[url=http://www.modconvertermac.org">http://www.modconvertermac.org]MOD Converter for Mac[/url] is excellent video converter for mac. This versatile mac mod converter can convert between all popular video, HD video and audio formats with super fast conversion speed and high output quality, such as AVI, MP4, MOV, MKV, WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-1/2, 3GP, 3G2, VOB Video, MP3, AAC, and AC3 Audio etc.
[url=http://www.modvideoconvertermac.com">http://www.modvideoconvertermac.com]MOD Video Converter Mac[/url] is an efficient and versatile video conversion software designed specilized for Mac users.
[url=http://www.converttomkv.com">http://www.converttomkv.com]Convert to MKV[/url] is a powerful MKV video converter and MKV file converter, that can help you convert videos to MKV files with fast speed and excellent output quality.
[url=http://www.swfconvertermac.org">http://www.swfconvertermac.org]SWF Converter Mac[/url] is excellent SWF conveting software for Mac users. This versatile Mac SWF converter can convert between SWF and all the popular video.
You can use http://www.dvdtomp3converter.com/">http://www.dvdtomp3converter.com/ to select target subtitle and audio track according at your will. DVD to MP3 Converter also provides you with fruitful options to set audio properties of audio bitrate, Sample Rate and so on.
I'm using this card under Win7 x64, running all my audio/video out through HDMI into a Denon AVR-789 receiver, and while normal audio/video runs just fine, it seems that system sounds don't play consistently. The easiest way to replicate the issue is to slide the volume control - the HDMI signal seems to "drop" periodically and the sound rarely plays at all. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Config is: Intel DG45ID mobo, Intel E6500 processor, 4GB RAM, PowerColor HD 5770 1GB, Win7 x64, Catalyst 10.2, Denon AVR-789. Everything connected via HDMI.
Glad to see the quick clarification article Ryan. I still beg to differ on the conclusion however. The 5570 adds a small (noisy!) fan, cost, and minimal extra in terms of features over the 5450 for all realistic output resolutions (up to 1080p).
So the 5450 can't add denoise and edge enhancement to a 1080i signal? Who cares. The few times I need to deinterlace 1080i is on a CBS broadcast and the last thing I'd do is add edge enhancement artifacts nor does it need much if any denoise. Blu-ray doesn't need deinterlacing (1080p24). The 5450 will handle DVD 480i just fine for vector adaptive plus all the extra post-processing you want for such a small source resolution.
The 5570 or 5670 are still pretty useless as gaming cards, so I'd say hands down it's a fanless low-profile 5450 for purely HTPC. 5850 if you want to game, have full card space, and add a larger/quiet fan.
Now how can it be the best card, if it doesn't compete at all on other platforms? Don't tell me it will support XvBA or vaapi, none of that exists. They need to get their act together and start producing other OS libraries AND their documentation/demo(s). Then I might consider buying an AMD for my Linux HTPC.
at the past weeks im trying to build a good htpc for me.
Bat i don't understand the different between htpc with the new I5 or I3 that have an hd card to an htpc with card like 5450.
most of the lcd tv that have an hdmi can only show at the best only 1080p.
and most users who wants an htpc only use it for hd movies or BR .
so what in the name ... i will see or want see.
and why to spand lots of money on htpc if we can use strimer instead.
rami
"Since the whole point of this exercise was to identify the lowest 5000-series card that was still perfect for HTPC use, we have found it. And the best part is it even fits in a low-profile case."
To my mind, the next parameter to make a card 'perfect' would be 'silent'. Given that this card has a fan, I'd like to see the measured spl included. I can imagine establishing a baseline is tough - how to exclude the spl contributions of other components, the effect of the case, and so forth - but I'm guessing you are up to it!
Nice investigation. It leads me to ask for such results on other HTPC-oriented setups, mainly IGP solutions. Are you going to do similar testing for IGP setups, either on current ones for comparison or in the future?
As the original poster here
http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=2...">http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview....light_ke... I've just upgraded my main monitor from 20" (1680x1050) to 23" (1920x1080) and found that at that resolution I can't select Vector Adaptive (or anything above BOB) while my second monitor (FullHD front projector) is active. At 1680x1050 there is no problem. At the moment I'm using 4670 with 512MB GDDR3. For the weekend I got a 5750 with 1GB of memory and it didn't have this problem. Sadly it's too hot for passive cooling as I did with the 4670 and I'll probably have to go for 5670 but I'm worrying if it will handle the two FullHD monitors? Also should I go for 1GB or 512MB will be enough?
