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Guide to Building a HTPC, Workstation and Server - Page 603

post #18061 of 18891
11/25/11 at 10:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post


CPU requirement is a bit complicated.

- AMD CPU + AMD dGPU: As you have to use a software video decoder, Athlon II X3 or A6-3600 or higher is recommended.


Llano APU and SNB (iGPU) need additional considerations. All of these will be explained in the upcoming guide.

As I was about to go grab a new CPU/mobo today (sale) and asked in another thread about an FX setup this concerns me a bit. There you suggested I stay it's the A8 unless I'm playing games which I am not.

Now here you imply the Llano need 'considerations' so should I be moving forward? I too just got your guide and am looking forward to the next.

PM me what you are talking about if it's a guide only thing please?
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Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #18062 of 18891
11/27/11 at 1:09am
BlackGold sent me an email saying that they will not be getting new stock of the BGT3600 until the New Year at the earliest, due to switching suppliers. Their old supplier has badly let them down, it seems.

I guess I'll be getting a BGT3630 and upgrading in the future if I need to...but then no-one (aside from the official website which is the most expensive) has stock of that either. I'll wait until the 30th of November (the supposed "due date") and see what happens.
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post #18063 of 18891
11/27/11 at 10:16am
Rene,
I am building a new Media Server and was wondering what your thoughts were with using WHS 2011 or windows 7 as the OS. No raid, no backup/duplication as I use True Image and schedule periodical images of all the clients. I only have my home movies, music, pictures and important documents along with my images stored in the clouds. So just a JBOD server pool with drive bender if I go with win 7 and either drive bender or drive pool (covetube) if I go with WHS 2011. I have a subscription to technet so I can try either system - just wondered if you had any input?

Will be used just as a media server with the exception that I am adding an ASUS Essence ST sound card and will be using the server for direct music playback via headphones in my office using either foobar or jriver.
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post #18064 of 18891
11/27/11 at 4:34pm
Guys, can anyone help me with film playback in MPC-HC? I can't seem to get it right. First of all, I can't get a 23.976 fps lock in MPC-HC even with nVidia custom refresh rates (using latest drivers). Here's my results:

Custom refresh rate --> Frame rate lock
23.975 --> 23.975
23.976 --> 23.975
23.977 --> 23.975
23.978 --> 23.978
23.979 --> 23.978

Is 23.975 as good as I'm going to get with my GT 430 and this particular TV? Also, the actual refresh rate seems to vary wildly in MPC-HC even with a frame rate lock of 23.975. It'll constantly move around between about 23.95 and 24.00 Hz, whereas my desktop usually only varies around 0.001 Hz during playback.

Additionally, I can't seem to play any film without occasional judder. I'm using LAV with CUVID and have tried native 23.976 Hz and also with Reclock at 24 Hz. I've tried playing from my file server (via ethernet) and also a local file but the result is always the same - it plays fine for anywhere between 5-20 seconds then it will judder for anything between a couple of frames to a few seconds before going back to normal. It looks like frames being dropped, like when your hardware can't handle the video, but according to MPC-HC, that's not the case (only 9 dropped frames in a whole 2 hour film).

Help?
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post #18065 of 18891
11/28/11 at 7:07am
Renethx,

Based on the guide, I thought that MadVR was possible with integrated GPU, no problem on a GT430, and anything above that would be a bonus. I built a machine with a GT440 (with GDDR5) and I'm basically maxing out the GPU to use MadVR.

I'm using J River Media Center with Red October HQ and additional hardware filters (LAV CUVID + MadVR). All default settings. I'm watching Live TV.

I am only using a 720p TV so you'd think it would be even easier on the GPU. What's going on?
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post #18066 of 18891
11/28/11 at 9:46am
Hey Rene what's your thoughts on a 6570 for madvr? I know nvidia is better. Any advancements on the amd side. What would be my limitations?
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post #18067 of 18891
11/28/11 at 10:19am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by HTPCat View Post

Rene,
I am building a new Media Server and was wondering what your thoughts were with using WHS 2011 or windows 7 as the OS. No raid, no backup/duplication as I use True Image and schedule periodical images of all the clients. I only have my home movies, music, pictures and important documents along with my images stored in the clouds. So just a JBOD server pool with drive bender if I go with win 7 and either drive bender or drive pool (covetube) if I go with WHS 2011. I have a subscription to technet so I can try either system - just wondered if you had any input?

