Getting the Best out of an Ivy Bridge HTPC: Windows 8, madVR and More..
by Ganesh T S on January 20, 2013 3:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Intel
- HTPC
- Ivy Bridge
- Windows 8
- Passive Cooling
HTPC Decoding and Rendering Benchmarks: madVR
In the preceding section, we looked at EVR and EVR-CP. Videophiles often prefer madVR as their renderer because of the choice of scaling algorithms available as well as myriad other features. In our original Ivy Bridge HTPC review, I had been very satisfied with HD 4000 and madVR except for a few corner cases involving high frame rate material which also required both luma and chroma scaling (such as 720p60 material). One of the issues in our initial testbed was that we were using DDR3-1333 DRAM. Our current system under consideration uses DDR3-1600. This is more than enough to get madVR working with default scaling algorithm settings for all video material 1080p60 or lesser. Readers interested in seeing madVR in action on the HD 4000 should definitely check out Andrew's excellent piece in Missing Remote comparing HD 2500 and HD 4000 for madVR.
It is not possible to use native DXVA2 decoding with madVR because the decoded frames are not made available to an external renderer directly. To work around this issue, LAV Video Decoder offers three options. The first option involves using software decoding.
| LAV Video Decoder (Software Fallback) + madVR | ||
| Stream | GPU Usage % | Power Consumption |
| 480i60 MPEG-2 | 70.84 | 48.19 |
| 576i50 H.264 | 72.8 | 50.41 |
| 720p60 H.264 | 75.88 | 58.23 |
| 1080i60 H.264 | 61.51 | 59.05 |
| 1080i60 MPEG-2 | 61.22 | 55.09 |
| 1080i60 VC-1 | 62.22 | 59.85 |
| 1080p60 H.264 | 73.65 | 60.91 |
The second option is to use either QuickSync or DXVA2 Copy-Back. In either case, the decoded frames are brought back to the system memory for madVR to take over. The power consumption profile improves quite a bit, particularly for the 720p60 and 1080p60 streams.
| LAV Video Decoder (QuickSync) + madVR | ||
| Stream | GPU Usage % | Power Consumption |
| 480i60 MPEG-2 | 71.37 | 47.72 |
| 576i50 H.264 | 71.28 | 49.83 |
| 720p60 H.264 | 75.76 | 54.92 |
| 1080i60 H.264 | 62.5 | 56.15 |
| 1080i60 MPEG-2 | 62.02 | 55.81 |
| 1080i60 VC-1 | 61.86 | 55.94 |
| 1080p60 H.264 | 66.31 | 56.58 |
One of the interesting features to be integrated into the recent madVR releases is the option to perform DXVA scaling. This is particularly interesting for HTPCs running Intel GPUs because the Intel HD Graphics engine uses dedicated hardware to implement support for the DXVA scaling API calls. AMD and NVIDIA apparently implement those calls using pixel shaders. In order to obtain a frame of reference, we repeated our benchmark process using DXVA2 scaling for both luma and chroma instead of the default settings.
| LAV Video Decoder (QuickSync) + madVR (DXVA Scaling) | ||
| Stream | GPU Usage % | Power Consumption |
| 480i60 MPEG-2 | 50.33 | 43.54 |
| 576i50 H.264 | 52.39 | 44.33 |
| 720p60 H.264 | 57.34 | 48.82 |
| 1080i60 H.264 | 62.63 | 55.52 |
| 1080i60 MPEG-2 | 62.34 | 55.21 |
| 1080i60 VC-1 | 62.06 | 55.51 |
| 1080p60 H.264 | 65.56 | 55.33 |
DXVA scaling results in much lower GPU usage for SD material in particular with a corresponding decrease in average power consumption too. Users with Intel GPUs can continue to enjoy other madVR features while giving up on the choice of a wide variety of scaling algorithms.