Guys, please, can somebody help me out with some info? I'm really sick of this Smooth Video and having to turn it off after each refresh rate change (I do need them for watching different content 24/50/60 fps). I now that I have to change my old 4670 but with what? I'd prefer to go with 5670 because it's cooler ... and if possible with 512MB of memory ... again to be cooler ... and cheaper but I have to be sure it will work with two 1920x1080 displays and Vector Adaptive Deinterlacing.
Topic. Enabling it on the drivers is one thing, but do you actually need specific software to utilize them? I use Media Player Classic. Is it a passive kind of thing? That by turning these features all, automatically all my videos will go through these post-processing features?
You need software that's DXVA-aware, which these days is a fair bit of software. Media Player Classic - Home Cinema's H.264 and WMV3/VC-1 decoders are DXVA-aware, as are PowerDVD/WinDVD's decoders. Win7's built-in MPEG-2, WMV9/VC-1, and H.264 decoders are also DXVA-aware.
In my observation in dealing with Nvidia/ATI/Intel the term "driver bug" on secondary features with new cards= "No one here cared to mess with it before and it only took a few minutes to develop once someone complained."
I have seen many good promised features by marketing sit on the driver teams shelf for months after a cards released. Especially when it comes to small specific video features on low end cards.
would a 250w psu be able to handle the 5570? if not, then i guess the 4550 would be the best choice for most htpc. or the mysteriously slower 5450 (on spec sheet it should be faster than the 4550) is the best for htpc'ers. would really like to confirm if a 250w psu can handle the 5570.
Handle while idling? Probably. Handle when under full load during gaming? A bit more dicey. But for most HTPC stuff like video decoding, it shouldn't be too bad. I run a 4650 with a TDP of 55W on a 220W PSU. My feeling is that you should be able to comfortably run any low-profile designed card in a low profile PC, since it's designed not to suck up a ton of juice (even ignoring the fact that it needs to be cooled with large fans)
And once again AT solves another Tech Mistery!
But the post reveals another GREAT flaw of ATI cards:
NO CENTERED RESOLUTIONS!
A GPU should be capable of displaying a smaller resolution in a 30" display by putting black bars above and below the image. In doing so the image would be 1:1 without any scaling artifacts, and would sit in the middle of the screen. My old 8800GT could do that, my 4870X2 simply can't.
My old 4890 could do that... I used to play Dawn of War on my 1920*1200 LCD, but the game does not support widescreen resolutions. I could force a 4:3 resolution in CCC; 1600*1200 was the one I used, I think.
Hrm, I have never really tried it with videos to be honest, but forcing hardware scaling on my 5870 has allowed me to play many older games that only had 4:3 or 5:4 resolutions available. There are indeed those black bars.
My only gripe is still their drivers. I am currently using the Catalyst 9.12 hotfix drivers, because on their latest release, 10.1, the giant mouse cursor issue is back. Quite frustrating. =/
While we are on the topic of post processing, what options do you suggest being turned on or adjusted for HD playback? Are all the extra processing just superfluous on HD feeds?
Nice article Ryan! I am always more than happy to see a reviewer going down the HTPC road. Way too many game benchmarks already around, always the same..
Hoped you mentioned the live stream issue however :( . I would like to provide two links where I am expression my doubts, why I think ATi in general is not the perfect match for an HTPC any longer:
What I would like to do is cover the ATi/nVIDIA post-processors in more detail in the future. They are all executed in the DXVA context, so before image resizing. For some post-processors the result would be way better if applied after resizing. One can do that for example with MPC-HC and apply so-called screen space shaders.
Hi All,
I have a problem and I hope someone could help me.
I am trying to build HTPC that will run only HD movies and some light software (no games).
