[handonam]

Hey guys

I wanted to know if this setup will work with 1080p with some good headroom. I'm getting a combo from Microcenter tomorrow, and i hope i get a quick response in the morning to be sure this will work fine . The fear i'm having is that i've been reading that HD internet video will be choppy, but i hope this works out fine. This is the specs below:

CPU: Phenom II X2 560 Black Edition
Motherboard: 785GM-P45 AM3 785G mATX
Video (onboard): ATi Radeon HD4200 Graphics Chipset
Ram: Some 2gb DDR2 i'll randomly find online.
Storage: WD 2.5" 5400rpm 500gb (which i'm repurposing)

This is the promo they're having: http://www.microcenter.com/specials/prom...PROMO.html

Trying to stay within microATX specs.


Thanks!

[misterpink]

I'm using that exact MB in a recent build, except its for my nas/processing box - unfortunately I can't tell you squat about the video performance.

I'm happy with the board tho fwiw - build quality and features are excellent for the price, at least for my purposes.

[handonam]

I found out that it went out of stock. Does anyone have any issues with the Intel ATOM and Nvidia IONs? And which atom did you use?

The intel Atom 230 combo is on newegg for 119:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...-_-Product

[Hannes The Hun]

forget about the single core atom when you're interested in internet HD streaming (flash), from my experience and newest flash plug-ins you still need at least a dual core atom to run that stuff properly, i.e. enjoy it.

why do you make the jump from your starting bundle to atom&ion systems? your starting bundle makes a nice base system, the HD4200 GPU might have some software problems accelerating HD playback but you could always throw an nvidia (G210, GT220, GT430) into the mix.

[handonam]

yea, i only mentioned the atom because it was fanless, but now i dont seem to care much about it.


how about the Radeon HD4500? Is it still going to struggle just like the 4200?

[Hannes The Hun]

HD4500 should make no problems, provided you're using windows build and DXVA

[handonam]

The original post went OOS unfortunately . Looking around on newegg, the best i could find are HD 4250 and 4290's. I feel like it's just only meeting "minimum requirements" and is not "recommended settings". Same with the phenom. I dont know if that's all that great, either.


What would you guys recommend on a slick budget of $150 for a cpu/mobo combo? i'm trying to look around right now, and it's prettttty tough to narrow down. Currently looking at the newegg combo deals page.

[soulnothing]

Overall I would stay away from ATI, while the cards are capable its generally only under windows.

As a preface if you can't find a mobo with onboard gpu this card is good, and cheap after rebate. It can't do 3D, and can't stream over HD audio but it's still capable.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814127454

For AMD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813157187
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6819103688

I actually have that mother board, and while the onboard gpu is older it didn't have any problem decoding my files. HD DVD rips or standard definition. It's obvious downside is lack of an hdmi port. Really there aren't to many good nvidia amd options right now. The other downside is the above boards uses ddr2 which is a bit more expensive now.

For intel an i3 on 1156 with a geforce 210 is a good combo. I haven't kept up to much with intel stuff as of late. But I would think a good mother board, and a lower end dual i3 should suffice. I would only recommend lga775 if you have spare parts lying around.

[poofyhairguy]

You want a really powerful CPU/Mobo combo?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealD...mbo.572324

In Windows 7 you don't need a better GPU than that for 1080p.

[handonam]

You want a really powerful CPU/Mobo combo?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealD...mbo.572324

In Windows 7 you don't need a better GPU than that for 1080p.

how come i'm seeing the x3 as cheaper than the x2?


edit: wait, i didnt' realize it was an athlon, haha



what about this combo? http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealD...mbo.572323 I'm wondering how much the L3 cache comes into play for XBMC though.

[poofyhairguy]

what about this combo? http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealD...mbo.572323 I'm wondering how much the L3 cache comes into play for XBMC though.

Now THAT is an awesome combo. The EXACT amount of power needed to decode HD video on the CPU constantly. That will tear Netflix HD a new one.

Good find.

[darkscout]

Now THAT is an awesome combo. The EXACT amount of power needed to decode HD video on the CPU constantly. That will tear Netflix HD a new one.

Good find.

The 555 is pretty low on the $/performance list.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_value_available.html

$90 for 1951 on the benchmarks?

I just got an X4 640.
$100 for 3473.

Not sure why it matters if it's an Athlon.

[handonam]

if i decide to drop down to athlon, i can get it for 117

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealD...mbo.564801


edit: i just discovered that the athlon doesn't have much overclocking headroom at all. the phenom, on the other hand, does. i might want to do a bit of that.

[handonam]

whoa, okay update:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundl...mbo.548019

ASUS M4A785-M :$69.99
AMD HDZ555WFGMBOX :$91.99
G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-4GBNT :$58.99
Seagate ST31000528AS :$69.99

[darkscout]

Overclocking = Heat. Heat -> Need to remove.

Out of the box the X4 benchmarks almost twice as fast as the 555 on CPUbenchmarks.
Unless you really think you're going to be able to overclock that 1951 score to 3400.

And the guys at overclockers club didn't have a problem with it:
"I backed down the reference clock a little bit at a time until I was able to pass Prime95 for an hour with no issues. The final speed on the reference clock was 251MHz, which gave me a clock speed of 3.767GHz or 251MHz x 15 at 1.44 volts. During the one hour stability test, the maximum temperature the processor reached was only 53°C, which is way below the rated 71°C maximum which makes it a very safe overclock."
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/athlon2_x4_640/

The only "Difficulty" I found in the overclocking was this: "Since the Athlon II X4 640 is not a "Black Edition" with an unlocked multiplier, overclocking the system requires adjusting the voltage and the reference clock speed. "

Out of the box the 640 smashes the 555.
I couldn't find any direct benchmarks. Here's one that does the 635 vs the 555.
http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/revie...635_6.html
XVID benchmarks:
http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/revie...635_9.html

Given that they were able to overclock it to 3.7gHz and the fact that it has an entire 2 more cores (The 555 technically does too, but not guaranteed to work out of the box). AND they cost nearly the same.