Intel GMA X4500HD

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Intel GMA X4500HD

Earlier this month Intel had announced the GMA X4500 series, which is their latest and greatest when it comes to integrated graphics processors. These IGPs were greeted by same-day Linux support (it had actually arrived before the chipset was announced), but it's still next to impossible to find motherboards using the G43 and G45 Chipsets that bear this IGP. Fortunately, however, our friends at Super Micro have come through and we have managed to get our hands on the C2SEA. The Super Micro C2SEA is an ATX motherboard that uses the Intel G45 Chipset in conjunction with an ICH10 Southbridge. This motherboard provides Intel GMA X4500HD graphics with VGA and HDMI interfaces. In this article, we are looking at the performance of this new Intel graphics processor under Linux.

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=12671

[zAo_]

Great! I was looking forward to this test.

I ordered Intels DG45ID!

[BlueKoala]

Wow, this could be misleading for the average Joe:

ATI HD4500 vs Intel 4500HD
It wouldn't be so bad if they were neck to neck performance wise.
I'm wondering how they'll compare.

[mirza]

Wonderful news, really and THANK YOU Intel for this great HW *and* SW effort. Finally, waiting for 3D card with reasonable performance for everyday use (I guess PS3 - grade graphics?) and quality open drivers is over. Historically, I had many proprietary blobs in my computer and hated each and every of them with passion: various media codecs, nvidia driver, wifi driver, adobe pdf reader, java jvm, flash, nero... It seems, as soon as I get one of these Centrino 2 X4500HD boxes, Flash plugin is last on this list, waiting for adequate F/OSS replacement. Also, upgrade to 64-bit system should be non-issue in this case.:)

[BlackStar]

I guess PS3 - grade graphics?
PS3 = Playstation 3?

If so, not by far. While the PS3 video processor isn't a powerhouse by today's standards (about equivalent to a high-end G70), the X4500HD doesn't even come close :)

That said, performance looks very reasonable and driver support is a big plus. I wonder how this piece compares to AMD's integrated HD3200 - any chance for a feature/performance comparison soon?

[mirza]

PS3 = Playstation 3?

If so, not by far. While the PS3 video processor isn't a powerhouse by today's standards (about equivalent to a high-end G70), the X4500HD doesn't even come close :)


Radeon X1800 XT (in this test) has equal performance as nVidia 7800 which is inside PS3, so unless somebody present benchmarks, I have no reason to believe PS3 can be much faster then Intel X4500. Also, driver for Intel's new chip is in its first iterations, so lets see how it will improve in time and lets wait for more benchmarks comparing both cards.

[BlueKoala]

Radeon X1800 XT (in this test) has equal performance as nVidia 7800 which is inside PS3, so unless somebody present benchmarks, I have no reason to believe PS3 can be much faster then Intel X4500. Also, driver for Intel's new chip is in its first iterations, so lets see how it will improve in time and lets wait for more benchmarks comparing both cards.

You're talking about intel graphics here. I think it's brave of your to have such high hopes for intel graphics performace. Usually Intel graphics are great for just plain "Working good" but performance is less than average. Though I kinda hope I'm wrong about this one.

[mirza]

You're talking about intel graphics here. I think it's brave of your to have such high hopes for intel graphics performace.

I don't have any special hopes regarding any graphic card. I just look at benchmarks and draw conclusions from that. So far, only 2 benchmarks of X4500HD are available on the web (AFAIK) and it looks this card has similar performance to what is inside PS3. That is not quite "high-end" by current standards, but I wouldn't even consider buying additional card, if I had this one integrated inside my chipset. Especially given driver quality.

[HwyXingFrog]

That's funny, I've been watching DirectCanada and NCIX everyday for the past few weeks to see if they get any G45 Mobo's on their sites, and NCIX had this one today.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=2877&ProductName=GA-EG45M-DS2H

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=32267&vpn=GA-EG45M-DS2H&manufacture=Gigabyte

Although they don't have any in stock yet, at least we know they are coming soon.