The most important for me is the electric consumption, so I was thinking to buy one of the new Intel board with atom base processor and add to it one of the new AMD card been review here, but the biggest problem I just find is that all the atom boards don’t support this AMD cards (pci express)
Any advice will be appreciate,
Sandra
you most likely be better getting an Low end AM2 cpu
AMD SEMPRON 140 single core (45w) that you could unlock to an dual core with AMD's SB710/SB750 Southbridge or AMD ATHLON II X2 235E (45w) thats the same chip as the sempron but 2 cores enabled
the sempron offers the cooler option default but i found the X2 240 i norm get runs very cool idle, X2 235E just makes the CPU even cooler and is still an 45w cpu but dual core s oshould like the sempron temp wise the stock cooler is more then enough to cool the dual or single core at full load
get an motherboard with an 3200/4200 and not need an off board GPU as that have HTPC very well any way
The Atom cpu it self is very under powered the sempron cpu is 3-4x faster then the Atom, you not be able to watch some Flash sites with an Atom as well
Two questions:
How much power is drawn by the 5570/5670 when it's rendering video? The same as during a furmark bench? Power management (outside of 2D/idle) is a topic that finds little attention in the graphics reviews - but with V-sync enabled even many games don't need every available cycle and PU of a card. Some insight would be much appreciated for the next reviews.
Also: Is the 5450 capable of upscaling to 2560x1080 ("new" ~2.35:1 wide screen TV resolution) with the smooth de-interlacing enabled?
Or is any scaling on the card already too much to enable it?
Under 10 watts by my estimation. The difference between my 4670 and my 3200O IGP is only about 13 watts when playing an HD video, so I'd guess the newer cards to be a tad lower.
Well, that kind of renders the "load power" question moot concerning HTPC cards, and only the form factor remains as a potential show stopper. It should even be possible to run a 5570 with the fan removed, as long as case ventilation is adequate..
AFAIK "source" material (blu-ray?) is compressed. Anything to remove compression artifacts should be a good thing, yes? Isn't that why some blu-ray players sell for $1,000+, because they produce a better image?
Nothing can magically remove compression artifacts without cost, no matter what the price of the player. Remove artifacts, remove detail that's the trade off.
Besides that, virtually no blurays exhibit visible compression artifacts like you see on low-bitrate recompressed DVDs or HD video.
Good question. I'm guessing that they assume most HTPC "enthusiasts" have 1080p TV's, which may or may not be the case. Large 720p plasma sets can be had for very good prices so I think expecting for 720p testing on the "cheapest htpc card" you can get is not unreasonable.
And then there's also the issue of upscaling 720p content to 1080p, which, if the 5570 has upscaling issues already, will probably tax a poor 5450 quite a bit too?
It's capable upto 1080p. It failed when testing 2560x1600 on a 30" Display, which no HDTV has that kind of resolution (and makes it a mostly moot point for 99.9% of people).
Thanks for the update, Ryan. I was a bit concerned with the initial test result of both the 5450 and 5570. I have been using a 4550 with Vector Adaptive Deinterlacing enabled for quite some time now, and was more than a bit surprised with your initial results.
The htpc articles on AT have been very useful for many htpc enthousiasts, but I wonder why you would use such an odd resolution for your tests? It is my experience that most htpc users hooh their machine up to an HD (1920*1080) TV, not a pc monitor.
Since all the testing is done in my office, it's done on the 30" monitor. My TV is actually an RP-CRT that doesn't take digital, so I can't test most of these cards on that since they don't have component out.
At the time, there didn't seem to be an issue with doing this on the 30" monitor at 2560x1600; clearly that's wrong. We'll still be doing future tests on the monitor, but it'll either be 1920x1200 or 1920x1080 (likely the latter as long as scaling doesn't become an issue).
It may be interesting to find out how the 5450 handles higher resolutions or other post processing features with CrossfireX enabled on say an 890GX or 785G board.
Good article Ryan. Are you planning on running the core i3 530 through the 'cheese slice' test? I think it would be interesting to see if the new Intel graphics could cope.
a budget htpc that is possible passive or silent and stylish writeup would be usefull. grab minimum parts needed to make a htpc that does just the basics
I had a hunch that disabling ESVP and testing the cards with Vector Adaptive deinterlacing might yield successful results. I'm glad that you guys have finally settled it, though it seems that you might have been a bit premature in your earlier 5570 article when you didn't notice any problems with ESVP disabled and yet concluded that the card could not be the ideal HTPC card (instead of reserving a bit of judgment pending a possible driver fix, which is what just happened).
