Author Topic: AMD HD 5450 Gigabyte Locally Available (Best Budget HTPC Video Card?) (Read 14502 times)

nerveblocker · « **Reply #30 on:** Feb 27, 2011 at 05:42 AM »

Quote from: Stagea on Feb 27, 2011 at 02:00 AM

Congrats Doc Nerveblocker! I'm glad that you finally got what you were after.

To those who want 3D, the HD6xxx series isn't very expensive, and you get HDMI 1.4a 3d support afaik. Of course, the Nvidia GTX4xx and GTX5xx should also work.

Thanks Master Ivan! The Nvidia GT430 has already 3D capabilities and it has the same price as of the HD5xxx series around the P3k mark.

Quote from: ninjababez® on Feb 27, 2011 at 04:24 AM

doc keep me posted.

Thanks for the advise last Saturday. Really helped bro. I wouldn't know the HD audio bitstreaming success of my VC until my PJ arrives. Haaay....ke tagal!

ninjababez® · « **Reply #31 on:** Feb 27, 2011 at 06:13 AM »

Quote from: nerveblocker on Feb 27, 2011 at 05:42 AM

Thanks for the advise last Saturday. Really helped bro. I wouldn't know the HD audio bitstreaming success of my VC until my PJ arrives. Haaay....ke tagal!

np doc
btw why not temporarily place the 32" from your kids room to your ht just to check the new vga capabilities?
you still have 7 days naman to replace it.

FrancisD · « **Reply #32 on:** Feb 27, 2011 at 10:53 PM »

Its much easier to determine if ATI /AMD video cards would suit HTPC requirements. AMD production process includes finalizing certain specs for the whole series (HTPC related features included) - these are usually consistent for the whole series (i.e. 3xx,4xx,5xx). And they execute like Intel with VC (tick / tock) - if only they can do this for their chips, tsk...

With Invidia, its almost like going card by card, hard to find specific feature consistency. For HTPC usage for example, you get similar quality from the HD 5450 up to the high end (for some reason the 5750 has some issues with some HQV tests). I guess what would be more helpful is an NVIDIA thread as its quite simple for AMD / ATI. (I have a GT 240 and video is not as good as the others in the base series - does not also do HDMI sound pass through when lesser cards of the same series can...).

FYI - I was able to do HDMI audio with various 4xx cards (with AMD - you know you can do this with all 4xx cards...)

nerveblocker · « **Reply #33 on:** Feb 28, 2011 at 06:25 AM »

Quote from: ninjababez® on Feb 27, 2011 at 06:13 AM

np doc
btw why not temporarily place the 32" from your kids room to your ht just to check the new vga capabilities?
you still have 7 days naman to replace it.

Uy ok! Good idea! Masubukan na nga at mahusgahan.

ninjababez® · « **Reply #34 on:** Feb 28, 2011 at 11:42 AM »

Quote from: nerveblocker on Feb 28, 2011 at 06:25 AM

Uy ok! Good idea! Masubukan na nga at mahusgahan.

keep us posted doc.

nerveblocker · « **Reply #35 on:** Feb 28, 2011 at 04:22 PM »

I installed the Realtek ATI HDMI Audio Driver and tried playing King Kong BD via PowerDVD10. The best I could get was LPCM on my receiver. It displays MultiCh. How can I get to show DTSHD-MA and the other HD audio formats to appear in my receiver?

FrancisD · « **Reply #36 on:** Mar 01, 2011 at 10:20 AM »

No experience with AMD ATI 5xx series (HDMI sound) but with the 4xx series (should be the same), go to sound and audio device properties and select ATI HD audio rear output. WIth this sound only goes through HDMI, you lose sound from multimedia speakers.

Hope this helps...

nerveblocker · « **Reply #37 on:** Mar 01, 2011 at 01:31 PM »

Quote from: FrancisD on Mar 01, 2011 at 10:20 AM

No experience with AMD ATI 5xx series (HDMI sound) but with the 4xx series (should be the same), go to sound and audio device properties and select ATI HD audio rear output. WIth this sound only goes through HDMI, you lose sound from multimedia speakers.

Hope this helps...

Ok I'll check at the options. Presently my player for BDs is PowerDVD10 Ultra. Would it help if I loaded PowerDVD10 Ultra MarkII?

Even if I use KMPlayer it still outputs LPCM.

ninjababez® · « **Reply #38 on:** Mar 01, 2011 at 09:24 PM »

Quote from: nerveblocker on Mar 01, 2011 at 01:31 PM

Ok I'll check at the options. Presently my player for BDs is PowerDVD10 Ultra. Would it help if I loaded PowerDVD10 Ultra MarkII?

