Do the sensible thing? Not sure I physically can.

Confused Stu

Confused Stu

Confused Stu

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2009
Posts
2,727
Location
Gillingham, Kent
Couple of years back I built an HTPC and it was great. I was going for something capable of acting as a PVR and Blu-Ray playback but using the least amount of power needed. Ended up:

AMD 4850e (45W TDP - 2.5GHz Athlon 64 X2)
Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H
4 GB OCZ DDR2
Antec Fusion Fusion silver case with Antec 430W
and a Blu-Ray reader/DVD writer drive, a few Freeview tuners and assorted other stuff.

I've been really good and managed not to play with the hardware too much (added a 40GB Intel SSD last year but that doesn't count)..... until recently when OcUK had some really good offers! :eek:

I changed from the onboard HD3200 to a 5450. Then changed the CPU to a Phenom II 850 (95W TDP - 3.3GHz Quad core Athlon II). Friday I finally went mad and changed the GPU to a 5770 single slot XFX!

The change in CPU was a good thing as it now starts up quicker, and handles the kids watching stuff on their Extenders better, it also didn't change the power usage at all - which was surprising. I'm not sure what to do about the GPU though. I don't game on the HTPC and it can run blu-rays fine with the onboard, so the sensible thing is to get rid of the GPU, but this will make the PC slower and less capable and I am really not sure my inner geek will let me do this!!:mad: Anyone else would just think I was stupid (I am) but I am hoping you guys of all people will understand.

Power consumption during average use (watching live/recorded TV):
onboard: 80W
5450: 95W
5770: 115W

Could you guys please either help me do the sensible thing and ditch the GPU, or give me a reason to keep the 5770 in place? I need help/reassurance/ridiculing/telling to act my age.
 
Yep - the 5770 will output Dolby True HD & DTS HD master audio through its HDMI port.

The onboard HDMI on the motherboard doesnt.

If you plan on getting/already have a decent AV receiver with HDMI & the above sound decoders onboard then that's the perfect excuse to keep it.
 
Energy prices are just about to go up. That extra 20W will cost you something like an extra case of beer a week.

Your HTPC is not using the gaming power of the 5770 at all. The extra performance is zero. Your PC is no slower or less capable. You have done the equivalent of putting a turbo booster on a car that eats more petrol, but provides zero benefit in terms of acceleration, speed or even noise.
 
The htpc in my sig uses 20W idle and 30W full load.

I would suggest you get yourself an AMD fusion setup if you're using windows and want to bitstream HD audio over HDMI... Also fusion is slightly better on idle power consumption than mine.
 
Thanks for the comments guys.

Grimley - very good point, and well made. Sadly I can't see me having the money (read permission from the wife) to get a decent sound system anytime soon. I've got the Creative T7900 running off the motherboard which is good enough for me until I win the lottery. My geek side thanks you for trying to help it. :)

Surveyor & Hybrid572 - I hate to admit it, but you both make very good points. Thank you for the reality check, I think I needed it!

Subliminal Aura - love the look of your HTPC, and very nice power figures. If I was looking to start again from scratch I would probably go down that route, but seeing as I've already got the kit up and running it's more of a major change than I was looking for. Also, I like being able to run full size (cheap) HDDs and desktop components for some muscle. To steal Hybrid's analogy, you've built a very cool and economical scooter for popping to the shops, but I'd still prefer to use my litre bike for the same thing as I'm not grown up enough to be that sensible yet! :)

Ultimately, you guys have added enough weight onto the angel on my shoulder to sway the decision away from the devil on the other one. After the family's gone to bed tonight, with a heavy heart I will be taking the 5770 out of the PC and switching the output cable back to the onboard. Fortunately, I had only borrowed the card from a mate for the weekend to see if I wanted it (he's got my Antec 900 and my old Zalman 8700 for the same reason) so I'm not out of pocket on the deal.

Thanks again for the advice, I needed it to do what I knew was right and sensible. Is this my first sign of growing up, or would that only count if I hadn't needed you guys to help? :D
 
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