is the GF8200 my only choice?

[zerogear]

Is GF8200 chipset my only choice if I want 8-channel LPCM with my AMD processor (905e)? How energy efficient is it vs 780/785/790?

 

[Fox5]

I think AMD claims their hardware is capable of 8 channel LPCM, but licensing restrictions have disallowed it so far.
But if you can afford/fit an add in card, any 4xxx series card will do 8 channel LPCM. On top of that, 4xxx cards can do TrueHD and DTS-HDMA.

The 8200 is pretty energy efficient, but I've found it's not fast enough to play 1080p content smoothly.

 

[zerogear]

Even with quad core?

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: zerogear
Even with quad core?

I had a triple core and it couldn't do it. But I was using Windows Media Player, which may not make use of odd numbers of cores.
Also, it hardcore struggled with the media center interface at 1080p. To be honest, I'd suggest a discrete card if 1080p is a goal anyway, but the 8200 is a notable step below the 780g, which is itself a notable step below the 785g.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Fox5
On top of that, 4xxx cards can do TrueHD and DTS-HDMA.

Wrong.

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: Fox5
On top of that, 4xxx cards can do TrueHD and DTS-HDMA.

Wrong.

Right, they can output, but not decode.

 

[s44]

They can output PCM only. No bitstreaming -- that would require a protected audio path.

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: s44
They can output PCM only. No bitstreaming -- that would require a protected audio path.

Right from AMD's website:

http://www.amd.com/us/products...70-specifications.aspx

HDMI output support
All display resolutions up to 1920x10802
Integrated HD audio controller with support for stereo and multi-channel (up to 7.1) audio formats, including AC-3, AAC, DTS, DTS-HD & Dolby True-HD4, enabling a plug-and-play audio solution over HDMI

Now, that's with a caveat that audio stream bandwidth is limited to 6.144Mbps, but the 4770's page doesn't list that limitation.

I think you're right about bitstreaming not being supported, anandtech has an article that states the audio is decoded and then set as uncompressed lcpm.

And I guess there's alway the MSI Media Live DIVA that can hook up to the speakers directly and output 7.1 channel audio.