The thing is that many HTPCs require low-profile cards, and the 5670 is only a full-height card. Plus, if it's really meant to be a HTPC card and not a gaming card, most of the power in a 5670 is wasted. And wasted power usually translates into a power drain and a lot of heat.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
53 Comments
Back to Article
john810 - Thursday, March 4, 2010 - link
[url=http://www.modconvertermac.org">http://www.modconvertermac.org]MOD Converter for Mac[/url] is excellent video converter for mac. This versatile mac mod converter can convert between all popular video, HD video and audio formats with super fast conversion speed and high output quality, such as AVI, MP4, MOV, MKV, WMV, DivX, XviD, MPEG-1/2, 3GP, 3G2, VOB Video, MP3, AAC, and AC3 Audio etc.[url=http://www.modvideoconvertermac.com">http://www.modvideoconvertermac.com]MOD Video Converter Mac[/url] is an efficient and versatile video conversion software designed specilized for Mac users.
[url=http://www.converttomkv.com">http://www.converttomkv.com]Convert to MKV[/url] is a powerful MKV video converter and MKV file converter, that can help you convert videos to MKV files with fast speed and excellent output quality.
[url=http://www.swfconvertermac.org">http://www.swfconvertermac.org]SWF Converter Mac[/url] is excellent SWF conveting software for Mac users. This versatile Mac SWF converter can convert between SWF and all the popular video.
niuniu2012 - Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - link
You can use http://www.dvdtomp3converter.com/">http://www.dvdtomp3converter.com/ to select target subtitle and audio track according at your will. DVD to MP3 Converter also provides you with fruitful options to set audio properties of audio bitrate, Sample Rate and so on.bc0203 - Saturday, February 27, 2010 - link
I'm using this card under Win7 x64, running all my audio/video out through HDMI into a Denon AVR-789 receiver, and while normal audio/video runs just fine, it seems that system sounds don't play consistently. The easiest way to replicate the issue is to slide the volume control - the HDMI signal seems to "drop" periodically and the sound rarely plays at all. Any suggestions would be appreciated.Config is: Intel DG45ID mobo, Intel E6500 processor, 4GB RAM, PowerColor HD 5770 1GB, Win7 x64, Catalyst 10.2, Denon AVR-789. Everything connected via HDMI.
ljtatej - Monday, March 15, 2010 - link
What about PowerColor's Go Green 5750? It should be hitting the market sone.Uatatoka - Monday, February 22, 2010 - link
Glad to see the quick clarification article Ryan. I still beg to differ on the conclusion however. The 5570 adds a small (noisy!) fan, cost, and minimal extra in terms of features over the 5450 for all realistic output resolutions (up to 1080p).So the 5450 can't add denoise and edge enhancement to a 1080i signal? Who cares. The few times I need to deinterlace 1080i is on a CBS broadcast and the last thing I'd do is add edge enhancement artifacts nor does it need much if any denoise. Blu-ray doesn't need deinterlacing (1080p24). The 5450 will handle DVD 480i just fine for vector adaptive plus all the extra post-processing you want for such a small source resolution.
The 5570 or 5670 are still pretty useless as gaming cards, so I'd say hands down it's a fanless low-profile 5450 for purely HTPC. 5850 if you want to game, have full card space, and add a larger/quiet fan.
Theunis - Friday, February 19, 2010 - link
Now how can it be the best card, if it doesn't compete at all on other platforms? Don't tell me it will support XvBA or vaapi, none of that exists. They need to get their act together and start producing other OS libraries AND their documentation/demo(s). Then I might consider buying an AMD for my Linux HTPC.Lugaidster - Thursday, February 18, 2010 - link
You guys seem clever enough. If I wanted a HTGPC (for Home Theater Gaming PC) which card would you recommend?rami ne - Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - link
at the past weeks im trying to build a good htpc for me.Bat i don't understand the different between htpc with the new I5 or I3 that have an hd card to an htpc with card like 5450.
most of the lcd tv that have an hdmi can only show at the best only 1080p.
and most users who wants an htpc only use it for hd movies or BR .
so what in the name ... i will see or want see.
and why to spand lots of money on htpc if we can use strimer instead.
rami
xyzzy1954 - Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - link
Excellent article. More on HTPC please!!I understand the premise:
"Since the whole point of this exercise was to identify the lowest 5000-series card that was still perfect for HTPC use, we have found it. And the best part is it even fits in a low-profile case."
