Well, in this case the focus is IGP.. I haven't experience any trouble with HD playback with any mid to mid-high end GPU personally. Even without dedicated HD decoding unit, G70/R580 class or higher would play HD contents without issues (albeit at high CPU usages)
The thing is, the mATX boards which are a logical choice for a HTPC build cannot handle these HD contents properly. Again, if someone were to build a system on a mATX board today, I'd think s/he intends:
1. To build a basic office/web desktop (that can handle games like bejeweled or WarCraft 3)
2. To build a HTPC for media playback
3. To build a small footprint rig (w/ a discrete GPU)
In my opinion, under the current state of mATX boards, only the case #1 would be truly met with satisfaction. The irony is that all major players (Intel, AMD, NV) tout the HD playback foremost when it comes to their IGP solution these days, but for some reason there just aren't thorough reviews regarding it (that really help the target group) I can find online. Why is DX10 even an issue on an IGP? What's the point of graphs showing FPS improvement from 5 FPS to 8 FPS?
I have not found ONE review that compares HD playback among IGPs THOROUGHLY, meaning testing up to 1080p using major 3 codecs. (MPEG2, AVC, and VC-1) But almost all reviews don't skip 3DMarks..
I know I'm whining, but I couldn't help but. I know there are quite a few reviewers frequent B3D and wanted to voice my frustration. I know I'm not the only one.
The thing is, the mATX boards which are a logical choice for a HTPC build cannot handle these HD contents properly. Again, if someone were to build a system on a mATX board today, I'd think s/he intends:
1. To build a basic office/web desktop (that can handle games like bejeweled or WarCraft 3)
2. To build a HTPC for media playback
3. To build a small footprint rig (w/ a discrete GPU)
In my opinion, under the current state of mATX boards, only the case #1 would be truly met with satisfaction. The irony is that all major players (Intel, AMD, NV) tout the HD playback foremost when it comes to their IGP solution these days, but for some reason there just aren't thorough reviews regarding it (that really help the target group) I can find online. Why is DX10 even an issue on an IGP? What's the point of graphs showing FPS improvement from 5 FPS to 8 FPS?
I have not found ONE review that compares HD playback among IGPs THOROUGHLY, meaning testing up to 1080p using major 3 codecs. (MPEG2, AVC, and VC-1) But almost all reviews don't skip 3DMarks..
I know I'm whining, but I couldn't help but. I know there are quite a few reviewers frequent B3D and wanted to voice my frustration. I know I'm not the only one.
