i3 no hardware acceleration?

---

Added on November 18, 2010, 1:22 pmeven a quad cores is also hitting such a high usage rate when decoding m2ts. hmmm....i tot 4 cores should hv no prob....

if i were to get a discrete GPU, i probably wont opt for i3
i would rather go for Athlon II + GPU or C2D + GPU since the cost would probably lower than i3.

if i3 is proven have no issue on HD video and audio by using DXVA decoding, then i will stick to it.

---

Added on November 18, 2010, 1:24 pmmeaning to say it is somehow related to player itself?
is tat 24p playback wont hv jitter on TMT 3?

---

Added on November 18, 2010, 1:27 pmactually i prefer DIY RIG as it is not solely use for HTPC only.
i will use it to run some application, word processing those...

then it also allows me to hv the flexibility to upgrade if in the future i found the power is not enough to handle anymore..


This post has been edited by cougar richard: Nov 18 2010, 01:27 PM

Hi,

I'm trying to build a HTPC with a budget of 1-1.2k.

My list of hardwares are :

AMD Athlon II X3 440
ASUS M4N68T-M
Kingston Value 2GB DDR3
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB
CoolerMaster Extreme 400W

and also a HTPC casing. Is this setup sufficient for a HTPC and is it able to view 1080p MKV videos smoothly? Or I have to add in another graphics card?

Thank you.

i3 can decode your movie but you are looking at high cpu ultilization and if your antivirus is running background you may face some lag...

since you said you prefer a DIY rig cause you need the upgrades option I would to suggest you to take a non all in 1 board as all in 1 board has limited upgrades...

get a motherboard which support alot of pci express for upgrade and preferred a non all in 1 card...

else it is quite defeat the purpose if you build your own system and your cards has all sorts of limitation and you will end up spending more...

jchue73

please try yeah as i believe this thread is the only place to ask for assistance.... thank you very much. will send a PM to you.

wow lots and lots of opinions. this is good, that is no good. that one have this advantage, this one have that advantage. sure gonna make possible adopters turn away from the whole htpc idea.

1. if you want an absolutely fuss free playback platform, GET A DUNE. a htpc ain't for everyone.

2. if you're concerned about 23.976Hz playback and jitter on a htpc, GET A DUNE. no matter what type of graphics card you use, THERE WILL BE JITTER. yes ATi 5XXX card included (not only i3 IGP). and quite possibly any nVidia GC too. a PC uses multiple clock reference unlike a media player that could lock all its clock to a single clock generator. a PC have different clock reference for audio, video, cpu, northbrigde, southbridge and all that crap. and the OS manage everything, usually trying to sync everything to the CPU clock. an impossible feat at best for a software to sync a hardware clock to one another. YOU NEED TO USE RECLOCK.

3. some people won't notice motion jitter. a lot won't. i never noticed it when i was running on my LCD. because LCD just don't have that fast of a response rate. jitter is a dead giveaway after i installed my 50" full hd plasma. and mind you, ATi have a perfect 24p (23.976Hz) refresh rate. even then motion jitter is hugely noticeable on the new screen. refer above for reason.

4. AMD CPU generally have lots more heat dissipation compared to Intel CPU.

5. multicore CPU have even more heat.

6. most decoder can't properly make use of multiple core to decode video. ffdshow used to be one of it. no idea whether it has trickled down to the stable releases. only nightly builds used to have such capability. want low CPU usage (and make use of multiple core to decode) ? use CoreAVC.

7. if core i3 internal graphics processor sucks for you, you could always plug in another GC into it. why yes it's possible. the internal GPU will be disabled.

8. there's no non-IGP equipped core i3 because the IGP is integrated inside the CPU. so there's no i3 mainboard that don't have internal graphics because it's inside the CPU. wait i already said that.

9. DXVA hardware acceleration is implemented in most new GPU architecture. intel IGP, ATI, nVidia all have them. if hardware acc is hugely important for you, it'd be good to know that your choice aren't only limited to nvidia ion.

10. do forget the atom platform if you could pay the electric bill. because not all movies are encoded to allow for DXVA acceleration. you still need pure CPU processing power for some rare occasion. atom don't have that.

can't remember other questions.
but for someone that wants an absolute fuss free playback, i would seriously suggest the DUNE.

and echohesian, the motion deblocking problem with core i3 during DXVA acceleration could be cured by simply using the Microsoft DTD decoder that came with Windows 7. or maybe you could try CoreAVC. not free though. ffdshow still have this deblocking problem on i3. probably have to wait till either ffdshow new version or intel fix it with a new driver. try the ffdshow nightly builds just in case.

p/s: just drove for 6 hours so do forgive the crankiness

---

Added on November 18, 2010, 4:14 pmshi* i just messed up jitter with judder. not motion jitter, motion judder.