Even if I use KMPlayer it still outputs LPCM.

windows 7 na ba gamit mo doc?

nerveblocker · « **Reply #39 on:** Mar 01, 2011 at 09:52 PM »

Quote from: ninjababez® on Mar 01, 2011 at 09:24 PM

windows 7 na ba gamit mo doc?

XP pa din! Haha! But LPCM is also lossless audio so I guess this should do temporarily.

Clondalkin · « **Reply #40 on:** Mar 01, 2011 at 10:20 PM »

Quote from: nerveblocker on Mar 01, 2011 at 09:52 PM

XP pa din! Haha! But LPCM is also lossless audio so I guess this should do temporarily.

Your ATI card is acting as an HD-audio decoder then and outputting it as LPCM na...

-lee- · « **Reply #41 on:** Mar 01, 2011 at 10:34 PM »

Quote from: nerveblocker on Mar 01, 2011 at 09:52 PM

XP pa din! Haha! But LPCM is also lossless audio so I guess this should do temporarily.

mas ok pa nga lpcm kase lossless sya, compared to dd/dts na compressed audio, am i right sir?

FrancisD · « **Reply #42 on:** Mar 02, 2011 at 01:53 AM »

I think you have to configure the audio device (output to 5.1 ) in the audio devices for ATI HD audio. Also, I think you have to set-up your software to output the DD / DTS (HD) to the audio device (ATI) for the type of HD on the disk being played. Only the paid software version of PDVD (not the OEM that comes with the Player) could output HD multichannel audio.

Since there is already audio through the HDMI, it may need just configuring the audio device and the software. Failing this, the standard initial solution may be a pain, deletion and re-installation of drivers....as the card and software could handle HD multi-channel - its a software configuration issue between the OS and the Player...

Now is the time one wishes the ease of use of NMT!

nerveblocker · « **Reply #43 on:** Mar 03, 2011 at 08:08 AM »

Quote from: Clondalkin on Mar 01, 2011 at 10:20 PM

Your ATI card is acting as an HD-audio decoder then and outputting it as LPCM na...

I guess my receiver's decoding capabilites is useless at this point. $:-\$

paolorenzo · « **Reply #44 on:** Mar 03, 2011 at 09:03 AM »

Quote from: nerveblocker on Mar 01, 2011 at 01:31 PM

Ok I'll check at the options. Presently my player for BDs is PowerDVD10 Ultra. Would it help if I loaded PowerDVD10 Ultra MarkII?

Even if I use KMPlayer it still outputs LPCM.

Be patient Doc. Yan ang sakit sa ulo nang HTPC. It's all in the settings. I will try to make KMP output TrueHD and DTS-MA this weekend. I just takes time to tweak. So far, MPC-HC pa lang ang tested na maka-output eh. Not sure about PowerDVD10 and settings.

♡ lvcdg23™ ✌ · « **Reply #45 on:** Mar 08, 2011 at 06:51 AM »

Quote from: paolorenzo on Mar 03, 2011 at 09:03 AM

Be patient Doc. Yan ang sakit sa ulo nang HTPC. It's all in the settings. I will try to make KMP output TrueHD and DTS-MA this weekend. I just takes time to tweak. So far, MPC-HC pa lang ang tested na maka-output eh. Not sure about PowerDVD10 and settings.

Sir Paolo,
Successful na ba ang tweeking mo with KMPlayer to output TrueHD and DTS-MA via HD5450?
I also have this video card in my HTPC and planning to buy Onkyo S3300/S3400 for upgrade.
Thanks

paolorenzo · « **Reply #46 on:** Mar 08, 2011 at 07:26 AM »

Quote from: Louie_18 on Mar 08, 2011 at 06:51 AM

Sir Paolo,
Successful na ba ang tweeking mo with KMPlayer to output TrueHD and DTS-MA via HD5450?
I also have this video card in my HTPC and planning to buy Onkyo S3300/S3400 for upgrade.
Thanks

Sa kasamaang palad, bumigay ang HTPC ko last weekend. Hanap pa ako time para ayusin. I suspect Mobo may problem. Baka kailangan i-RMA. If board nga may problem, I might go 880G para puwede hybrid crossfirex with the 5450 (sana with USB3 if available). Pero I'll need to upgrade to DDR3 mems too. Hassle...

ninjababez® · « **Reply #47 on:** Mar 08, 2011 at 07:46 AM »

Quote from: paolorenzo on Mar 08, 2011 at 07:26 AM

Sa kasamaang palad, bumigay ang HTPC ko last weekend. Hanap pa ako time para ayusin. I suspect Mobo may problem. Baka kailangan i-RMA. If board nga may problem, I might go 880G para puwede hybrid crossfirex with the 5450 (sana with USB3 if available). Pero I'll need to upgrade to DDR3 mems too. Hassle...

