The New AMD Building Thread

Sam,
I have it set to PCM and I have heard what you are talking about, but there are settings on my surround to alleviate that problem. I have it set to DEC PCM and other sounds don't seem to break the stream. So far it's working great! It's really strange to hear someone behind you and then "feel" them go by you as they are talking and then see them appear on the screen. It makes you look over your shoulder!

Russ

 

Quite agree, it was a much more powerful effect in dts than normal surround. How have you set DEC PCM? Which media player do you use?

 

I'm glad I bumped this thread, I'm back from final exam and nearly a full page has grown since then! Thanks for all opinions, I'll try and do this in order...

Theonejrs- That ODD is auto-notify out of stock, I might not recieve it in time for X-mas. They'll burn a few cd's maybe some DVD's to learn how, but nothing heavy. I've read positively of Optiarc, but havent owned so I will put that in my cranial data bank.

Greenie- I changed to that HDD, thanks, and I considered that FOXY board when choosing but didnt want this build with time constraints being a learning experience on a new brand for me.

 

I click on custom in the main menu and my choices are off, Dual M and DEC PCM. If I turn it off, I get a delay of about a second before sound starts. I like MP-11! I know some people don't like it, but I just happen to!

Russ

 

I was never happy with how Windows Media Player handled HD playback. I just watched Kung Fu Panda in 1080p, and after disabling Flashget's sounds, it wasn't too problematic, the sound never cut off, though VLC (the only program I've figured out how to get in proper dts so far) paused momentarily on a few occasions, as it sometimes does. I find it funny that my PC mainly uses 9-14% CPU usage to play full bitrate HD video - my server's X2 4200+ runs 50-90%...

 

At least you probably have a manual that isn't an exercise in futility. I've been fiddling with mine since I got it in 04, and still don't understand everything. 35 pages is decent enough for a manual, they just leave a few important steps out along the way. They spend about 6 pages to explain how to hook up the Optical, without a word about how to turn it on! No where do they tell you that the Video button has to be selected for it to work at all! I have the Coax and the optical hooked up, just in case. Press DVD and I get the Coax and Video for the Optical. For DVDs I use Power DVD7 and have S/PDIF selected in the sound. Works perfect!

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Yeah I'm very tempted to try out PowerDVD again, I saw a fair few positive reviews about it for dts.

 

Hey Sam,
I had Power DVD 6 before, and the first thing I noticed after I got 7 set up was how much better the sound is. All I do is select S/PDIF, and it a done deal. Surround works perfect!

Russ

 

Agreed on the sound quality of PowerDVD, it's that 'stuff you never heard before' all over again. However, Optical can still never be a mainstay on my PC, as I need Analog audio to get surround sound via games.

 

Sam,
Just curious, but why won't Optical work, regardless of the source in the games? I guess that means that Coax won't work either?

Russ

 

Optical does not support surround sound natively, it has to be set bitstream which requires complete decoding at the PC's end, and a signal stating that 5.1 is used. Games do not decode their digital audio like media players do, so the speakers will only ever receive the front speaker channel.

 

Thanks Sam,
I learned something new!

Russ

 

I've been taking a long hard look at this GigaByte MB and I think it will ultimately be my choice. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128352 It's AM3 ready for the Phenom IIs, Needing only a bios flash, and has everything I need. It has the 1333MHz DDR3 Sideport memory to go with the HD3300 graphics. The only thing it lacks is E-Sata, and I'm not fussed about that! The only real "must haves" are Optical S/PDIF and HDMI and the Sideport DDR3 1333 memory There's also a lot more to the 750 SB than just Raid 5. Nice heatpipe cooling on the NB and the VRMs. To me it seems the way to go with a Phenom II would be the 790/750 chipset. At $129, it's a decent enough price too, and with 2 PCI-E slots I can game to my hearts content, if I want too. Looks fairly future proof to me.

Russ

 

A nice looking board, but fundamentally incompatible with the HD4870X2 I notice - with that card installed, since it uses the same SB heatsink as the X38-DS4, the card will not fit in the top slot, so when it's in the bottom slot, four of the S-ATA ports will be blocked. Two S-ATA ports for a board isn't great...

 

everything except DDR3 sideport memory. S/PDIF, HDMI, 5 SATA ports (located where they won't get covered up by expansion cards), only $79 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131324 or for $150 you can get everything listed above plus DDR3 sideport memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131331

for those biostar fanboys http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138128 unfortunately this one doesn't appear to have DDR3 sideport memory or S/PDIF tho.

 

Those Asus boards are undeniably better laid out than the Gigabytes as they both support the 4870X2 (Top slot only for the full size ATX one, but that's where you'd usually put a card anyway). Mind you, an Asus MicroATX board Hmmm, and in any case, it's rare to see a X2 in a micro ATX system...

 

Sam,
I quite agree, but how many people are going to buy Monsters like that? I notice also, that you can't seem to find the length of the HD 4870x2 listed anywhere! Do they come with shoehorns?

Best Regards,
Russ

 

It's 11.5" I think, the same length as the 8800GTX, 9800GTX and GTX280. Not sure about the GTX260.
The problem though is that the cooler runs all the way down the PCB to the very bottom. Normally there's some space there to fit cables (or southbridge heatsinks) underneath.

 

gtx260 and 280 are the same length

 

MORE NEWS FROM AMD

It does look to be that the 790G/750 chipset is going to be the way to go for better and easier overclocking with the Phenom. For one thing, the Phenom (only) uses 6 previously unused pins to connect directly to the SB750. AMD is being very vague about this, but are confident enough to claim better overclocking by 100 to 400MHz. Advanced Clock Calibration combined with AMD's Overdrive Utility is the key to it all. AMD is being very secretive about all of this. Does it work? Anandtech and others have been able to reach a stable 3.4GHz with the Phenom 9850BE, where 3.0GHz had been the limit before, so I guess the answer to that one is yes! Time will tell.

THE JANUARY 8 PAPER LAUNCH OF PHENOM II

The so called paper launch. Will not happen. It will be a hardware launch!
http://www.nordichardware.com/news,8456.html
Now why am I smiling?

Russ