Help me Obi-Wan Assasin, you're my only hope.

[Annisman*]

Or maybe someone else can answer this question, if so, please do.

I have recently purchased access to your all inclusive HTPC guide, and all I can say is wow. Thank you so much for doing this, I can already tell it is worth so much more than the price.

Anyways, to my question. This is my first HTPC build, and as I have been reading the beginning to middle steps of your guide, it seems to me that you make no mention of using a video card to pass audio over HDMI. (if you mention it later on forgive me)

As I will be doing some light gaming on my build, I purchased a GTX 650ti, I am not enabling Intel integrated gpu.

My motherboard also has an hdmi output. So which one do I use ?

Will the GTX 650ti be able to stream my audio AND video to my av reciever ? Will I need to use both the motherboard HDMI out and the GTX hdmi passthrough ? Or will one do the trick.

My goal is to obviously bitstream the highest quality audio possible.

Can anyone give me a quick step by step on what I need to do ?

- Annisman

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Use the HDMI port on the 650ti. The video card has sound on-board and there is no need for any pass-through cabling from the motherboard. You just need to make sure it is set as the default device in the Windows Sound applet in Control Panel.

 

[flocko]

@ the OP

Most folks agrees that if you have at least an Intel i3 with 3000 series graphics or an i3 Ivybridge that with light gaming you should try the igpu first and then if your not happy move onto a discrete video card .

The extra noise and heat dump in a htpc from a discrete video card maybe some thing you will not like and is not good for the system . Just because you have it doesn't mean you should use it .

FYI ..... Use the hdmi port

 

[Annisman*]

@ the OP

Most folks agrees that if you have at least an Intel i3 with 3000 series graphics or an i3 Ivybridge that with light gaming you should try the igpu first and then if your not happy move onto a discrete video card .

The extra noise and heat dump in a htpc from a discrete video card maybe some thing you will not like and is not good for the system . Just because you have it doesn't mean you should use it .

FYI ..... Use the hdmi port

The question I was asking is, which hdmi port.


Anyways, about the video card. I consider it a necescity because though I said 'light' gaming, my plans are to run games like batman, Saints Row 3 etc that will clearly require a discrete video card.

 

[assassin24]

Love the title btw.

Use the HDMI port on the discrete card since you want to game.

 

[Annisman*]

Ok, thnx for clarifying.

Great guide btw, I'd literally be sending all these parts back to newegg if I had to figure out the software side of things all by myself. How many people have subscribed to your blog ? jw

 

[Aikouka]

For reference, you typically plug the video cable into whatever device will actually be rendering the video. However, if you ever decide to enable the iGPU in conjunction with the dGPU (using software like Virtu), then you would use the motherboard's HDMI port.

 

[Annisman*]

Ok, thnx for the heads up