dont worry pao the speed bump from DDR2 vs DDR3 is noticable, atleast maramdaman mo ang upgrade

♡ lvcdg23™ ✌ · « **Reply #48 on:** Mar 08, 2011 at 07:57 AM »

Quote from: paolorenzo on Mar 08, 2011 at 07:26 AM

Sa kasamaang palad, bumigay ang HTPC ko last weekend. Hanap pa ako time para ayusin. I suspect Mobo may problem. Baka kailangan i-RMA. If board nga may problem, I might go 880G para puwede hybrid crossfirex with the 5450 (sana with USB3 if available). Pero I'll need to upgrade to DDR3 mems too. Hassle...

Awww, thats sad to know sir. Pero baka nga sign yan na you have to upgrade na

nerveblocker · « **Reply #49 on:** Mar 08, 2011 at 09:10 AM »

Upgraded my OS to Win7. I have loaded Realtek ATI HDMI audio driver for my HD5550. I have also selected Realtek HDMI HD Audio. On properties, it shows that HD audio is supported.

Installed PowerDVD10 Ultra MarkII. On the Audio properties, I selected the Realtek HDMI as my output device. There were 2 choices either to output decoded LPCM or undecoded DD/DTS. I chose the latter then I played a Bluray disc with Dolby TrueHD. When the movie was playing, my choices in my receiver were DD and DD-EX only. $:-\$

gunblade977 · « **Reply #50 on:** Mar 08, 2011 at 09:50 AM »

^ Have you tried via TMT software doc?

Clondalkin · « **Reply #51 on:** Mar 08, 2011 at 10:57 AM »

This might be a dumb question, but in my understanding, the official ATI HDMI Audio Driver is included in the newer Catalyst version, specifically version 10.x. So why do you have to install a Realtek ATI driver instead?

Regarding TMT3, I am positive the option for Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HDMA is there within TMT3's audio settings. I also have the latest TMT5 but haven't tried yet as I have no problems with TMT3 at all.

Hi Gunblade!. Happy? hehehe

gunblade977 · « **Reply #52 on:** Mar 08, 2011 at 11:36 AM »

Yup, I know I saw a setting in the TMT3 for the Dolby TrueHD but havenn't played aroound with it yet(wala pa kong AVR capable to decode HD audio)

@Clon, I'm getting LPCMs din via SPDIF but otherwise happy

in preparation for an AVR upgrade

Clondalkin · « **Reply #53 on:** Mar 08, 2011 at 11:48 AM »

Quote from: gunblade977 on Mar 08, 2011 at 11:36 AM

Yup, I know I saw a setting in the TMT3 for the Dolby TrueHD but havenn't played aroound with it yet(wala pa kong AVR capable to decode HD audio)

@Clon, I'm getting LPCMs din via SPDIF but otherwise happy in preparation for an AVR upgrade

Pareho lang tayong walang tamang AVR.

and I would have to get a 5xxxx or a Xonar if I want to see the blue lights of DTS-HD/TrueHD (still using a 4850 and 3870).

nerveblocker · « **Reply #54 on:** Mar 08, 2011 at 12:21 PM »

Quote from: gunblade977 on Mar 08, 2011 at 09:50 AM

^ Have you tried via TMT software doc?

Not yet. I'll try to test it later. The tutorial I was reading to link an external player to play BD ISOs in XBMC was for PowerDVD . I'm happy with the PQ and SQ of PowerDVD but I am not able to maximize my VC and my receiver's capabilities. LPCM is fine but I want HD audio to be bitstreamed to my receiver. I'll try to customize the settings for TMT then I'll report the results.

Quote from: Clondalkin on Mar 08, 2011 at 10:57 AM

This might be a dumb question, but in my understanding, the official ATI HDMI Audio Driver is included in the newer Catalyst version, specifically version 10.x. So why do you have to install a Realtek ATI driver instead?

Regarding TMT3, I am positive the option for Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HDMA is there within TMT3's audio settings. I also have the latest TMT5 but haven't tried yet as I have no problems with TMT3 at all.

Hi Gunblade!. Happy? hehehe

Bro, the tutorial for MPC-HC with ffdshow to bitstream HD audio I was reading preferred Realtek ATI HDMI Audio drivers. So I just followed that. Somehow I had problems with the latest build of MPC-HC so I reverted to using PowerDVD10 in the meantime.

Clondalkin · « **Reply #55 on:** Mar 08, 2011 at 12:30 PM »

Quote from: nerveblocker on Mar 08, 2011 at 12:21 PM

Bro, the tutorial for MPC-HC with ffdshow to bitstream HD audio I was reading preferred Realtek ATI HDMI Audio drivers. So I just followed that. Somehow I had problems with the latest build of MPC-HC so I reverted to using PowerDVD10 in the meantime.

