GeForce 9400 HDMI media Center

Slipperyduck

Slipperyduck

New member
Hi guys,

I'm currently using my old GeForce 8800GT 512Mb and Audigy2 card, using Stereo out on the soundcard and DVI to analogue VGA cable out into my LG 32" 720p Panel in my lounge as my Media Center Machine. Couple o Tb hard drives for Storage etc. . .

I've been running it for a year or so, i works great, just that the darn 8800GT is a HOT single slot card and I'm thinking of just replacing it with an el-cheapo 9400GT with HDMI, Leadtek WinFast PX9400 GT HDMI - which runs cold and is cheap as chips.

Wanted to know if anyone else out there has this kinda setup? You think it would be a good way to go? I've hot HDMI cables sitting waiting for some goodness of the electrical nature. . . surely the quality would increase a fraction as apposed to the DVI/Analogue setup? What about sound quality via the SPDIF off an audigy 2?

Anyway, look forward to yer ideas/experiences.
 
Slipperyduck said:
Hi guys,
. . . surely the quality would increase a fraction as apposed to the DVI/Analogue setup? What about sound quality via the SPDIF off an audigy 2?
Click to expand...

Definately quality above analogue but basicaly the same as DVI (Digital video). The main difference is that instead of using DVI (Video) + SPDIF (Audio), via HDMI you get the sound and the video over one cable. But it all depends whether the LG32" you connect the HDMI cable to have the correct HDMI spec's to decode/use the HDMI A/V signals.

A 9400 or later gpu card with HDMI and sound decoding fuctions with included HDCP capability (Also look at ATI 4XXX) would be the best investment. Later add a BluRay player and there Ya go.

Sound via SPDIF can be send to a receiver for 5.1 surround sound. It also depends if the GPU card you buy would have its own sound capability or have tha capability to take an external input for the sound transfer to the HDMI cable.

Good luck!
 
Slipperyduck said:
Yeah, HD decoding using CoreAVC with CUDA, surely the 9400 has enough stream processing power to do 720p?
Click to expand...

Should do 1080p without any problems.

Check out this simple solutions in this thread. All inclusive in one board.

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?p=3234609#post3234609
New ZOTAC ION ITX-F series increases expansion capabilities
Sept. 29, 2009 - ZOTAC International, a leading manufacturer of graphics cards and motherboards, today expands its award-winning ION ITX series motherboards with the new high-end ION ITX-F series. The new ZOTAC ION ITX-F series increases expansion capabilities with a PCI Express x16 expansion slot.

"ZOTAC always listens to user requests for features. End users loved our ION ITX series motherboards, but some requested PCI Express expansion. We listened and thus the ZOTAC ION ITX F series was born," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International. "Our engineers managed to integrate PCI Express x16 expansion without sacrificing any of the award-winning features either."


The ZOTAC ION ITX-F series receives power from a high-performance NVIDIA® ION™ graphics processor and energy-efficient dual-core Intel® Atom™ 330 processor for a power packed combination that's ready to take on high-definition video playback and everyday computing tasks.



NVIDIA® PureVideo™ HD technology enables the ZOTAC ION ITX-F series to playback vivid high bit-rate Blu-ray movies smoothly while utilizing minimal processing power superior energy efficiency. NVIDIA® CUDA™ technology enables the ZOTAC ION ITX-F series to process, edit and enhance videos speedily using only the ION graphics processor for high-performance processing with low energy utilization.



"The ZOTAC ION ITX-F series is a work horse. The powerful graphics processor and dual-core processor makes the ION ITX-F series ideal for home theater PCs or a desktop PC," Mr. Berger said.



The ZOTAC ION ITX-F series features flexible display connectivity with HDCP ready HDMI, DVI and VGA outputs for connectivity with analog or digital monitors and high-definition televisions for the best picture clarity with any display the user may choose.
Onboard mini PCI Express 802.11n WiFi provides lightning-fast network connectivity free of wires while onboard Gigabit Ethernet provides network transfers with speeds up to 1000Mbps for those that prefer to have wires.



It's time to play with the ZOTAC ION ITX-F series!

General details
• New ZOTAC ION ITX-F series
• Award winning ZOTAC ION ITX series expands
• PCI Express x16 expansion
• NVIDIA® ION™ graphics processor
• Intel® Atom 330 dual-core processor
• Mini ITX form factor
• Gigabit Ethernet
• Onboard 802.11n WiFi (mini PCIe)
• NVIDIA® CUDA™ technology
• NVIDIA® PureVideo™ HD technology


Product Name:
ZOTAC ION ITX-F series

CPU
Intel® Atom™ 330 dual-core

GPU
NVIDIA® ION™

Display Options:
HDMI (Digital 8-channel LPCM Audio), DVI and VGA

Memory
2x240-pin DDR2-800 memory slots

Up to 4GB ram

Expansion: PCI Express x16 2.0

Mini PCI Express (occupied by WiFi card)

SATA
3 SATA 3.0Gbp/s

1 eSATA

Ethernet
10/100/1000Mbps

WiFi
802.11n integrated

USB 2.0
10 (6 on back panel, 4 via pin headers)

Audio
Onboard 6-channel high-definition audio

8-Channel LPCM digital audio (HDMI)

Optical & Coaxial S/PDIF audio output

DirectX support
DirectX 10 with Shader Model 4.0

Other hardware features
Mini-ITX form factor, OpenGL 3.1 compatible, NVIDIA® PhysX® ready, NVIDIA® CUDA™ ready, NVIDIA® PureVideo™ HD technology

HDCP Yes

Software Features: nView Multi-Display

Windows Vista capability: Windows Vista/7 with aero user interface comp
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Looks like my LG32" Spec is all good. Think I'm gonna go get me the el cheapo 9400 hdmi - sall good n tha hood Thx for da tips
 
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