But lately I've been focusing on trying the AM2 based boards, the 780g and GF8200 (don't have a GF8200 yet, but I will be ordering one soon), and I even jumped the gun last year getting the 690g. And even have a BE-2350 and a 4850e.

I am MOST interested to see the power consumption comparisons for all of these chipsets in idle and while playing some H.264 content. My HTPC is running 24/7. Hoping to somehow be able to play uncompressed 1080p content in linux with one of these chipsets, I really want to get away from depending on Windows for my HTPC.

Mythbuntu 8.10 is going to be awesome on all these new boards.

[some-guy]

Radeon X1800 XT (in this test) has equal performance as nVidia 7800 which is inside PS3, so unless somebody present benchmarks, I have no reason to believe PS3 can be much faster then Intel X4500. Also, driver for Intel's new chip is in its first iterations, so lets see how it will improve in time and lets wait for more benchmarks comparing both cards.
The PS3 doesn't use any computer graphics card, it uses a special one made specially for it, though it is in the later 7 series.

Also this is misleading
In addition, once Gallium3D goes mainstream with users they will be able to benefit from a generic GPU video decoding, which relies upon the graphics processor's shaders.
That is a generic interface for gallium drivers, to have video decoding, but it is limited to the specs, for now, that means XvMC, so it will only provide MPEG-2/-4(I think XvMC supports this???), unless VAAPI comes or XvMC is extended

[BlackStar]

Radeon X1800 XT (in this test) has equal performance as nVidia 7800 which is inside PS3, so unless somebody present benchmarks, I have no reason to believe PS3 can be much faster then Intel X4500.
That was quite funny, thanks!

If you recall, the OSS drivers for R500 are far from mature. As the article noted, switching to fglrx roughly doubled performance (and as we all know, fglrx is not the most performant of drivers).

No, a shared-memory chip with a maximum theoretical bandwidth of 12.8GB/s (shared the CPU) is not able to compete with a high-end discrete card. What you are seeing is an artifact of the R500 driver immaturity, nothing more. You cannot really draw conclusions regarding chip performance from that :)

[nightmorph]

Why were there no comparison benchmarks for the Intel X3100 chipset, which was mentioned several times in the article?

It's important to provide results showing how Intel hardware and drivers have progressed, especially since the X3100 is a very common chip in laptops and desktop motherboards.

[mycroes]

I really hoped to see comparisons to nvidia cards too. Also it would have been nice to compare to fglrx too, because even though it's closed it's probable that a great lot of people will use them. I think I've read on wikipedia that X4500 performance would be on par with nvidia 8400GS, would be nice to see that confirmed for performance in linux...
Regards,

Michael

[Gamester17]

Does this motherboard (and the chipset too for that matter) support High Definition Audio over HDMI? :confused:

Also, if the hardware does, does latest ALSA and/or OSS support High Definition Audio over HDMI for it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMIHDMI supports 8 channel uncompressed digital audio at 192 kHz sample rate with 24 bits/sample as well as compressed audio streams such as Dolby Digital and DTS. HDMI supports up to 8 channels of one-bit DSD audio, which is used on Super Audio CDs, at rates up to 4x that of Super Audio CD. With version 1.3, HDMI also supports lossless compressed audio streams such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.

[jeffro-tull]

If the Phoronix guys used something other than Ubuntu, they might realize that the openSUSE Build Service is perfect for something like this. They just happen to have an Xorg repository which grabs snapshots (from the main X components, to Mesa, to drivers) every couple days. It's like a gift from $DIETY for those of us tracking radeonhd and intel drivers.

[Raven3x7]

I think in this case the choice of comparison cards and immature drivers for most of those cards makes the data rather inconclusive. There needed to be at least a comparison to x3100 and also a comparison with AMD IGPs(Since its about comparing the IGPs the data would actually be relevant). At least some results with fglrx would have been interesting. Also why not include Nvidia products as well?
I think I've read on wikipedia that X4500 performance would be on par with nvidia 8400GS, would be nice to see that confirmed for performance in linux...
Regards,

Michael
Don't hold your breath. Any IGP is going to get limited by their memory interface. Also whats that bit about the IGP hving both unified and vertex shaders about? What's the point of having both? Or are Intel just calling the pixel shaders unified and have vertex shaders as well?

