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i3 530 question - Does GPU accelerate x.264?

Hulk

Hulk

Diamond Member
I'm looking to upgrade my HTPC to a lean efficient machine. I don't do any gaming on it so GPU power except for being able to play back BD's isn't important. I was wondering if anyone knew if the GPU in the i3 is able to hardware decode BD's using PowerDVD? I guess it's not a huge issue because I'm sure it's fast enough cpu-wise to decode anway but I was just wondering.

I was also wonder if anyone here has used on of the i3/i5 chips with built in graphics with a tuner card and does it work?

- Mark
 
The GPU in Clarkdales do accelerate decoding. Not sure if PowerDVD supports it (yet), you'd have to ask them. As far as using it with a tuner, it'll work just like any other discrete video card (or IGP) + discrete tuner combination.
 
The Arrandale IGPs seem to handle various video codecs very well. I didn't test with physical discs and ROMs, but they handled every clip I threw at flawlessly. (non-DRM'ed, off of a USB thumb drive)
 
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Just as a FYI... I'm running an i5-650 w/ Gigabyte H55M-UD2H (4GB Ram). It idles in Win 7 Ultimate at 27w according to the Kill-A-Watt in front of me. Cooling required is the Intel HSF, but if it is in any type of case you can't hear it.

As far as h264, it will decode w/ the correct software. I haven't installed PowerDVD on that box yet.

I have an i3-530 on an Intel mATX H55 board also which I think may idle slightly lower. It is also super quiet.
 
pjkenned said:
I'm running an i5-650 w/ Gigabyte H55M-UD2H (4GB Ram). It idles in Win 7 Ultimate at 27w according to the Kill-A-Watt in front of me.
Click to expand...
What PSU? Same MB, same 4GB, i3-530, 34 watts is my current low idle, using an EA-380 80+ PSU.

I have a Dell RM112 80+ Silver, have to change out the 24-pin connector, it has a mini24.
 
The GPU can do:

-Automatic upscaling of DVD content to 1080p using Win 7 and Windows Media Player
-Dual Stream 1080p fully accelerates H.264/VC-1/MPEG in hardware, supports PowerDVD/TMT/WinDVD
 
21stHermit said:
What PSU? Same MB, same 4GB, i3-530, 34 watts is my current low idle, using an EA-380 80+ PSU.

I have a Dell RM112 80+ Silver, have to change out the 24-pin connector, it has a mini24.
Click to expand...

Pico PSU 150w. I actually had to add two Intel Pro/1000 GT's and turn off all motherboard power saving features to get the thing stable on a Coolermaster 80+ 850w (all I had lying around).

For the i3-530, I'm waiting on the second PicoPSU next week... but I'm fairly sure the Intel motherboards are slightly lower power consumption.

The Win 7 Ultimate install is a brand new clean install (with user accounts created) + the Windows Home Server connector software installed.

Hopefully the Ripjaws will be here today and I'll be at 1.5v DDR3 this weekend.
 
pjkenned said:
Pico PSU 150w. I actually had to add two Intel Pro/1000 GT's and turn off all motherboard power saving features to get the thing stable on a Coolermaster 80+ 850w (all I had lying around).
Click to expand...
No idea what a Pro/1000 is but I totally understand the 850W couldn't go that low. I was surprised my Antec 380W was the lowest power of the half-dozen PSU's I tried, one a 180W.

For the i3-530, I'm waiting on the second PicoPSU next week... but I'm fairly sure the Intel motherboards are slightly lower power consumption.
Click to expand...
From the test I've read, the Dell RM112 is slightly better than the Pico 150XT, mostly because of the brick. I'll post some numbers.

You and I are among the few who are pushing the bottom.
 
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