Not sure how often I've said it... When playing (ripped) 1080p videos especially those in MKV container format, processor speed is much more important as it does not fully rely on GPU HD video decode acceleration... as the above results (mADmAN) have already shown. Heck, I can also play 1080p videos on normal GPUs without HD video acceleration.. just need the right processor.

This post has been edited by lex: Jan 28 2009, 06:49 AM

MPC-HC will only work if the video stream complies with DVXA standards, otherwise it will revert back to (intensive) software decoding. And I have tried on many systems and I can tell you that with 1080p MKV you'll need a fast processor as many of the players I've tried does not use GPU acceleration at all (should be due to the way MKV demultiplexor handles the codec part).

Quote from CCCP moderator on MKV playback problems..

I tried those many (many) moons ago, same thing.. does not work with GPU acceleration. Cards tested.. 8600GT, 8800GT, HD2600XT, etc.. etc..

This post has been edited by lex: Jan 29 2009, 10:04 PM

MKV playback does not work with GPU acceleration.. period! I need at least a E6600 (with slight overclock) and X2 5400+ to get it running properly and (almost) very smoothly. Whatever settings you've mentioned, it comes back to the processor again. Video lag is a very good indicator (sound comes first, not in sync with picture).. And re-encoding the video to MP4, WMV and AVI just to use GPU accelerated players is not something I would like to waste a lot of time with.

Cheaper alternative: GigaByte GA-73PVM-S2H Other alternative, get a cheap G31 chipset motherboard and install a cheap HDMI ready card. Anyway why worry about the GPU acceleration part? The processor is already fast enough to do it in software.

Get a good branded one, definitely not cap ayam ones. I'm currently using Delta and AcBel for 24/7... previously was Enlight (HPC OEM).

It can run those provided you change the processor... suggest at least a Core 2 Duo E6600 and higher (the faster the better). Since it doesn't have hardware decode acceleration, will rely mostly on processor speed for decoding thus the faster the processor the better. The problem is finding a fast 65nm processor nowadays, usually you would have to look around in the garage sales...

This post has been edited by lex: Feb 12 2009, 05:23 AM

Make sure the graphics card has HDMI, or otherwise get a DVI to HDMI adapter. Even the lowly 8400GS also has PureVideo.

By the way, the GigaByte GA-73PVM-S2H is around RM295 to RM340 and comes with HDMI already but its not an easy board to find.

Looking at the specifications, a true power 300W to 400W would be suffcient, since most of the hardware are low power. You'll only need a 550W for a gaming machine with more powerful graphics cards such as the GTX260+, GTX280 and HD4870.

Below are considered 400W+ PSUs under the "affordable" list...

- Silverstone Strider ST40F 400W
- Gigabyte SuperB 460W (real power 400W)
- CoolerMaster Extreme Power Plus 460W (real power 420W)
- AcBel E2 Power 470W (real power 420W)

This is the correct list: MSI 945GM3-F CPU Support List. As I've mentioned before, this board supports 65nm dual cores mostly. Re-quote from here..

Whats your total budget, by the way?

This post has been edited by lex: Feb 12 2009, 06:36 AM

Nopes, your current MSI 945GM3 motherboard does not support 45nm processors such as the E5300 nor E7400.

The 65nm E4700 is supported on your current motherboard.

But I don't think you can find the E4700 in retail anymore nowadays, its EOL'ed.

So many HDDs? I would suggest a true power PSU of 400W and preferably higher.

The heavy price is most probably due to that touch screen LCD in the front... Nice "touch" by the way.

Check your sound hardware settings... Also you might want to try CCCP...

This post has been edited by lex: Feb 22 2009, 04:28 AM