[Zhick]

They just happen to have an Xorg repository which grabs snapshots (from the main X components, to Mesa, to drivers) every couple days. It's like a gift from $DIETY for those of us tracking radeonhd and intel drivers.
Gentoo has got something similiar as well. But Michael doesn't seem to like Gentoo, as he rarely mentions it anywhere.

[MrCooper]

I'm afraid the x11perf numbers are rather meaningless without more details about the respective setups. Specifically, I suspect the Radeon numbers were obtained with XAA instead of EXA (thus no RENDER acceleration, making the operation measured a software fallback) and/or the DRI disabled. With xf86-video-ati Git, EXA and the DRI enabled, I'm getting 2390.0/sec on an old Mobility Radeon 9700 even with compiz running. At least the X800XL and the X1800XT should be able to beat that easily.

Not to mention that something like -aa10text should be more relevant in practice.

[Greek]

you mean Shader Model 4.0, not 2.0.

[Goga777]

and whan about HD video acceleration for X4500HD ? is it possible that in this year the Intel Clear Video Technology will implement in linux drivers ? what need for it ? vaapi ?

new motheboards from Intel with G45 chipset - special for HTPC
http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboard/index.htm

DG45FC Intel® G45 LGA775 mini-ITX
DG45ID Intel® G45 LGA775 Micro-ATX

[Goga777]

new motheboards from Intel with G45 chipset - special for HTPC
http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboard/index.htm

DG45FC Intel® G45 LGA775 mini-ITX
DG45ID Intel® G45 LGA775 Micro-ATX

[Gamester17]

and whan about HD video acceleration for X4500HD ? is it possible that in this year the Intel Clear Video Technology will implement in linux drivers ? what need for it ? vaapi ?No, for Linux Intel only provides device drivers which support XvMC (and that only accelerates MPEG-2).
http://www.intellinuxgraphics.org
No graphic manufactures does yet provide device drivers that accelerate H.263 or H.264 video decoding.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_hardware_and_FOSS

Development of VA API (http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/vaapi) seem to have stalled(?), though recently there's been talk about extending XvMC.

[Alecz]

Howe come this new Intel card with a new (young) driver can beat hi-end cards that have had the driver around for so much longer?

[bridgman]

Current suspicion is that the 2D tests were run with XAA on the Radeon cards, which means mostly software fallbacks. Not sure though. The X1300 and X1800 3D support is also pretty recent - notice the X800 (which has been around for a while) was usually faster on 3D.

[mikeee]

Been looking at the new line of Dell Laptops, the E-Series, and they utilize the new intel graphics chip. As a linux user, hopefully the Mandriva 2009 and Fedora 10 distros will have out of box support.

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop_latitude_e6400?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04

It appears this laptop is available for purchase now, though I had to search on dell e laptop to find the product page.

[MetalheadGautham]

In my area, G45 is out and it costs a BOMB. I doubt this would be able to compete with the supposedly cheaper nVidia 730i series motherboards. I mean, HOW can GMA X4500HD stand a chance against 9300GS and 9400GS ?

[Redeeman]

i know that in the united states, bombs are distributed to children freely, but thats not so across the world.

G45 isnt really too expensive, and you might as how it can stand a chance against highend(LOL) nvidia stuff? well.. even intels i810 does, hell, even software rendering has faster 2d than new nvidia stuff..

not to mentation stability and support..

[Goga777]

first tests of G45 chipset
http://www.hkepc.com/?id=1510&page=5&fs=idn

[MetalheadGautham]

first tests of G45 chipset
http://www.hkepc.com/?id=1510&page=5&fs=idn

I hope phoronix does a similar review, but with the following changes:

1. 9950 instead of 9750 because the former is equal to Q6600, not the later.
2. Bench both Catalyst drivers and oss drivers for 780G.

