ATi Radeon HD 2400XT or 2600XT for a HTPC?

[Furton]

I've got most of the parts for my HTPC ordered however after doing more research I've discovered that the on-board graphics on my Abit AN-M2HD nForce 520 Micro ATX won't be good enough to decode a Blue-Ray or HD-DVD disc on the fly coupled with my Athlon X2 BE-2400 hence will need a graphics card for this.

I've narrowed it down to either a Radeon 2400 or 2600. I'm only considering the 2600 as I've read on a review (can't for the life of me find it now) that the picture quality on a HD movie is better through a 2600, is this still true or have the drivers been updated?

Also, does anyone know which of the ATi cards (either 2400 or 2600) come with the ATi DVI > HDMI dongle that carries video and sound?

 

[cavemanoc]

I've had the:
Gigabyte ATI Radeon 2400 XT Silent Fanless 256MB
and
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO SILENT 256MB

Neither include the dongle. I'm busy trying to find a solution to this with OcUK, but so far I haven't had any joy - I'll let you know how it goes

Unfortunately, because the dongle is considered an 'optional extra' few companies seem to include it - a real shame considering that the cost to them is about $1.20 - tight-asses!

 

[badbob]

Get the 2600 Pro, passive version. No need for XT.

 

[Furton]

I've had the:
Gigabyte ATI Radeon 2400 XT Silent Fanless 256MB
and
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO SILENT 256MB

Neither include the dongle. I'm busy trying to find a solution to this with OcUK, but so far I haven't had any joy - I'll let you know how it goes

Unfortunately, because the dongle is considered an 'optional extra' few companies seem to include it - a real shame considering that the cost to them is about $1.20 - tight-asses!

I have e-mailed OCUK about which has the dongle but they couldn't tell me as there's a fair few products to go through.

 

[hominid]

I'll save you the bother as after allot of messages OcUK said that they couldn't guarantee a dongle with any of the 2400 or 2600 range!

 

[oweneades]

If its only going in a HTPC don't spend extra on a HD2600.

The 2400 and 2600 both have the same UVD video processor so both should be able to cope with blu-ray films fine.

Have you also taken a look at the 8400GS? That also has the dedicated video processor (just like the 8500 & 8600).

 

[Furton]

If its only going in a HTPC don't spend extra on a HD2600.

The 2400 and 2600 both have the same UVD video processor so both should be able to cope with blu-ray films fine.

Have you also taken a look at the 8400GS? That also has the dedicated video processor (just like the 8500 & 8600).

So both should have the same video quality output? That's all I needed to know.

Not considering the 8400GS because as far as I know it can't output sound over HDMI cable?

 

[oweneades]

Ah sorry I didn't realise you wanted the sound over the HDMI cable.

I don't know if it can tbh.

As for the image quality both the 2400 and 2600 should be identical.

I can't say for certain as I don't own them but they do run the same video processor so I don't see why they should be any different.

 

[Rich]

Bought the Sapphire 2400XT last week and it came with the DVI>HDMI Dongle. From OCUK btw. Only played back 720p on it so far but it does it wel

 

[Bigpops]

I've heard that the 2400 isn't good enough to decode and output HD-DVD or Blu-ray at 1080p, where as the 2600 can. The 2400 will do it at lower resolutions, but not the one that counts.

I read a review about a months or so ago that compared the two along with Nvidia's similar offerings.

EDIT: Here's he article i read http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/26/avivo_hd_vs_purevideo/page7.html
It says ATi were going to fix it in a newer driver revision. No idea if they have or not.

 

[Furton]

I've heard that the 2400 isn't good enough to decode and output HD-DVD or Blu-ray at 1080p, where as the 2600 can. The 2400 will do it at lower resolutions, but not the one that counts.

I read a review about a months or so ago that compared the two along with Nvidia's similar offerings.

EDIT: Here's he article i read http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/26/avivo_hd_vs_purevideo/page7.html
It says ATi were going to fix it in a newer driver revision. No idea if they have or not.

That's the article that I've read which had me worried about the HD 2400. And this page
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/10/26/avivo_hd_vs_purevideo/page9.html
shows why I'm leaning towards a HD 2600 for the better picture quality. Are there any other reviews to confirm this though?

