 17:48)s2tephen Wrote: or
Intel i7 3770 S
Intel HD 4000 Graphics
8GIg Ram

Many thanks

If you have money to spend, why not? You'll be very happy with this beast.....

s2tephen · (This post was last modified: 2013-02-27, 16:29 by s2tephen.)

I am using a 160 watt pico silent psu with 180 watt external brick no noise from power supply and a Noctua NH-L9a CPU fan so this is silent. the amd A10 pulls 100 watts where as the A4 pulls 65 Watts and the i7 3770T pulls 45 watts and the S and K versions pull 77 watts.
Though the A4 does play 1080p it is not 100% smooth were as I think the i7 would be.

Just to let you know full setup is
Hyper case
2Gig WD Hard disk (Data)
128 GIg SSD Boot and utilities
8 Gig 1600 Ram
MSI FM2 MB
A4 5300 CPU
160 Watt Pico PSU unit
180 Watt External power brick

At moment using synology DS210+ for storage and video streaming.

Also have the same files on the installed Hard Disk but believe it on not I am unable to watch the films they judder so much on playback given up on it..

All running cool

**Dougie Fresh** · 2013-02-27, 18:26

(2013-02-27, 16:20)s2tephen Wrote: I am using a 160 watt pico silent psu with 180 watt external brick no noise from power supply and a Noctua NH-L9a CPU fan so this is silent. the amd A10 pulls 100 watts where as the A4 pulls 65 Watts and the i7 3770T pulls 45 watts and the S and K versions pull 77 watts.

TDP is not a measurement of power draw. For AMD, power draw tends to be more than TDP and Intel it's often less. TDP is a measure of how much heat a system needs to dissipate in order to keep the temperature of the CPU below the max threshold.

TDP lets you know how much cooling you'll need not how much of a power supply you need.

s2tephen · 2013-02-27, 18:38

Can you tell me how much power i will need then to run the i7 3770T and itx mb

**Dougie Fresh** · 2013-02-27, 18:43

It depends on what you're using it for, but with Sandy/Ivy Bridge the whole line from Celeron to i7 idles (<30W) and watches video (35-40W) about the same wattage when GPU acceleration is being used. It's only at the high end where they differ.

I have customers running i7-3770S/H77/8GB/SSD systems on a 120W power supply without issue. They aren't using them to game, run Prime95 or Folding@Home at max settings, just HTPC usage. A 160W PSU is more than enough.

There's a large gap between A4 and i7. You could look at i3-3225 and get the same result for HTPC usage. I have customers using 84 and 90W power supplies for those systems without issue. Those max out around 70W with Prime95 large FFTs.

DavidT99 · 2013-02-27, 18:52

Just get an A8-5500. This is a 65watt CPU just like your A4.

David

**Dougie Fresh** · (This post was last modified: 2013-02-27, 18:58 by Dougie Fresh.)

Yes, given you already have the FM2 motherboard, an A8-5500 or A10-5700 would improve your experience, assuming the CPU/GPU is the bottleneck.

A lot of the APU issues I've seen turn out to be memory settings in the BIOS -- BIOS setting DDR3-1866 to DDR3-1333. Once the BIOS is set correctly a lot of what look like APU performance issues go away.

s2tephen · (This post was last modified: 2013-02-27, 19:35 by s2tephen.)

Cheers for all advice taken onboard .
Can someone please tell me though why when i stream media from my synology box everything plays smoothly, but when i try to stream from the hard disk on the htpc the video lags and stutters, even the same files. I would have thought local files would be a better bet.

Bit of a beginer setting up bios's

Yes Motherboard is MSI FM2-A75MA-E35

will have a look and see

s2tephen · 2013-03-02, 00:22

Just to let you all know Ive gone with the A10 5700 works a treat.