[Goga777]

new MSI's Montevina Mini-ITX Motherboard
http://www.mini-itx.com/2008/07/16/msis-montevina-mini-itx-motherboard


MS-9818 Specifications

Supported processors: 45nm Socket P Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo/Celeron processors
FSB: 1066/800/667 MHz
Chipset: Intel GM45 North Bridge;Intel ICH9M-E South Bridge (with integrated TPM)
Memory: 2x DDR2 800/667MHz SO-DIMM (up to 4GB max RAM)
Graphics: Intel GMA X4500 Graphics with DirectX 10 support
Display Outputs: VGA, DVI-D, HDMI, LVDS
Audio: Realtek ALC888 5.1 Channel HD Audio; 6W Class-D Amplifier
LAN: 2x Gigabit LAN ports (82567LM & 82574L)
Storage:4x SATA II with RAID 0/1/5/10; 1x 44pin IDE
Peripheral Connectivity: 4x USB 2.0 ports + 4x additional USB 2.0 headers; 1x RS-232/RS-422/RS-485 + 5x additional COM headers
Expansion: 1x PCI; 1x Mini PCIe; 1x PCIe x1; 1x Compact Flash (underneath board)
Size: 17cm x 17cm

[Ragool]

Wow, this could be misleading for the average Joe:

ATI HD4500 vs Intel 4500HD
It wouldn't be so bad if they were neck to neck performance wise.
I'm wondering how they'll compare.

After years of struggling with ATI, I am glad to find an alternative that promises to work out-of-the-box. Goodbye ATI, I just recommended it to a friend, and will never purchase another ATI product in future. Doesn't matter if the G45 is 4 points slow in some test or 2 points slower in another, the result will still be enjoyable HD movie watching!

Hip hip Hooray! Freedom from buggy ATI drivers at last .. :)

Cheers

[Ragool]

But lately I've been focusing on trying the AM2 based boards, the 780g and GF8200 (don't have a GF8200 yet, but I will be ordering one soon), and I even jumped the gun last year getting the 690g. And even have a BE-2350 and a 4850e.

I am MOST interested to see the power consumption comparisons for all of these chipsets in idle and while playing some H.264 content. My HTPC is running 24/7. Hoping to somehow be able to play uncompressed 1080p content in linux with one of these chipsets, I really want to get away from depending on Windows for my HTPC.

Mythbuntu 8.10 is going to be awesome on all these new boards.

Do you use one HTPC for each eyeball and one for each ear or audio channel? ;)

Cheers

[HwyXingFrog]

Do you use one HTPC for each eyeball and one for each ear or audio channel? ;)

Cheers

Nope, just trying to find the right one to suit my needs. My current HTPC is using the GF8200 board (But still running windows XP). First it was the ATI 690g (Which has no hardware decoding), then the ATI 780g (This ended up going in my Ubuntu Desktop machine because it worked with Ubuntu 8.04 easily).

I'm in the middle of moving right now, but I'm hoping to try getting hardware decoding and HDMI audio working on the GF8200 in Ubuntu in XBMC.

I'm still waiting to see if they come out with an Atom based board with the Intel G45.

[Ragool]

Nope, just trying to find the right one to suit my needs. My current HTPC is using the GF8200 board (But still running windows XP). First it was the ATI 690g (Which has no hardware decoding), then the ATI 780g (This ended up going in my Ubuntu Desktop machine because it worked with Ubuntu 8.04 easily).

I'm in the middle of moving right now, but I'm hoping to try getting hardware decoding and HDMI audio working on the GF8200 in Ubuntu in XBMC.

I'm still waiting to see if they come out with an Atom based board with the Intel G45.

You see mto change hardware as frequently as some guys change girlfriends ;)

There will be the dual core atom in Q4, then the via nano 3000 dual core and amd neo coming too :)

Good luck!