 

[cavemanoc]

I ran both the 2400 pro and xt on my monitor and both were capable of displaying the desktop at 1920x1080 (driver 7.12) so it does seem that ATi have fixed the issue at the driver level - I can't tell on the HD playback as I don't have my player yet - if someone has a link to HD content online (trailers etc...) I can give it a go and see how they perform.

 

[muon]

I've had the:
Gigabyte ATI Radeon 2400 XT Silent Fanless 256MB
and
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO SILENT 256MB

Neither include the dongle. I'm busy trying to find a solution to this with OcUK, but so far I haven't had any joy - I'll let you know how it goes

Unfortunately, because the dongle is considered an 'optional extra' few companies seem to include it - a real shame considering that the cost to them is about $1.20 - tight-asses!

Might want to get one second hand then making sure it has the dongle.

 

[cavemanoc]

Not really the point TBH, the card spec states:

Integrated HDMI – One-cable video and audio with no compromises

Given ATi's statement that they will not provide the dongle unless it came with the product originally, this statement is patently untrue. That's deceptive advertising and certainly qualifies under the 'not fit for purpose' bits of the SoGA.

I'll keep you updated though

One other note, re the ablilty of the 2400 series to do full 1080p, the tech blurb says:

Remarkable combination of DirectX® 10 performance and HD 1080p video/media

I know that the accuracy of the spec is iffy at best, but it seems hopeful

 

[muon]

Not really the point TBH, the card spec states:



Given ATi's statement that they will not provide the dongle unless it came with the product originally, this statement is patently untrue. That's deceptive advertising and certainly qualifies under the 'not fit for purpose' bits of the SoGA.

I'll keep you updated though

One other note, re the ablilty of the 2400 series to do full 1080p, the tech blurb says:



I know that the accuracy of the spec is iffy at best, but it seems hopeful

Its more the fault of the partners rather than AMD. They must have started doing this recenty in order to cut costs. I recieved a dongle with a sapphire 2600xt (ddr3 version) i purchased.

 

[Furton]

I think I'm going to see how the on-board gfx on the Abit AN-M2HD copes as it only needs to output to 720p at the moment. However when my new TV arrives I can't see it decoding Blue Ray on the fly at 1080 without skipping frames.

I ran both the 2400 pro and xt on my monitor and both were capable of displaying the desktop at 1920x1080 (driver 7.12) so it does seem that ATi have fixed the issue at the driver level - I can't tell on the HD playback as I don't have my player yet - if someone has a link to HD content online (trailers etc...) I can give it a go and see how they perform.

cavemanoc, would be able to try some of these trailers please?
http://www.drfoster.f2s.com/trailers_hd-dvd.shtml

 

[muon]

cavemanoc, would be able to try some of these trailers please?
http://www.drfoster.f2s.com/trailers_hd-dvd.shtml

You sure theyre using VC-1 or h.264/AVC codecs? I thought at the moment it only works with PowerDVD using cyberlink decoders as well. What other software supports gpu acceleration for hi-def formats?

edit: They all use the WMV9 codec. Also, his cpu is good enough to decode 1080p wmv9 video without gpu acceleration. The clips only have a bitrate of ~8Mbps.

 

[cavemanoc]

I think I'm going to see how the on-board gfx on the Abit AN-M2HD copes as it only needs to output to 720p at the moment. However when my new TV arrives I can't see it decoding Blue Ray on the fly at 1080 without skipping frames.



cavemanoc, would be able to try some of these trailers please?
http://www.drfoster.f2s.com/trailers_hd-dvd.shtml

I'm away for 2 weeks now unfortunately, but will have a play when I get back. I can run them with and without acceleration to get an idea of how much cpu offload occurs. I'll be getting my Bluray/HDDvd player then too so I'll run a couple of tests on that as well.

It is the fault of the partners as they decide what to include in the bundle and it all stems down to ignorance. When I was trying to unravel this little mystery I contacted Giga-byte UK direct to try and work out what was going on and even they didn't realise that it had to be the proprietary dongle. The obvious answer if for OcUK to stock them and let us buy them direct (perhaps with them as a 'suggested' purchase to match the cards?)