Win 8 drivers for Clarksdale HD graphics...was it really THAT much to ask?

[Rio Rebel]

Sometimes all the trade-offs are annoying. I can use a cheap discreet graphics card, but my Onkyo receiver has minor handshake issues with the hdmi. I can use Linux Mint and it works beautifully, except there is no straightforward way to play blu-ray disks in Linux.

This would all be so much simpler if f&*)&*($# Windows 8 supported Intel HD Graphics. It's not like I'm trying to use a Voodoo or TNT here - was the first generation Core i3 THAT long ago? Grrr.

 

[poofyhairguy]

So wait, why won't a cheap GT 430 or something like that work?

 

[Rio Rebel]

A cheap graphics card will work, but it shouldn't have to. This should be a perfectly functioning HTPC without needing discreet graphics.

The reason it's an issue for me is because my Onkyo receiver has known hdmi handshake issues...and it doesn't like my Radeon card. I'll get all this worked out, but it's annoying to have to do it. I can't believe that it was THAT much effort to write drivers for Intel HD Graphics on first generation Core processors.

 

[poofyhairguy]

A cheap graphics card will work, but it shouldn't have to. This should be a perfectly functioning HTPC without needing discreet graphics.

Honestly those of us in the "HTPC community" (if there is such a thing) have known for a long time about the terrible drivers for early Core GPUs. It was all over the front page for years in Anandtech reviews. It is why every HTPC of mine has a GT 430 in it!

It almost seems to be a hardware problem, because they were never completely fixed until the Ivybridge generation.

Of course, Intel's whole GPU line is an exercise in doing the minimum you can do. The only reason they have gotten better in recent years is Apple needed the power/stability for retina Macbooks and they are a big enough customer to get Intel's attention.

 

[Rio Rebel]

Yes, I know...it just never affected me that much until now. I have had a cheap video card installed all along. I just recently realized that all the damn handshake issues with my Onkyo (with both my AMD and my NVidia cards) don't exist with the Intel integrated graphics. That (and power consumption/heat) is why I sudden'y became interested.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I agree completely it was a shame back in the day (and I guess for you currently), but I think that plus the die shrink is why NUCs didn't get real popular until after Ivy.

What handshake issues are you having? No picture or delayed sound or something else?

 

[Rio Rebel]

When coming out of sleep or booting up, it has to "try" about 6 or 8 times before the picture appears. Really annoying. It goes blank for about two seconds, and then no signal...over and over, until it eventually goes blank and then displays everything normally. I understand this is something many Onkyo owners are dealing with. But for some reason, it likes the on chip GPU/drivers better.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Weird. Have you tried hooking up to the DVI port via adaptor instead of the card's HDMI port? Should still bitstream the audio and I have had that fix a similiar problem for me.

 

[Rio Rebel]

How is it getting the audio? It can't send audio through the dvi port, so how are you sending audio to the receiver?

 

[Rio Rebel]

I finally broke down and switched to Windows 7 for the theater PC. Running like a breeze. The Intel integrated graphics has been the most trouble free for me in setting up bitstreaming for DTS MA and Dolby TruHD. Now I've finally got it where I want it and backed up.

Sort of a pain, and I still don't understand why they cut support for such a viable chip in Windows 8, but all's well that ends well, I guess.