Improved ION IGP w/better VDPAU support?

[jalyst]

I'm tempted to 'bite the bullet' and get an all-in-one solution like this...
But I think I'll wait & put together the cheapest Pentium clarkdale + mATX Q57 or H57 solution I can find.

Differences between the series 5 chipsets are explained well here

[Kano]

Compared to an older Core2 cpu the speed for a new i3-530 (about 107 € in germany) intel cpu is really impressive in the already known benchmarks. If you don't need quad core (for heavy compiling) you will certainly like it.

[jalyst]

Do you reckon it's overkill to migrate to this for a front-end or should I wait for nV's ION2 or Intel's Pinetrail + Broadcom VA?

Do you reckon a Clarkdale (pentium) + mobo. will be the same price as a similarly configured Wolfdale + G45 mobo. is now?
I don't want to wait 6-weeks only to find I'm paying 10% (or more) extra ...

[jalyst]

Good point....
With the migration to a nehalem-based platform the need for a GT2xx for video decoding may become unnecessary!?

If this proves true then I'll still add a discrete card later, but a much stronger one based on nV's 'Ferni'.
This could be added/removed when needed for gaming...

[Kano]

Well you have to select a distro with absolutely latest intel drivers to do this with H55/H57. Maybe fedroa rawhide or you use backports for other distros or compile those drivers on your own. I don't know if all outputs will work directly, most likely dvi should work first. From the speed an i3 should be enough to decode most things on its own - maybe latest this year it gets h264 accellaration via vaapi (no idea if vc1 will be implemented). Just be sure that the bios is correctly configured and allows all turbo boost states.

[jalyst]

Thanks but I already knew that, I was referring to this section of post #65.

I'm thinking I'll just use my:
ga-p35-dq6 + c2d (can't recall model) + 4GB DDR2-1066 (corsair) + Gbyte 8600GTS as my Myth BE "&" XBMC FE for the moment.

Then after the clarkdale/arrandale stuff comes out I'll select a CPU + Motherboard for a new front-end.
Initially I'll see how far I can get with just the IGP, but I'll prolly eventually add a GT220.

Good idea you reckon?

Do you reckon a Clarkdale + Mobo will be as cheap as a similarly configured Wolfdale + G45 mobo is now?
I don't want to wait 6-weeks only to find I'm paying 10% (or more) extra when I don't need the extra performance anyway.

[Kano]

There is no P57 as far as i know. H55 is a stripped down variant of the H57 with 2 sata ports less and without the onboard raid functions (you could compare with ICH10 and ICH10R for s775). P55 and H57 should be similar just that H57 can be used with i3 cpus to use the onboard vga connectors - or with 1 pci-e card. If you see a H5x board with 2 pci-e connectors the 2nd could be only used with a i5 or i7 cpu (those have got no onchip vga of course but a 2nd pci-e controller).

[Kano]

That's clear H55 or H57 is needed for clarkdale - otherwise you don't have got the vga/hdmi connectors. Why should somebody spend money on integrated gfx thats useless with a P55?

[Kano]

i5-750 is about 20 € more with quad core. a bit lower default speed but nice cpu too. just get one of the cheaper p55 boards without usb 3/sata 3 - those are more or less useless anyway because you would need to run the gfx card slower or they are just relatively slow. a bit overkill for a movie pc however, but optimal for gaming.

[jalyst]

I'm thinking I'll just use my:
ga-p35-dq6 + c2d (can't recall model) + 4GB DDR2-1066 (corsair) + Gbyte 8600GTS as my Myth BE "&" XBMC FE for the moment.

Then after the clarkdale/arrandale stuff comes out I'll select a CPU + Motherboard for a new front-end.
Initially I'll see how far I can get with just the IGP, but I'll prolly eventually add a GT220.

Good idea you reckon?

Do you reckon a Clarkdale + Mobo will be as cheap as a similarly configured Wolfdale + G45 mobo is now?
I don't want to wait 6-weeks only to find I'm paying 10% (or more) extra when I don't need the extra performance anyway.
And everything better be out on the 7th, I don't want to wait 6-weeks or more

P57, H55, H57, Q57: what's the big difference between all these and the P55?
Wikipedia doesn't go into much detail for the standard or mobile series 5 chipsets.
Do you know anywhere where the differences are explained in more detail?

I can guess what Q57's emphasis is based on chipset series 3/4, & I know that H5x is the series 5 equivalent of G4x.
But I'm not sure what the '7' represents on those chipsets...

6mth+ I'll also build a Core i7+ system for a native VMM/NAS I have in mind, 2010 is going to be an exciting year!