Cheers

[HwyXingFrog]

You see mto change hardware as frequently as some guys change girlfriends ;)

There will be the dual core atom in Q4, then the via nano 3000 dual core and amd neo coming too :)

Good luck!

Cheers

Yeah, I've been changing so often trying to find the hardware that will suit my needs exactly. (Any old stuff I have just gets demoted to other pc's).

Once I find the hardware that does hardware decoding of 1080p h.264 in linux on a low power integrated graphics, I will be a happy camper.

So, if you know of a setup that works perfectly, and uses an average of 60 watts (mostly idle of course), let me know.

[Ragool]

Yeah, I've been changing so often trying to find the hardware that will suit my needs exactly. (Any old stuff I have just gets demoted to other pc's).

Once I find the hardware that does hardware decoding of 1080p h.264 in linux on a low power integrated graphics, I will be a happy camper.

So, if you know of a setup that works perfectly, and uses an average of 60 watts (mostly idle of course), let me know.

My 780G chipset mobo plays 720p and 1080p at 45 - 50% cpu on a 2.1ghz amd BE-2350 cpu. (To be honest it was until the latest 9.1 catalyst update, now its worse) Currently decoding is done by fglrx drivers and rendering by cpu hence the 40% utilization. Once both decode and render are done by GPU, it should be 5% cpu .. maybe 4-5 months down the line?

Total power consumption of 780G mobo and cpu is pegged at below 50W max at peak utilization - if memory serves me right - from the various reviews I read in the past.


Did you checkout the intel G45 chipset? OSS Xorg drivers that work Out-of-Box, is what I've heard.

Last week AMD released internal documentation on 3D programming of their R6xx/R7xx graphics cards, so OSS drivers that use OpenGL for graphics rendering besides gaming may be out in a few months.

Regards

[grege]

Yeah, I've been changing so often trying to find the hardware that will suit my needs exactly. (Any old stuff I have just gets demoted to other pc's).

Once I find the hardware that does hardware decoding of 1080p h.264 in linux on a low power integrated graphics, I will be a happy camper.

So, if you know of a setup that works perfectly, and uses an average of 60 watts (mostly idle of course), let me know.

I also have a 780g for my HTPC. I cracked it with constant issues with fglrx and bought a $30 Nvidia 8400GS and put it in the pcie slot. It runs a 4850e and a WD GreenPower 1tb drive with a Antec Earth Watts 380 watts power supply. It might use 15-20 watts more with the 8400GS, but it works without trouble. The 8400GS is a low power usage card, and the onboard video is no longer in use. Also Nvidia now supports VDPAU. I do not have anyway of measuring power usage, but it is now hassle free and running Ubuntu 8.10. I also have the sound running through the optical spdif from my Gigabyte motherboard, so sound decoding is done via my Yamaha amp. Configuring the sound was as simple as ticking digital out in the mixer.

I cannot confirm 1080p as it is attached to a Samsung 32" LCD through the VGA connector at 1360x768 at 60Hz. All video and HD TV playback is smooth and flicker free.

You could put in an Nvidia board and wait for fglrx to mature then pull it out. Mine has been in for a long time now.

:)

[jalyst]

Does anyone know if the Q45 chip-set ended-up using a cut down x4500 or just a straight x4500?

Here it seems to suggest x4500...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_GMA#GMA_X4500

Here it suggests x4500HD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_chipsets#Core_2_Chipsets

Also what's the actual difference between x4500 and x4500HD that enables the latter to do full 1080P playback?
Is it purely clock-speed?

Assuming that's all, would it be possible to OC Q45's x4500 to effectively turn it into a x4550HD?

Looking at Intel's site, it suggests the only difference is Intel Clear Video tech...
http://ark.intel.com/Compare.aspx?ids=36527,36526,35132,36524,
What does that actually mean in terms of GPU differences?

I also came across this which seems to suggest there's a Q45M which "does" incorporate CVT
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_overview.aspx?id=en-us0000435
I can't find anything about this "mythical" Q45M so perhaps this is just marketing rubbish.