To my mind, the next parameter to make a card 'perfect' would be 'silent'. Given that this card has a fan, I'd like to see the measured spl included. I can imagine establishing a baseline is tough - how to exclude the spl contributions of other components, the effect of the case, and so forth - but I'm guessing you are up to it!
Thanks again for a great article.
MadMan007 - Monday, February 15, 2010 - link
Nice investigation. It leads me to ask for such results on other HTPC-oriented setups, mainly IGP solutions. Are you going to do similar testing for IGP setups, either on current ones for comparison or in the future?pankov - Sunday, February 14, 2010 - link
As the original poster herehttp://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=2...">http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview....light_ke...
I've just upgraded my main monitor from 20" (1680x1050) to 23" (1920x1080) and found that at that resolution I can't select Vector Adaptive (or anything above BOB) while my second monitor (FullHD front projector) is active. At 1680x1050 there is no problem. At the moment I'm using 4670 with 512MB GDDR3. For the weekend I got a 5750 with 1GB of memory and it didn't have this problem. Sadly it's too hot for passive cooling as I did with the 4670 and I'll probably have to go for 5670 but I'm worrying if it will handle the two FullHD monitors? Also should I go for 1GB or 512MB will be enough?
pankov - Sunday, April 4, 2010 - link
Guys,please, can somebody help me out with some info?
I'm really sick of this Smooth Video and having to turn it off after each refresh rate change (I do need them for watching different content 24/50/60 fps).
I now that I have to change my old 4670 but with what? I'd prefer to go with 5670 because it's cooler ... and if possible with 512MB of memory ... again to be cooler ... and cheaper but I have to be sure it will work with two 1920x1080 displays and Vector Adaptive Deinterlacing.
aegisofrime - Sunday, February 14, 2010 - link
Topic. Enabling it on the drivers is one thing, but do you actually need specific software to utilize them? I use Media Player Classic. Is it a passive kind of thing? That by turning these features all, automatically all my videos will go through these post-processing features?Ryan Smith - Monday, February 15, 2010 - link
You need software that's DXVA-aware, which these days is a fair bit of software. Media Player Classic - Home Cinema's H.264 and WMV3/VC-1 decoders are DXVA-aware, as are PowerDVD/WinDVD's decoders. Win7's built-in MPEG-2, WMV9/VC-1, and H.264 decoders are also DXVA-aware.Rick83 - Monday, February 15, 2010 - link
And even the videolan folks have it in their sources. Just not in the released binaries yet. Should make it into those soonish though - probably Q2...shiggz - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
In my observation in dealing with Nvidia/ATI/Intel the term "driver bug" on secondary features with new cards= "No one here cared to mess with it before and it only took a few minutes to develop once someone complained."I have seen many good promised features by marketing sit on the driver teams shelf for months after a cards released. Especially when it comes to small specific video features on low end cards.
carlhenry - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
would a 250w psu be able to handle the 5570? if not, then i guess the 4550 would be the best choice for most htpc. or the mysteriously slower 5450 (on spec sheet it should be faster than the 4550) is the best for htpc'ers. would really like to confirm if a 250w psu can handle the 5570.hybrid2d4x4 - Sunday, February 14, 2010 - link
Most definitely yes! As long as you run a mainstream (65W) CPU, mobo and a single HDD/ODD, you could go as low as a 120W PicoPSU.dagamer34 - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
Handle while idling? Probably. Handle when under full load during gaming? A bit more dicey. But for most HTPC stuff like video decoding, it shouldn't be too bad. I run a 4650 with a TDP of 55W on a 220W PSU. My feeling is that you should be able to comfortably run any low-profile designed card in a low profile PC, since it's designed not to suck up a ton of juice (even ignoring the fact that it needs to be cooled with large fans)geok1ng - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
And once again AT solves another Tech Mistery!But the post reveals another GREAT flaw of ATI cards:
NO CENTERED RESOLUTIONS!
A GPU should be capable of displaying a smaller resolution in a 30" display by putting black bars above and below the image. In doing so the image would be 1:1 without any scaling artifacts, and would sit in the middle of the screen. My old 8800GT could do that, my 4870X2 simply can't.
