Cheapest APU for 1080 MKV Playback?

jumeeno · 23 Aug 2013 at 07:39

Morning all.

Question is in the title really! Building a low power, low cost HTPC, and want to know the lowest spec AMD APU I can get away with for guaranteed smooth 1080 playback.

So, best case scenario, A4-5300. Anybody have this chip and confirm that it would be okay?

Next logical step is to go A6-5400K, although not interested in OC'ing this build. I'm presuming these should be okay, and that I wouldn't have to plump for an A8?

Thanks in advance for any advice

d_brennen · 23 Aug 2013 at 07:48

Don't have a 5300 but it would be fine for 1080 playback and will even do 3D BluRay fine

jumeeno · 23 Aug 2013 at 08:01

d_brennen said:
Don't have a 5300 but it would be fine for 1080 playback and will even do 3D BluRay fine

Thanks, an extra ~£10 makes sense to go for the A6.

Why do you say that though, is the A4-5300 that bad at everything else?

d_brennen · 23 Aug 2013 at 08:10

jumeeno said:
Thanks, an extra ~£10 makes sense to go for the A6.

Why do you say that though, is the A4-5300 that bad at everything else?

Sorry, no comprede. I said the 5300 will be fine for video playback and will even do 3d BluRay, which is a challenge for iGPUs, so the A4 5300 is fairly good in that respect and not much in that price range will touch it.

In CPU terms it's not very quick, but it's not very expensive either, so there you go. For HTPC use there is no reason to go A6, IMO

teppic · 23 Aug 2013 at 08:26

If there's any video that isn't properly supported in hardware decoding you'd want a higher end one. But for regular Bluray video any of the Trinity/Richland APUs will be up to it.

Richland's slightly more efficient, if you want to keep power as minimal as possible. OCUK won't be stocking the A4 Richland APU - I asked and they said no. It costs around £30. It's not as fast as the A4-5300 mind you.

jumeeno · 23 Aug 2013 at 09:29

d_brennen said:
Sorry, no comprede. I said the 5300 will be fine for video playback and will even do 3d BluRay, which is a challenge for iGPUs, so the A4 5300 is fairly good in that respect and not much in that price range will touch it.

In CPU terms it's not very quick, but it's not very expensive either, so there you go. For HTPC use there is no reason to go A6, IMO

Crossed wires, my mistake. Thanks for your help :rolleyes:

rangor gubbins · 29 Aug 2013 at 22:06

Do you think an AMD A4 4000 (3 Ghz) will cope with 1080 and blueray playback?
Only a fiver difference between the A4 5300 and 4000, but I'm trying to keep costs as low as possible.
The HTPC will be running XBMCbuntu (or Ubuntu with XBMC + Wine for Silverlight type stuff).

Subliminal Aura · 29 Aug 2013 at 22:11

For Ubuntu based htpcs go Nvidia ION the AMD drivers are awful

fizban1980 · 1 Sep 2013 at 23:05

I use amd e-350 APU and it handles them no problem. Any A series will cut through them with ease

d_brennen · 1 Sep 2013 at 23:13

jumeeno said:
Crossed wires, my mistake. Thanks for your help

What's with the rolleyes? You're welcome :rolleyes:

teppic · 2 Sep 2013 at 00:06

The AMD Linux drivers aren't as good, but they're fine for HD playback. I've used XBMC with radeon cards for ages.