[jalyst]

got a convo going here for those that may be interested
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16890172#post16890172

[jalyst]

no one care to add some thoughts/advice? :(

[kxmas]

no one care to add some thoughts/advice? :(

My advice is if you need a HTPC, go NVidia. NVidia's VDPAU API for video acceleration is in boxee, mythtv and xmbc. With VDPAU, even the puny Intel Atom processor can handle 1080p.

My HTPC has a 45 watt AMD processor and an NVidia 8300 video chipset. I couldn't be happier with the set up.

My laptop has Intel graphics, and while I appreciate the open source goodness and I know it's going to better when Ubuntu 9.10 is released, right now it sucks.

[jalyst]

My advice is if you need a HTPC, go NVidia. NVidia's VDPAU API for video acceleration is in boxee, mythtv and xmbc. With VDPAU, even the puny Intel Atom processor can handle 1080p.

My HTPC has a 45 watt AMD processor and an NVidia 8300 video chipset. I couldn't be happier with the set up.

My laptop has Intel graphics, and while I appreciate the open source goodness and I know it's going to better when Ubuntu 9.10 is released, right now it sucks.


Sorry I don't think I previously mentioned that I'm building a NAS/"server of all trades"!
It may do some video decoding in the longer-term and may even become a MythTV back-end, but not initially.
And if I did go that route I would almost certainly add a discrete card anyway.

No I've got the following for a HEPC: p35 mobo, 2GB DDR2 800Mhz generic, E4200?*, and a discrete 8600gts.
Is this VDPAU compatible with older gen. cards such as the aforementioned?

I'm trying to determine whether the Intel or nV (730i) chipsets (I'm settled on Intel CPU) is the best route and if the former, the G45 or the Q45.

Just 'some' of the discussions I've been having ;-)
http://communities.intel.com/message/51414
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16890172#post16890172
http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=1942

For me IGP prowess is irrelevant, I care more about base performance without the influence of the IGP.
Raw Mem/CPU performance, & peripheral I/O performance for: SATA, USB, RAID, FW400 etc...


*i think? had the system for 18mth+ and done nothing with it!

[Kjella]

Once I find the hardware that does hardware decoding of 1080p h.264 in linux on a low power integrated graphics, I will be a happy camper. So, if you know of a setup that works perfectly, and uses an average of 60 watts (mostly idle of course), let me know.

ASRock NetTop ION 330 (http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=14026)

If you don't need a DVD/BD drive, then the Acer Aspire Revo 3600 with Linux is even cheaper and also has the nVidia 9400M chipset - full H.264, VC-1 and MPEG2 acceleration.

Both of these draw much less than 60W, I think 30-40W for the ASRock and 20-30W for the Acer. The video acceleration is brilliant, it drops CPU usage to ~0% even for 1080p.

Of course, this means using the nVidia blob otherwise you need a ton of patience.

[Kjella]

No I've got the following for a HEPC: p35 mobo, 2GB DDR2 800Mhz generic, E4200?*, and a discrete 8600gts.
Is this VDPAU compatible with older gen. cards such as the aforementioned?

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VDPAU yes. However according to nVidia's readme file it has full H.264 acceleration, but only PARTIAL VC-1 acceleration. Only the VP3 cards have full VC-1 acceleration.

[jalyst]

Thanks for clarifying, the HTPC/PVR side of things isn't my focus atm, so I'll have to deal with limitations (if any) as they arise.

[jalyst]

Sorry I don't think I previously mentioned that I'm building a NAS/"server of all trades"!
It may do some video decoding in the longer-term and may even become a MythTV back-end, but not initially.
And if I did go that route I would almost certainly add a discrete card anyway.

No I've got the following for a HEPC: p35 mobo, 2GB DDR2 800Mhz generic, E4200?*, and a discrete 8600gts.
Is this VDPAU compatible with older gen. cards such as the aforementioned?

I'm trying to determine whether the Intel or nV (730i) chipsets (I'm settled on Intel CPU) is the best route and if the former, the G45 or the Q45.