Will be used just as a media server with the exception that I am adding an ASUS Essence ST sound card and will be using the server for direct music playback via headphones in my office using either foobar or jriver.

I think either one is good for your purpose. The only missing feature in WHS 2011 is WMC, that you won't use anyway.
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post #18068 of 18891
11/28/11 at 10:38am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DragonQ View Post

Guys, can anyone help me with film playback in MPC-HC? I can't seem to get it right. First of all, I can't get a 23.976 fps lock in MPC-HC even with nVidia custom refresh rates (using latest drivers). Here's my results:

Custom refresh rate --> Frame rate lock
23.975 --> 23.975
23.976 --> 23.975
23.977 --> 23.975
23.978 --> 23.978
23.979 --> 23.978

Is 23.975 as good as I'm going to get with my GT 430 and this particular TV? Also, the actual refresh rate seems to vary wildly in MPC-HC even with a frame rate lock of 23.975. It'll constantly move around between about 23.95 and 24.00 Hz, whereas my desktop usually only varies around 0.001 Hz during playback.

Additionally, I can't seem to play any film without occasional judder. I'm using LAV with CUVID and have tried native 23.976 Hz and also with Reclock at 24 Hz. I've tried playing from my file server (via ethernet) and also a local file but the result is always the same - it plays fine for anywhere between 5-20 seconds then it will judder for anything between a couple of frames to a few seconds before going back to normal. It looks like frames being dropped, like when your hardware can't handle the video, but according to MPC-HC, that's not the case (only 9 dropped frames in a whole 2 hour film).

Help?

Which video renderer are you using? What's "Frame rate lock"? madVR reports the correct desktop refresh rate.
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post #18069 of 18891
11/28/11 at 10:44am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Smalter View Post

Renethx,

Based on the guide, I thought that MadVR was possible with integrated GPU, no problem on a GT430, and anything above that would be a bonus. I built a machine with a GT440 (with GDDR5) and I'm basically maxing out the GPU to use MadVR.

I'm using J River Media Center with Red October HQ and additional hardware filters (LAV CUVID + MadVR). All default settings. I'm watching Live TV.

I am only using a 720p TV so you'd think it would be even easier on the GPU. What's going on?

Is madVR in windowed mode? Fullscreen exclusive mode is a lot easier for GPU.

720p: Is this your display's native resolution? Or are you talking about the resolution of the video source? 720p -> 1080p upscaling requires some GPU power.
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post #18070 of 18891
11/28/11 at 10:48am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whiteboy714 View Post

Hey Rene what's your thoughts on a 6570 for madvr? I know nvidia is better. Any advancements on the amd side. What would be my limitations?

6570 is a good choice for madVR. madVR can utilize all of AMD's video post-processors (well, deinterlacing is the only important one).
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post #18071 of 18891
11/28/11 at 10:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

Is madVR in windowed mode? Fullscreen exclusive mode is a lot easier for GPU.

720p: Is this your display's native resolution? Or are you talking about the resolution of the video source? 720p -> 1080p upscaling requires some GPU power.

720p is the display's resolution (it's actually 1366 x 768). The source is whatever live TV is, which is usually 720p or 1080i.

I do use exclusive mode and notice fewer problems with it, but the GPU usage is still high. What should I be expecting for GPU usage?
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post #18072 of 18891
11/28/11 at 11:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

6570 is a good choice for madVR. madVR can utilize all of AMD's video post-processors (well, deinterlacing is the only important one).

Oh really. Nice. So I just set it up the same minus cuvid or whatever it's called. I've been away from amd for a while I remember there was something called HAM? Thanks a lot Rene as always.
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post #18073 of 18891
11/28/11 at 11:43am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Smalter View Post

720p is the display's resolution (it's actually 1366 x 768). The source is whatever live TV is, which is usually 720p or 1080i.

I do use exclusive mode and notice fewer problems with it, but the GPU usage is still high. What should I be expecting for GPU usage?

So what's the desktop resolution? 720p? madVR's scaling algorithms? Deinterlacing 1080i to 1080p, then downscaling it to 720p will require lots of GPU power if both are done by GPU (> 90%). If you see lots of dropped frames, workarounds are:

- Change luma downsampling algorithm to a low-quality one, e.g. Bicubic.
- Use ffdshow Video Decoder with yadif deinterlacer on. So madVR uses GPU only for luma downsampling, leaving deinterlacing to CPU.
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post #18074 of 18891
11/28/11 at 11:50am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whiteboy714 View Post

Oh really. Nice. So I just set it up the same minus cuvid or whatever it's called. I've been away from amd for a while I remember there was something called HAM? Thanks a lot Rene as always.