This post has been edited by paskal: Nov 18 2010, 04:14 PM

Good points there..... I like it.....

as bro paskal says, if using DXVA then cpu utilisation should be adequate.
but in rare case certain encoding doesnt allow the use of DXVA then it has prob.
since certain movie cannot use DXVA, then i think by getting a discrete GPU wont help either in this case.

I dont understand wat do u mean by all in one board and all in one card bro. mind clarify?

actually i dont need many pci express. if i were to buy graphic card, then most probably i will buy is only one card. it is hardly possible for me to CF/SLI as i dont need it. i hardly game actually. juz need a durable, quiet, and serve my needs as stated b4 will do.

in that case... why not just get a DUNE it is way better and much more flexible...

but since you wanted a htpc... and since you wanted to customize 1...

I would advise you to take a discreet graphics get a Nvidia 210 or 310
or Ati 5450 it is cheap and made for HTPC...

easy bro, dont get pissed...

wat a good reply u hv there..

1. perhaps will get a DUNE or other media player in future. but i cannot foresee when yet.
so now i will use PC as a HTPC also. where it allows me to perform paperwork, BT, entertainment, some light softwares usage those stuff...

2. since ATI do hv jitter, i think i might juz stick to IGP will do.

3. i do attach to FULL HD LCD TV sometime. that is one of the reason i build tis PC. but not always. most of the time i will be using it with a FULL HD monitor..probably in the future i will get another FULL HD TV to connect to it.

4. i heard some other forumer says nowadays AMD can be running cooler than an INTEL proc. well...i never tested.

5. based on previous comment, i3's IGP should hv no prob on handling FULL HD video. if it does, the i might need to opt for an discrete GPU. of course, i would prefer not to spending money again on decoding HD video.

6. i think if need to utilise the IGP, need to pair with either H55/H57 board only rite? as other boards if paired up then the IGP cannot be used and need to get a discrete GPU instead.

7. for that rare occasion of cannot use DXVA, i think it has no choice as discrete GPU also wont help either too.

so from all the conclusion, i think i3 still suits me for my need.

but now another dilemma arised...

to buy i3 or wait for sandy bridge?

one thing i afraid is when sandy bridge is released, then the current cpu line up might increase their prices....
like DDR2 is more expensive than DDR3...

---

Added on November 18, 2010, 5:36 pmyeah, but with DUNE i cannot do word processing, light software usage like photoshop those....which i need also...

so as per bro paskal said, if IGP really disappoint me. then ATI 5000 series is the way.
Nvidia still cannot bitstream rite?

This post has been edited by cougar richard: Nov 18 2010, 05:36 PM

How is the performance of the Dune in terms of 24p playback compared to HTPC? Smooth without judders? Quality? At the moment, my HTPC is like a Swiss Army knife. Does almost everything.

How much cheaper is the Nvidia chipset vs Intel chipset? I've always gone with Intel for performance and stability. Oh, AMD chipsets are getting better in terms of stability.

---

Added on November 18, 2010, 5:56 pmOn my system, I only find that my audio skips. Playback is smooth with or without DXVA. The occasional slight judder on fast action panning scenes is mostly due to my LCD TV not able to keep up. So that may be the case with your Plasma.



This post has been edited by jchue73: Nov 18 2010, 05:56 PM

Bro Intel Integrated graphics is the worst and dont tell me on stability if you are referring to processor YES but graphics just stick to ATi or nvidia... intel somehow sux at graphics...

Bear in mind, if using ffdshow DXVA... subtitles will not work properly it has artifacts surrounding the wordings...

May I ask, which DUNE are you talking about?

i think gaming yes, but HD playback still fine rite?

---

Added on November 18, 2010, 11:38 pmso any fix for it?

This post has been edited by cougar richard: Nov 18 2010, 11:38 PM

Intel Graphics I assume you are using the HD intel GMA, they some how still do a pretty bad job in de-interlacing so my advise just spend fer hundred more and get a nvidia 210 or Ati 5450 this 2 card is very cheap on the market...

i am not using yet. it is on my plan, soon to get in 2 weeks time
i3 in on my plan currently.

not sure hows the comparison for progressive scan btw intel and discrete GPU.
u faced bad experience with intel's progressive scan?

my i3 Dell Vostro has 2 cards Intel and Nvidia 310m

my advise get nvisia or Ati...

what is the screen resolution supported in dell zino? want to hook up my hdready crt tv to dell zino if possible, via a pc to tv converter (which supports up to 1600x1200 resolution).

well basically Dell Zino HD support various resolution... look it is a PC...

the question is the connectors

Dell Zino HD has VGA out and HDMI out

so you need to figure it out how to connect to your TV

What would be the minimum specification of the Zino to be able to play blueray or 1080 etc?