# should I get a graphics card?



## rselby (Feb 8, 2012)

hi I have built a HTPC a few months ago..now Im wondering if I need a graphics card
this is what I have built
asus P8Z77-v LX mother board
intel I-53570K processor
8 GB of ram
thermaltake 650 watt PS
(1) 500gb hd and (1) terabyte hd
I have just a cd burner..thinking of getting a Blu-ray ..my ? is will my current set up do a good job with the blu ray( never had any experience w blu ray yet) or will I need something better than the on board graphics( HD 4000) and the HDMI of my board says its hdmi 1.4... so that will handle all video and sound( 5.1 or 7.1 ) to my receiver...correct???
and If I do need a sound card, please recommend one , only use the for HTPC, no gaming
thanks , a lil confused :dontknow:


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## AVoldMan (May 15, 2011)

rselby said:


> I have built a HTPC
> asus P8Z77-v LX mother board
> intel I-53570K processor
> 8 GB of ram
> ...


Your HTPC is similar to my daughter’s DIY custom PC build that she uses for video editing (no gaming). She built it this summer (while taking college engineering courses) to make her first HD video project (to see her final results – search “*Daughter Shallows Music Video*” or her YouTube Channel: *sanityOfChaos*). 

Her system has more memory and more computing power (i7) for video creation purposes. Her PC has a similar ASUS MB, an i7-3770 CPU, 16 GB RAM and 2 - 2 TB HDDs, DVD and Blu-Ray drives and an ASUS 7850 graphics card. However, she did extensive testing of video playback with both DVDs and Blu-Ray playback before installing the 7850 GPU card. The quick summary is for the limited use of video playback, the ASUS GPU card actually used more CPU processing than the Intel integrated graphics alone. This seems counterintuitive but that what we both discovered and verified. In addition, the video playback seemed to have less problems (smoother and no BSOD) when using Windows Media Player and the integrated Intel Graphics. Also, display calibration with the Intel graphics was more straight forward and quicker. I really don’t like that AMD Catalyst Control Center (CCC) software. 

Therefore, if you are only interested in HD video playback just use the Intel HD4000 graphics – skip the hassle and cost of separate GPU card. The audio part of your question is something that I just don’t have a clue. It seems to me a good audio card might significantly improve the sound quality, especially for a home theater system.

NOTE: for Windows 7 OS - Any Blu-Ray drive you do install will need software compatible with it. Media Player will not play commercial Blu-ray discs, only DVDs.


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## rselby (Feb 8, 2012)

thank you for your input, thats just the sort of info I was looking for...now if I can just get some info on the audio part of it, Im sure someone on here has ran into this or knows something.....right!


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## AVoldMan (May 15, 2011)

rselby said:


> ...now if I can just get some info on the audio part of it, Im sure someone on here has ran into this or knows something.....right!


I was thinking a little more about your audio output question and realized that I was assuming you were attempting an analog ouptut to an amp and speakers. This would require a good quality sound card with either a 5.1 or 7.1 output. 

Then, I reread your question and maybe you are just trying to go out the HDMI display port to an AVR and speakers. Is the later setup, your real quesiton? Then the question becomes does the audio signal pass through the Asus MB HDMI output to the AVR for decoding and amplification?

Maybe some has done this already? I'm also interested in a definitive answer.


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

The Intel 4000 chip will pass all of the current digital audio formats including lossless Blu-Ray audio (DTS-HD & Dolby HD).

I would try it with the on-board video (Intel 4000) and if you don't notice any stuttering during BR playback (with XBMC, VLC or any other software of choice) you're good to go. If there are issues then one of the slightly lower end videocards will do the trick, something like an nVidia 650 (around $100). I usually recommend nVidia over AMD/ATI for the easiest setup and compatibility.


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## AVoldMan (May 15, 2011)

Infrasonic said:


> The Intel 4000 chip will pass all of the current digital audio formats including lossless Blu-Ray audio (DTS-HD & Dolby HD).
> 
> *Nice to know it actually works the way you would think it should!*


I was using CyberLink Media Suite 9 for Blu-Ray and DVD playback without (only Intel 4000 iGPU) and with an ASUS 6850 GPU. Do you have any reasonable explanation why CPU core loads actually increased with the discrete GPU card vs. Intel onboard graphics in our i7 3770 based system?


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

AVoldMan said:


> I was using CyberLink Media Suite 9 for Blu-Ray and DVD playback without (only Intel 4000 iGPU) and with an ASUS 6850 GPU. Do you have any reasonable explanation why CPU core loads actually increased with the discrete GPU card vs. Intel onboard graphics in our i7 3770 based system?


That's a good question and I don't have a concrete answer but I do have a guess - since the discrete videocard relies on data being supplied to it by the CPU and since it is processing more data than the CPU would be able to process by itself with the onboard HD4000 the CPU load goes up.

Again, that's just a guess because with only playing video (not gaming) and letting the 6850 handle audio I would think the CPU usage would be lower than when using the onboard video. :justdontknow:


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## flyimages (Oct 29, 2013)

If you're just using the htpc for mainly movies, the onboard graphics with hdmi is more than enough, no sound card is also needed, the hdmi does great job handing the blu ray playback & hd audio to the receiver


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## rselby (Feb 8, 2012)

great...just was curious about that...always like to see ( on the AVR) all the little icons for the speakers light up when a 5.1 or 7.1 signal is detected, that way I know im getting the correct sound, and not just a matrix surround


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## flamingeye (Apr 2, 2008)

I'm getting ready to build a HTPC and was just wondering the same thing , but I want to do one thing different I want to run dual screens one will play a movie and the other search the web , I'm guessing a video card would be best for doing this right? sorry for stilling your thread for a moment


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

flamingeye said:


> I'm guessing a video card would be best for doing this right?


Yes if you want to drive two 1080p screens then you'd want to get a videocard. Which one is probably your next question and I'd say anything over the $100 mark should be able to do it without a problem. Your best bet is to buy one (like an nVidia 660) locally at a Fry's or equivalent store so you can easily return it if you do have any issues. If you do have any trouble setting it up start a new thread. Good luck.


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## flamingeye (Apr 2, 2008)

thank's will do and sorry for the hijack


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