Ryan Smith - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
Actually it can do that. It's the monitor that doesn't have a scaler.Mazlov - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
My old 4890 could do that... I used to play Dawn of War on my 1920*1200 LCD, but the game does not support widescreen resolutions. I could force a 4:3 resolution in CCC; 1600*1200 was the one I used, I think.Haven tested this on my HD5870 though.
LordanSS - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
Hrm, I have never really tried it with videos to be honest, but forcing hardware scaling on my 5870 has allowed me to play many older games that only had 4:3 or 5:4 resolutions available. There are indeed those black bars.My only gripe is still their drivers. I am currently using the Catalyst 9.12 hotfix drivers, because on their latest release, 10.1, the giant mouse cursor issue is back. Quite frustrating. =/
kevinqian - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
While we are on the topic of post processing, what options do you suggest being turned on or adjusted for HD playback? Are all the extra processing just superfluous on HD feeds?CiNcH - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
Nice article Ryan! I am always more than happy to see a reviewer going down the HTPC road. Way too many game benchmarks already around, always the same..Hoped you mentioned the live stream issue however :( . I would like to provide two links where I am expression my doubts, why I think ATi in general is not the perfect match for an HTPC any longer:
http://cinch83.blog.de/2010/02/05/ati-uvd-with-bad...">http://cinch83.blog.de/2010/02/05/ati-uvd-with-bad...
http://cinch83.blog.de/2010/02/10/ati-uvd-vs-nvidi...">http://cinch83.blog.de/2010/02/10/ati-uvd-vs-nvidi...
What I would like to do is cover the ATi/nVIDIA post-processors in more detail in the future. They are all executed in the DXVA context, so before image resizing. For some post-processors the result would be way better if applied after resizing. One can do that for example with MPC-HC and apply so-called screen space shaders.
sandra - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Hi All,I have a problem and I hope someone could help me.
I am trying to build HTPC that will run only HD movies and some light software (no games).
The most important for me is the electric consumption, so I was thinking to buy one of the new Intel board with atom base processor and add to it one of the new AMD card been review here, but the biggest problem I just find is that all the atom boards don’t support this AMD cards (pci express)
Any advice will be appreciate,
Sandra
leexgx - Sunday, February 14, 2010 - link
you most likely be better getting an Low end AM2 cpuAMD SEMPRON 140 single core (45w) that you could unlock to an dual core with AMD's SB710/SB750 Southbridge or AMD ATHLON II X2 235E (45w) thats the same chip as the sempron but 2 cores enabled
the sempron offers the cooler option default but i found the X2 240 i norm get runs very cool idle, X2 235E just makes the CPU even cooler and is still an 45w cpu but dual core s oshould like the sempron temp wise the stock cooler is more then enough to cool the dual or single core at full load
get an motherboard with an 3200/4200 and not need an off board GPU as that have HTPC very well any way
Asus M4A78-HTPC/RC (has an remote) or M4A78-HTPC
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article948-page1.htm...">http://www.silentpcreview.com/article948-page1.htm...
AMD SEMPRON 140 single core
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Sempron_140...">http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Sempron_140...
leexgx - Sunday, February 14, 2010 - link
The Atom cpu it self is very under powered the sempron cpu is 3-4x faster then the Atom, you not be able to watch some Flash sites with an Atom as wellkevinqian - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtool...">http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...eID=lw9M...Here's the link for the Atom board. Didn't work in the first reply
sandra - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
this ecs board may be the one i buy, many thanks for the info.kevinqian - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
However, I would suggest against an Atom, even for HTPC because of its generally slow nature overall.Here's a competing system with much better general overall cpu speed and maybe 20w more of power draw. Unless you have the system on 24/7, 20 more watts of electricity is minimal on your electric bill.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.asp...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDeal...NA-_-NA-...
Rick83 - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Two questions:How much power is drawn by the 5570/5670 when it's rendering video? The same as during a furmark bench? Power management (outside of 2D/idle) is a topic that finds little attention in the graphics reviews - but with V-sync enabled even many games don't need every available cycle and PU of a card. Some insight would be much appreciated for the next reviews.
Also: Is the 5450 capable of upscaling to 2560x1080 ("new" ~2.35:1 wide screen TV resolution) with the smooth de-interlacing enabled?
Or is any scaling on the card already too much to enable it?