Yeah but I read somewhere that Realtek HDMI driver MAY have issues with PDVD and TMT3. Also, that tutorial may have preceded the latest Catalyst driver...hence perhaps HD audio bitstreaming has been fully covered by Catalyst since the 5xxx series was released. Can you try to remove Realtek ATI HDMI Driver first and rely solely on Catalyst 10.6? Cheers!

nerveblocker · « **Reply #56 on:** Mar 09, 2011 at 10:33 AM »

Quote from: Clondalkin on Mar 08, 2011 at 12:30 PM

Yeah but I read somewhere that Realtek HDMI driver MAY have issues with PDVD and TMT3. Also, that tutorial may have preceded the latest Catalyst driver...hence perhaps HD audio bitstreaming has been fully covered by Catalyst since the 5xxx series was released. Can you try to remove Realtek ATI HDMI Driver first and rely solely on Catalyst 10.6? Cheers!

I uninstalled Realtek and installed the latest ATI Catalyst HDMI Audio driver. I selected ATI HD Audio device. When I clicked on configure, the choice was only 2 channel stereo for speakers. On Realtek, there was 2 channel, 5.1, 7.1. When I clicked on Properties then Supported Formats, it says "No Uncompressed Format supported". On Realtek, there was DD, DTS, DTS-HD, DDPlus, DTS-MA.

Anyway, I still played some files using PDVD10. While playing a BD, information was enabled and it shows that the Audio is Dolby TrueHD and Audio Output is LPCM. When I ran through the surround options of the receiver, MultiCH wasn't displayed. It only displayed the analog audio options such as Dolby Prologic 2, Neural THX 7.1, etc. There wasn't even DD/DTS. $:-\$

I played MKVs using PowerDVD. In the ONscreen info, the audio showed DTS and Audio Output: Unknown. In the receiver, only the analog audio options were displayed and no DD/DTS.

I played AVI files with only 2channel audio. The sound and dialogues had an echo.

Reverted back to the Realtek ATI HDMI Audio driver but It didn't go back to the previous settings.

Beefy · « **Reply #57 on:** Mar 09, 2011 at 10:58 AM »

I have a 5450(Sparkle I think) that has no problem bitstreaming HD audio(dtsHD and trueHD) using tmt3. As far as I can remember, I didn't install any additional software/driver to get this running.

In the playback devices, mine was set to output using ATI HDMI audio. I also make sure the receiver is on and switched to the proper source before turning on tmt3

nerveblocker · « **Reply #58 on:** Mar 09, 2011 at 11:30 AM »

Quote from: Beefy on Mar 09, 2011 at 10:58 AM

I have a 5450(Sparkle I think) that has no problem bitstreaming HD audio(dtsHD and trueHD) using tmt3. As far as I can remember, I didn't install any additional software/driver to get this running.

In the playback devices, mine was set to output using ATI HDMI audio. I also make sure the receiver is on and switched to the proper source before turning on tmt3

Did you install any patch for TMT3?

-lee- · « **Reply #59 on:** Mar 09, 2011 at 11:34 AM »

Quote from: nerveblocker on Mar 09, 2011 at 10:33 AM

I uninstalled Realtek and installed the latest ATI Catalyst HDMI Audio driver. I selected ATI HD Audio device. When I clicked on configure, the choice was only 2 channel stereo for speakers. On Realtek, there was 2 channel, 5.1, 7.1. When I clicked on Properties then Supported Formats, it says "No Uncompressed Format supported". On Realtek, there was DD, DTS, DTS-HD, DDPlus, DTS-MA.

Anyway, I still played some files using PDVD10. While playing a BD, information was enabled and it shows that the Audio is Dolby TrueHD and Audio Output is LPCM. When I ran through the surround options of the receiver, MultiCH wasn't displayed. It only displayed the analog audio options such as Dolby Prologic 2, Neural THX 7.1, etc. There wasn't even DD/DTS. $:-\$

I played MKVs using PowerDVD. In the ONscreen info, the audio showed DTS and Audio Output: Unknown. In the receiver, only the analog audio options were displayed and no DD/DTS.

I played AVI files with only 2channel audio. The sound and dialogues had an echo.

Reverted back to the Realtek ATI HDMI Audio driver but It didn't go back to the previous settings.

i suppose your connection is like this: pc>>avr>>tv
try to power the avr first, wait for like 5 secs, then turn on the tv, wait again and then power on the pc..
all the supported formats should appear now. i usually see the "stereo" only support if my avr is off (off but active standby) and of course, the tv is on.. hth sir

btw, im using 4650 withe realtek ati hdmi driver