HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

clvn · 2011-08-13 18:05:10

Hi there!

I will soon start to build a HTPC setup, which will be used for 1080p (H264) playback through the onboard HDMI port, as well as audio playback through onboard toslink S/PDIF.

What to choose, Amd Fusion or Intel Atom /w the ION 2 GPU? I expect that the GPU part will be able to handle most of the H264 decoding, and that the platform will be stable and fully functional.

I already own a Asus E35M1-I mini-ITX motherboard which i currently use for my headless file server, but it seems to be somewhat unstable, and the network interface is missing some throughput (550Mbit/s). This causes uncertainty about if it is smart to choose the Amd Fusion setup.

Any input/tips?

(This is not strictly related to Arch Linux, but the system will run Arch Linux, so i guess it should be okay to ask here in this forum)

signor_rossi · 2011-08-14 06:39:31

Anandtech has a lot of articles describing the Fusion platform and comparing it with the Atom/Ion combo.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4134/the- … or-miniitx
As for your problems with your Asus board, is your BIOS up-to-date?

zenlord · 2011-08-14 06:54:34

I don't think you can choose a wrong solution these days. All the recent chipsets are perfectly capable of decoding 1080p. I myself am an intel-gpu-fan, because of the good and open source drivers. If your pc will be positioned in your living room, you should definitely investigate the noise levels of the onboard fans, PSU fans and case fans (not to mention the noise of the hard disk(s)).

That's why I have chosen to make my file server (which is in the basement) play/decode all the content and stream it over the network to a PS3, but there are many passively cooled DLNA-clients out there...

.:B:. · 2011-08-14 08:02:38

I'm considering an E350 setup myself, especially since the Intel offerings do not support 24 Hz, and that's a showstopper for me. That would mean either I'd need to get an Atom/Ion combo (which is too underpowered for my taste when it comes to the CPU) or get a Sandy Bridge with an nVidia card, which means higher power usage. From what I gather, Zacate should be a bit smoother than the Atom setups, and a bit more power-efficient as well.

Clvn, if network performance is your concern (and I doubt 550 Mbps is a bottleneck for what you're doing, but then again, I don't know what else your setup is doing while it's streaming HD stuff), there's only one solution: get an Intel gigabit card. Or you can go for a full Intel platform as well though, if that 24 Hz problem is not an issue for you.

Last edited by .:B:. (2011-08-14 08:03:16)

graysky · 2011-08-14 10:08:50

I have an Atom-based (older 330) solution that works great for HD stuff. VDPAU rocks. Dunno about AMD's stuff.

flamelab · 2011-08-14 10:26:10

Choose the all-time-classic reliable Nvidia solution, since VDPAU will surely work. I'm not sure for the AMD solution and I wouldn't choose it for Linux usage. For Windows, it would be very much OK.

signor_rossi · 2011-08-14 14:22:42

Good point, flamelab. As for info on the Linux driver support, phoronix.com is a good place to get info:
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a … ixed&num=1
And zenlord made me remember to ask you what you will use the HTPC for, since in some cases a networked media player like a WD TV Live! might suffice, too.

clvn · 2011-08-14 21:59:58

signor_rossi wrote:

Anandtech has a lot of articles describing the Fusion platform and comparing it with the Atom/Ion combo.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4134/the- … or-miniitx
As for your problems with your Asus board, is your BIOS up-to-date?

Sadly there are no BIOS updates other than the version shiped with the motherboard. I think I will just have to wait and see if Asus releases a new version. I will take a deeper look into the article tonight, thanks for the link!

zenlord wrote:

I don't think you can choose a wrong solution these days. All the recent chipsets are perfectly capable of decoding 1080p. I myself am an intel-gpu-fan, because of the good and open source drivers. If your pc will be positioned in your living room, you should definitely investigate the noise levels of the onboard fans, PSU fans and case fans (not to mention the noise of the hard disk(s)).
That's why I have chosen to make my file server (which is in the basement) play/decode all the content and stream it over the network to a PS3, but there are many passively cooled DLNA-clients out there...

Regarding noise, i will probably use a cheap SSD/my old 4GB CF-card as local storage, and the motherboard will be one of the fanless versions. External laptop-style PSU. The noise level will not be a problem.

Regarding a pure DLNA client: I want to be able to do other things on the HTPC in the future. And for now, it will in addition to XBMC run MPD for music and LIRC for IR remote control support. If i just wanted it for video playback, i could have easily gone for a DNLA set top box with a lot less hassle

.:B:. wrote:

I'm considering an E350 setup myself, especially since the Intel offerings do not support 24 Hz, and that's a showstopper for me. That would mean either I'd need to get an Atom/Ion combo (which is too underpowered for my taste when it comes to the CPU) or get a Sandy Bridge with an nVidia card, which means higher power usage. From what I gather, Zacate should be a bit smoother than the Atom setups, and a bit more power-efficient as well.
Clvn, if network performance is your concern (and I doubt 550 Mbps is a bottleneck for what you're doing, but then again, I don't know what else your setup is doing while it's streaming HD stuff), there's only one solution: get an Intel gigabit card. Or you can go for a full Intel platform as well though, if that 24 Hz problem is not an issue for you.

I did not know anything about the 24Hz frequency limitation, I have not paid any attention to it. I think i will have to read a little bit about it. Thanks for the input about that!

SInce the E350 platform performs better, it's sad that it seems a bit unstable (at least that is my experience so far..). Hopefully this will be better with driver updates.