Just 'some' of the discussions I've been having ;-)
http://communities.intel.com/message/51414
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=16890172#post16890172
http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=1942

For me IGP prowess is irrelevant, I care more about base performance without the influence of the IGP.
Raw Mem/CPU performance, & peripheral I/O performance for: SATA, USB, RAID, FW400 etc...


*i think? had the system for 18mth+ and done nothing with it!

Any thoughts on this????
North-bridges are very close, nV has an edge so small that in real world terms it means nothing....
I haven't been able to find reviews which compare the south-bridges though :-(
I know the platforms chosen are prolly overkill for what will primarily/initially be a NAS.
But I want the "slack"...

[deanjo]

Any thoughts on this????
North-bridges are very close, nV has an edge so small that in real world terms it means nothing....
I haven't been able to find reviews which compare the south-bridges though :-(
I know the platforms chosen are prolly overkill for what will primarily/initially be a NAS.
But I want the "slack"...

Performance wise you won't see any appreciable difference. It really comes down to what features you want.

[jalyst]

Performance wise you won't see any appreciable difference.

you know that how exactly? ....

cheers,
j

[Zapitron]

Are we there yet? Is the X4500HD chipset suitable for a MythTV frontend? Or does NVidia still have the only hardware decoder working right now? I want to order parts this week and actually get them working, not wait'n'hope for a future driver release.

[Kano]

Go for nvidia with 512 mb vram series 8+.

[BlackStar]

Are we there yet? Is the X4500HD chipset suitable for a MythTV frontend? Or does NVidia still have the only hardware decoder working right now? I want to order parts this week and actually get them working, not wait'n'hope for a future driver release.

I recently bought a nvidia 9500GT (fanless) for my HTPC. First impressions:

- 2D performance is slow but adequate. My previous 7600GS (also fanless) offered *much* better 2D performance.
- Haven't tested 3D performance, but it should be adequate.
- XBMC w/ VDPAU allows perfect 1080p playback on a single-core Athlon64 3200+. Make sure you have enough RAM available (2GB is fine).
- Compiz and XBMC do not play well together.
- Multi-monitor setups are a pain on nvidia. Twinview sucks with different-size monitors and anything else fails to sync correctly.
- XRandR does not work on my setup.
- The drivers do not autodetect newly connected monitors (why, Nvidia?). This is a major pain if you turn on your PC before you turn on your TV.
- Audio passthrough works, but is limited to your sound card's capabilities. This typically means that you won't be able to get 5.1 sound on games and typical desktop usage. DTS/AC3 encoded signals work fine, however.

All in all, I'm underwhelmed. Things work, but support is only borderline adequate. It would actually be fine if I only had a single monitor connected, but add a second one and it will introduce a world of pain.

[whizse]

Are we there yet? Is the X4500HD chipset suitable for a MythTV frontend? Or does NVidia still have the only hardware decoder working right now? I want to order parts this week and actually get them working, not wait'n'hope for a future driver release.
There's only hardware acceleration for MPEG2 at the moment, and I'm not sure if that's available in a release or only from git.

Support for H264 and VC-1 is coming but probably not this year:
http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/xorg/2009-August/047074.html

[Zapitron]

My advice is if you need a HTPC, go NVidia. NVidia's VDPAU API for video acceleration is in boxee, mythtv and xmbc. With VDPAU, even the puny Intel Atom processor can handle 1080p.
I just wanna give a big Thank You out to you and Kano for your advice. I went with a Zotac IONITX (Atom and 9400M) and have been quite pleased by the performance. Sure, with the closed drivers, some day I'm going to update my kernel, go to nvidia's website to get drivers compatible with that kernel, and will find that my hardware is unsupported. As long as that day is enough years away, though, I guess I can't complain much. Hopefully Intel will have their driver finished by then, so that I can replace my disposable motherboard with a permanent one with maintainable drivers.

Good luck and best wishes to the team working on X4500HD. In a few(?) months, I'm buying a second Myth frontend for another room, and I'll be checkin' the Intel driver's progress again then.