If your CPU is SNB, then you can use Intel Quick Sync video decoder (built in the latest ffdshow Video Decoder) that uses MFX of Intel HD Graphics to decode videos (how). Otherwise you have to use a software video decoder, e.g. madVR's one. CyberLink HAM can't decode interlaced contents properly.
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post #18075 of 18891
11/28/11 at 12:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

So what's the desktop resolution? 720p? madVR's scaling algorithms? Deinterlacing 1080i to 1080p, then downscaling it to 720p will require lots of GPU power if both are done by GPU (> 90%). If you see lots of dropped frames, workarounds are:

- Change luma downsampling algorithm to a low-quality one, e.g. Bicubic.
- Use ffdshow Video Decoder with yadif deinterlacer on. So madVR uses GPU only for luma downsampling, leaving deinterlacing to CPU.

The desktop resolution is 1366x768. The algorithms are whatever the defaults are for madVR in JRiver MC.

Are you saying that it would actually be faster for me to set the resolution to 1920 x 1080 and let the TV's processor downsample it? (Windows reports the max resolution of the TV as 1920 x 1080 even though its native resolution is 1366x768 - I think this is just because HDMI is lousy at communicating this type of thing).

I'm not seeing dropped frames (although CTRL+J to show me the MadVR info weirdly does not work on this computer).
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post #18076 of 18891
11/28/11 at 1:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

If your CPU is SNB, then you can use Intel Quick Sync video decoder (built in the latest ffdshow Video Decoder) that uses MFX of Intel HD Graphics to decode videos (how). Otherwise you have to use a software video decoder, e.g. madVR's one. CyberLink HAM can't decode interlaced contents properly.

I see. Im using an i3-550 so I guess that means madvr. Thanks so much.
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post #18077 of 18891
11/28/11 at 1:24pm
Any suggestions on a SATA 6Gb Add on card maybe one with USB 3 if they even make those if not just SATA 6Gb is fine. Don't feel like upgrading motherboard just for that.

Thanks
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post #18078 of 18891
11/28/11 at 1:31pm
Hey guys - I'm just looking for a little reassurance/confidence boost if possible. I've never built a PC before but I would consider myself quite "tech literate". Anyways, I feel comfortable using the guide to buy all the parts but I'm nervous that I'm going to end up with $500 worth of parts laying around my apartment. Are there any good guides to help with the actual construction of the HTPC or PC's in general? Thanks!
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post #18079 of 18891
11/28/11 at 1:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DemBums View Post

Hey guys - I'm just looking for a little reassurance/confidence boost if possible. I've never built a PC before but I would consider myself quite "tech literate". Anyways, I feel comfortable using the guide to buy all the parts but I'm nervous that I'm going to end up with $500 worth of parts laying around my apartment. Are there any good guides to help with the actual construction of the HTPC or PC's in general? Thanks!

I just finished my first PC build using the Guide as the base and looking for NewEgg and Amazon sales/deals to modify. But for the actual construction, I found this book quite useful. It's dated in a lot of ways, but the step-by-step descriptions were accurate and right at my level. The build was fun. I took it slowly, one segment at a time, and it is working! What would have taken one of the experts here 60-90 minutes took me 8 hours over 5 days. Good luck.
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post #18080 of 18891
11/28/11 at 1:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

Which video renderer are you using? What's "Frame rate lock"? madVR reports the correct desktop refresh rate.

I've tried MadVR and EVR, both have the same results in MPC-HC. Frame lock is what you see in the stats (CTRL + J) in MPC-HC when using EVR - it's presumably the speed the file is being played at.

Interestingly, when playing back the same files in MediaPortal (using its built-in EVR renderer), there is no judder at all. So I guess it's a problem with MPC-HC. What it is, I don't know. I'd like to use MPC-HC rather than MediaPortal's built-in renderer so I can use MadVR but at the moment, I can't.
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post #18081 of 18891
11/28/11 at 2:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike in Virginia View Post

I just finished my first PC build using the Guide as the base and looking for NewEgg and Amazon sales/deals to modify. But for the actual construction, I found this book quite useful. It's dated in a lot of ways, but the step-by-step descriptions were accurate and right at my level. The build was fun. I took it slowly, one segment at a time, and it is working! What would have taken one of the experts here 60-90 minutes took me 8 hours over 5 days. Good luck.