About the network speed: That motherboard will continue to be used as a file server for a while longer (with the onboard NIC), untill it will be used as a dedicated firewall with a dual gbit NIC (at least that is the plan). The 550Mbit/s throughput is not a problem, but it seems a bit strange that it does not perform better. I've changed the TP and the port at the switch, but still got the same available bandwidth. That too will probably be fixed with either a BIOS update or a driver update.

graysky wrote:

I have an Atom-based (older 330) solution that works great for HD stuff. VDPAU rocks. Dunno about AMD's stuff.

Even 1080p mkv (H264)?

flamelab wrote:

Choose the all-time-classic reliable Nvidia solution, since VDPAU will surely work. I'm not sure for the AMD solution and I wouldn't choose it for Linux usage. For Windows, it would be very much OK.

Thanks for the input.

signor_rossi wrote:

Good point, flamelab. As for info on the Linux driver support, phoronix.com is a good place to get info:
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=a … ixed&num=1
And zenlord made me remember to ask you what you will use the HTPC for, since in some cases a networked media player like a WD TV Live! might suffice, too.

I will do some reading at phoronix about the AMD Fusion driver support. And regarding devices like WD TV, i would like to have a fully functional pc. MPD and LIRC will be used on regular basis.

After all the feedback in the thread, i think the Intel/VDPAU option will be a lot more safe and stable. I will just have to read a bit about what the missing 24Hz support from Nvidia's side.

If i choose Intel Atom/ION, i think this Asus card will do the trick: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_ … /AT5IONTI/

Thanks for all the input so far, guys! I really appriciate it

signor_rossi · 2011-08-15 05:38:18

clvn wrote:

I will just have to read a bit about what the missing 24Hz support from Nvidia's side.

I think you read this wrong. Intel (the 2000/3000 IGP in the Sandy Bridge processors) is missing 24Hz support, not nvidia, phoronix has some nice article about it, too.

EDIT: I remembered that I came across this platform these last days:
http://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv7/trimslice
Don't know anything about the driver and video playback support, but if you want to be the guinea pig for us others here, we won't stop you.

Last edited by signor_rossi (2011-08-15 07:50:18)

QuimaxW · 2011-08-15 11:56:10

I run an ASUS M4A88T-I Deluxe running an Athlon II X3 CPU as my MythTV front end system. I skipped the Fusion chipset for now, it needs to mature on Linux before I actually take the dive into it. I ended up with a 'proper' cpu as I've found relying on hardware decoding alone to be unreliable in my experience.

My only complaint is with AMD/ATI driver support. The open-source driver works pretty good for this, but for some reason the ATI cards seem to be quirky, especially during updates. In this regard, the Intel video chipsets/GPU are awesome.

Enverex · 2011-08-16 09:56:37

Just thought I'd chime in here as I'm using a Netbook that uses the AMD E-350 and it works great. It's very fast (far faster than I was expecting from Netbook/Nettop hardware) and has no trouble decent multitasking and playing 1080P video (using the Catalyst drivers).

The HD6310 will also happily play things like Neverwinter Nights on highest settings and most other Linux games happily.

QuimaxW · 2011-08-16 17:00:07

Enverex wrote:

Just thought I'd chime in here as I'm using a Netbook that uses the AMD E-350 and it works great. It's very fast (far faster than I was expecting from Netbook/Nettop hardware) and has no trouble decent multitasking and playing 1080P video (using the Catalyst drivers).
The HD6310 will also happily play things like Neverwinter Nights on highest settings and most other Linux games happily.

This is awesome to know. I was considering an E-350 system for my media PC, but passed as I couldn't find any information on it at all in Linux. Maybe for my next box!

clvn · 2011-08-21 11:59:20

Thanks for all the feedback, guys! I ordered the Asus E35M1-I Deluxe-card, and it will probably arrive in a few days. I'll post back here with my experience with this motherboard

signor_rossi · 2011-08-21 13:46:50

clvn wrote:

Thanks for all the feedback, guys! I ordered the Asus E35M1-I Deluxe-card, and it will probably arrive in a few days. I'll post back here with my experience with this motherboard

Ah, just when I wanted to bring this nice E-350 barebone system to your attention:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Foxc … 500/1.html

clvn · 2011-08-21 20:40:54

Even though it will cost half my kidney, i will go for the OrigenAE's M10 case. It's the cutest thing on this planet, next to my girlfriend.

signor_rossi · 2011-08-22 07:02:21

Wow, this is a nice case! But how is the case cooling? With a passively cooled MB you can't skimp in that regard! Yesterday I looked around a bit on the net and found the Mini-ITX barebone equivalent to the nettop I posted the link too. It's nice and cheap but cooling is a nightmare and totally inadequate, almost dangerously so.

signor_rossi · 2011-08-22 17:08:46

AMD made the Zacate update official!!!
http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/22/amd- … 3-support/
Boards may come soon...

zenlord · 2011-08-22 17:31:26

clvn wrote:

Even though it will cost half my kidney, i will go for the OrigenAE's M10 case.

I think we value our kidneys differently
(but it is a damn cute case!)

Arch Linux

#1 2011-08-13 18:05:10

HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#2 2011-08-14 06:39:31

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#3 2011-08-14 06:54:34

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#4 2011-08-14 08:02:38

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#5 2011-08-14 10:08:50

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#6 2011-08-14 10:26:10

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#7 2011-08-14 14:22:42

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#8 2011-08-14 21:59:58

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#9 2011-08-15 05:38:18

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#10 2011-08-15 11:56:10

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#11 2011-08-16 09:56:37

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#12 2011-08-16 17:00:07

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#13 2011-08-21 11:59:20

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#14 2011-08-21 13:46:50

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#15 2011-08-21 20:40:54

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#16 2011-08-22 07:02:21

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#17 2011-08-22 17:08:46

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

#18 2011-08-22 17:31:26

Re: HTPC Mini-ITX motherboard - Which CPU/APU to choose?

Board footer