Jovec - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
Under 10 watts by my estimation. The difference between my 4670 and my 3200O IGP is only about 13 watts when playing an HD video, so I'd guess the newer cards to be a tad lower.Rick83 - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
Well, that kind of renders the "load power" question moot concerning HTPC cards, and only the form factor remains as a potential show stopper. It should even be possible to run a 5570 with the fan removed, as long as case ventilation is adequate..swaaye - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
I did notice the enforce smooth playback option on my 4670, btw. I don't think my 3850 has it however.swaaye - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
I really don't like having source material messed with via edge enhancement or denoising anyway. Deinterlacing quality is critical however.Lifted - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
AFAIK "source" material (blu-ray?) is compressed. Anything to remove compression artifacts should be a good thing, yes? Isn't that why some blu-ray players sell for $1,000+, because they produce a better image?andy o - Sunday, February 14, 2010 - link
Nothing can magically remove compression artifacts without cost, no matter what the price of the player. Remove artifacts, remove detail that's the trade off.Besides that, virtually no blurays exhibit visible compression artifacts like you see on low-bitrate recompressed DVDs or HD video.
kleshodnic - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
I am not sure why 720P wasn't addressed. Is the 5450 capable of the full suite of video processing on a 720P display?Lifted - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
Good question. I'm guessing that they assume most HTPC "enthusiasts" have 1080p TV's, which may or may not be the case. Large 720p plasma sets can be had for very good prices so I think expecting for 720p testing on the "cheapest htpc card" you can get is not unreasonable.Rick83 - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
And then there's also the issue of upscaling 720p content to 1080p, which, if the 5570 has upscaling issues already, will probably tax a poor 5450 quite a bit too?dagamer34 - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
It's capable upto 1080p. It failed when testing 2560x1600 on a 30" Display, which no HDTV has that kind of resolution (and makes it a mostly moot point for 99.9% of people).kleshodnic - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
You didn't read my post. I specifically mentioned the 5450 working with all the enhancements at 720P. I know from the article the 5570 will....Iketh - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
i feel like punching a babyMazlov - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Thanks for the update, Ryan. I was a bit concerned with the initial test result of both the 5450 and 5570. I have been using a 4550 with Vector Adaptive Deinterlacing enabled for quite some time now, and was more than a bit surprised with your initial results.The htpc articles on AT have been very useful for many htpc enthousiasts, but I wonder why you would use such an odd resolution for your tests? It is my experience that most htpc users hooh their machine up to an HD (1920*1080) TV, not a pc monitor.
Ryan Smith - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
Since all the testing is done in my office, it's done on the 30" monitor. My TV is actually an RP-CRT that doesn't take digital, so I can't test most of these cards on that since they don't have component out.At the time, there didn't seem to be an issue with doing this on the 30" monitor at 2560x1600; clearly that's wrong. We'll still be doing future tests on the monitor, but it'll either be 1920x1200 or 1920x1080 (likely the latter as long as scaling doesn't become an issue).
msa4033 - Friday, March 12, 2010 - link
It may be interesting to find out how the 5450 handles higher resolutions or other post processing features with CrossfireX enabled on say an 890GX or 785G board.russellwhitehead - Sunday, February 14, 2010 - link
Good article Ryan. Are you planning on running the core i3 530 through the 'cheese slice' test? I think it would be interesting to see if the new Intel graphics could cope.mataichi - Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - link
2nd that request.MGSsancho - Monday, February 15, 2010 - link
a budget htpc that is possible passive or silent and stylish writeup would be usefull. grab minimum parts needed to make a htpc that does just the basicsPaulman - Saturday, February 13, 2010 - link
I had a hunch that disabling ESVP and testing the cards with Vector Adaptive deinterlacing might yield successful results. I'm glad that you guys have finally settled it, though it seems that you might have been a bit premature in your earlier 5570 article when you didn't notice any problems with ESVP disabled and yet concluded that the card could not be the ideal HTPC card (instead of reserving a bit of judgment pending a possible driver fix, which is what just happened).DigitalFreak - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
I think I'll still get the 5670 for my HPTC. Price and power wise it's not much more than the 5570.dagamer34 - Friday, February 12, 2010 - link
The thing is that many HTPCs require low-profile cards, and the 5670 is only a full-height card. Plus, if it's really meant to be a HTPC card and not a gaming card, most of the power in a 5670 is wasted. And wasted power usually translates into a power drain and a lot of heat.