Thanks Mike.
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post #18082 of 18891
11/28/11 at 5:39pm
Looking at your April 2011 guide it recommends a "Graphics Card (NVIDIA): SPARKLE SXT440512D5NM GeForce GT 440 GDDR5 512MB, $70" under mid-range AMD. Upon comparing prices within newegg, it looks like you can now get a GeForce Gt 520 for under $60, cheaper than the GT 440 ($75ish).

Is the GT 520 a better choice or is there a reason that you picked the GT440?

Besides the GT440 SXT440512D5NM is no longer available thru newegg.


GT520
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20%28Fermi%29

GT440
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20%28Fermi%29
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post #18083 of 18891
11/28/11 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DemBums View Post

Hey guys - I'm just looking for a little reassurance/confidence boost if possible. I've never built a PC before but I would consider myself quite "tech literate". Anyways, I feel comfortable using the guide to buy all the parts but I'm nervous that I'm going to end up with $500 worth of parts laying around my apartment. Are there any good guides to help with the actual construction of the HTPC or PC's in general? Thanks!

Check out these video tutorials. http://www.missingremote.com/guide/b...ssembling-htpc
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post #18084 of 18891
11/28/11 at 6:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

If your CPU is SNB, then you can use Intel Quick Sync video decoder (built in the latest ffdshow Video Decoder) that uses MFX of Intel HD Graphics to decode videos (how). Otherwise you have to use a software video decoder, e.g. madVR's one. CyberLink HAM can't decode interlaced contents properly.

How do I be sure that Madge is doing the deinterlacing? Just check the boxes in the Madvr settings?
Quote:
Originally Posted by guppy1 View Post

Looking at your April 2011 guide it recommends a "Graphics Card (NVIDIA): SPARKLE SXT440512D5NM GeForce GT 440 GDDR5 512MB, $70" under mid-range AMD. Upon comparing prices within newegg, it looks like you can now get a GeForce Gt 520 for under $60, cheaper than the GT 440 ($75ish).

Is the GT 520 a better choice or is there a reason that you picked the GT440?

Besides the GT440 SXT440512D5NM is no longer available thru newegg.


GT520
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20%28Fermi%29

GT440
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%20%28Fermi%29

I believe the 520 is even weaker then the 430.
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post #18085 of 18891
11/28/11 at 8:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg Smalter View Post

Are you saying that it would actually be faster for me to set the resolution to 1920 x 1080 and let the TV's processor downsample it?

Yes. If madVR does down/upscaling (e.g. 1080->720, 480->1080), it may use lots of GPU processing power, depending on madVR's algorithm.

If you don't see dropped frames, leave as it is. High GPU usage is normal in your configuration.
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post #18086 of 18891
11/28/11 at 9:11pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BDestroyer8418 View Post

Any suggestions on a SATA 6Gb Add on card maybe one with USB 3 if they even make those if not just SATA 6Gb is fine. Don't feel like upgrading motherboard just for that.

Thanks

Rocket 620 is cheap and good.
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post #18087 of 18891
11/28/11 at 9:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DemBums View Post

Hey guys - I'm just looking for a little reassurance/confidence boost if possible. I've never built a PC before but I would consider myself quite "tech literate". Anyways, I feel comfortable using the guide to buy all the parts but I'm nervous that I'm going to end up with $500 worth of parts laying around my apartment. Are there any good guides to help with the actual construction of the HTPC or PC's in general? Thanks!

A free guide to assembling a PC:

- Computer-building resource thread (AnandTech Forum)
- How To Assemble A Desktop PC (Wikibooks)
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post #18088 of 18891
11/28/11 at 9:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by guppy1 View Post

Is the GT 520 a better choice or is there a reason that you picked the GT440?

Actually GT 520 is the worst choice in terms of performance, including video playback. (20 < 30, 40, ...) I recommend GT 430 or higher.
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post #18089 of 18891
11/28/11 at 9:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whiteboy714 View Post

How do I be sure that Madge is doing the deinterlacing? Just check the boxes in the Madvr settings?

What's "Madge"? Press Ctrl+J and you will see "deinterlacing on/off".
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post #18090 of 18891
11/28/11 at 9:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by renethx View Post

What's "Madge"? Press Ctrl+J and you will see "deinterlacing on/off".

Sorry stupid auto correct. I meant madvr. Thanks for the answer though.
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