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Death666Angel - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
I have no issues with Win8. The desktop experience is virtually no different than the Win7 experience for me, I have no had any program or driver issues and the few things that are changed are for the better (the copy dialogue being the one I love the most).I'm not saying you have to like Win8, but I don't see the downsides personally. :)
damianrobertjones - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
So... you're KNOWINGLY refusing business. I would instantly walk out and never use you or your services again.When you're out of a job please return here.
johnsmith9875 - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
As a network admin I was horrified to find out that Server 2012 shares the Window 8 interface.As an IT professional I have better things to do than be forced to re-learn how to use Windows Server because they decided to slap the goofy Win8 UI on their server products.
nikon133 - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
Having to learn new things is part of MS experience. Refreshing exams and all that.All our senior engineers are excited with Server 2012. We do a lot of Hyper-V, and improvements in management, switching between core and GUI (among other things) are considered worth the change.
It would be great if once learned stuff in IT can serve for whole professional life, but with dynamics IT have, that expectation is a bit optimistic. Being an IT professional means learning one's whole life.
lotharamious - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
And there it is. People get in to IT because they love using computers, most likely playing games on Windows. I know that's how I got into computers. But decided on a diffferent career path.But then you IT guys say to yourself "I already know how Windows works". So when it changes, man are you guys pissed because heaven forbid you actually learn something new.
I don't buy this "I used it for a few days, hated it, and reinstalled 7" crap. If you seriously can't figure out the Start Screen after a few hours, you can't adapt at all, or (more likely) never tried it and decided to h8 because that's what your buddies do.
Sure the current metro apps are bad, but the paradigm is solid. Even with mishmashed desktop, it's no different that Windows 7.
LoneWolf15 - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
It has nothing to do with "figuring it out". I figured it out, and found that on the desktop, it's a big step backwards in usability.In my daily job, I run a dozen apps at once, and switch back and forth rapidly between them. Four web browser windows with ten tabs each. Word. Excel. Outlook. Notepad++. Call handling software. A password safe. Remote support software. A terminal app. And so on.
Windows 8 doesn't multitask well (as a UI, not the core OS) for what I do, and its multi-monitor setup is lousy. If the interface was an IMPROVEMENT, then I'd be more than willing to see it. While I skipped Vista as an OS, I migrated my whole house to Windows 7 within a month of its release. There is a difference between Win7 and Win8, and after running all of the release previews, I haven't upgraded, even though I have the licensing to do so.
JlHADJOE - Sunday, January 27, 2013 - link
So long as Win+R is still there I'll manage somehow.It's all about the CLI or launching .msc files anyway.
LoneWolf15 - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
After using Server 2012 Essentials, I can honestly say it's not the huge deal like Win8 is.How often are you using Server as a multitasking OS, that is, running multiple apps on dual monitors, etc.? Server 2012 Essentials starts at the desktop, and stays there unless you click for the start screen; since you probably only have a dozen apps you use tops, you can have them pinned to the Taskbar or on the desktop and never worry about it again.
I dislike Win8 on the desktop, but Server 2012 works fine, and I haven't found the UI to be a pain as usage is different.
dobdo99 - Saturday, June 14, 2014 - link
Ah, sane old Microsoft arguments, the exact same issues I commented on for windows 3 and 3.1 and 3.11. Corps don't change, or very rarely, best to suck it up and stick to an OS that works "Linux", its supported way better than windoze anyhow. stop beating yourselves up.lexluthermiester - Monday, January 21, 2013 - link
Quote "You just want an excuse to hate."Nope you got it wrong. Windows 7 is like XP, almost universally loved. I don't know anyone who doesn't like or respect 7. However, I only know ONE person who like 8. 8 Offers few REAL advantages to 7. But it does offer a lot of headaches, annoyances and inconveniences. Not to mention it's ugly as hell to look at. Windows 8 is a fail for oh so many reasons.
I think this sentiment sums it up for many; Why should we PAY to downgrade our OS to something as loathsome as Windows 8? Why should we PAY to make our computing experience more difficult and less enjoyable? Eh? Why?