ASRock Core 100HT-BD : Bringing HTPCs to the Mainstream Market [UPDATED : Noise Issue]
by Ganesh T S on July 19, 2010 9:34 PM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- Arrandale
- ASRock
- Media Streamer
- Core i3
- HTPC
Our piece on media streamer platforms indicated that we were in the process of assembling a test suite of media files. With the help of feedback from readers and some members from AVSForums, we managed to assemble a set of 44 test files covering various HTPC scenarios for v1.0.0 of the AnandTech Media Streamer Test Suite. Weights have been assigned to each stream based on how frequently one might encounter them in a home theater setting. The table below indicates the various aspects tested by each file, the assigned weight for the stream, and the score obtained by the Core 100 HT-BD depending on the success it had with playback.
ASRock Core 100HT-BD AT Media Streamer Test Suite | |||||||
File Name | Aspects Tested | Max. Score | Core 100 Score | Notes | |||
64.AC3.m2ts | H.264, AC3, M2TS |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
002-480i30.MPEG.ASF.dvr-ms | ASF, DVR-MS |
2
|
2
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
003-1080p24.WMV9.WMAPro.6Ch.wmv | WMV9, WMAPro |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
004-1080p60.x264.8ref.mkv | 60 fps L5.1 H.264 |
8
|
7
|
MPC-HC | |||
005-1440x1080i30.SonyAVCHD.m2ts | HD Camcorder Clips |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
006-1080p24.x264.16ref.mkv | L5.1 H.264 |
8
|
7
|
MPC-HC | |||
007-1080p.x264.DTS.6Ch.mkv | DTS |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
008-DTS-HRA.8Ch.m2ts | DTS-HRA Bitstreaming |
8
|
8
|
MPC-HC | |||
009-TrueHD.6Ch..m2ts | TrueHD Bitstreaming |
8
|
8
|
MPC-HC | |||
010-1080p24.x264.AAC.mp4 | AAC, MP4 |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
011-FLAC.6Ch.ASS.Subs.mkv | FLAC, ASS Subs |
8
|
8
|
VLC | |||
012-1080p24.Vorbis.ogg | Vorbis, OGG |
4
|
4
|
VLC | |||
013-352p25RV40.RACook.rmvb | Real Media |
8
|
8
|
VLC | |||
014-1080i25.AVC.AC3..MPEG-TS.trp | TRP |
2
|
2
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
015-360p24.XVid.12LanguagesSRT.Subs.mkv | UTF Subs |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
016-1080i30.MPEG2.HeavilyInterlaced.ts | Deinterlacing for MPEG-2 |
8
|
7
|
VLC* | |||
017-1080p24.TrueHD.PGS.Subs.mkv | PGS Subs, TrueHD Bitstreaming from MKV |
12
|
12
|
MPC-HC | |||
018-480p.TVCapture.wtv | WTV |
4
|
4
|
Windows MC | |||
019-240p.H264.AAC.m4v | M4V |
8
|
8
|
MPC-HC | |||
020-1080p30.x264.AC3.m2ts | H.264, AC3, M2TS |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
021-442p30.DivX.AAC.mkv | DivX in MKV Container |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
022-DVDISO.iso | DVD ISO |
10
|
10
|
VLC | |||
023-BluRayISO.iso | Blu Ray ISO |
10
|
10
|
Virtual Clone Drive + PDVD | |||
024-1080p24.x264.DTS-MA.7Ch.mkv | DTS-MA Bitstreaming from MKV |
4
|
4
|
MPC-HC | |||
025-720p24.x264.DTS-MA.6Ch.mkv | DTS-MA Bitstreaming from MKV |
4
|
4
|
MPC-HC | |||
026-1080p24.VC1.AC3.mkv | VC1 in MKV |
10
|
10
|
MPC-HC | |||
027-1440x576p25.WVC1.wmv | WVC1 |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
028-720p60.WVC1.WMA3.6Ch.wmv | 60fps WVC1 |
8
|
8
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
029-1080p60.AVC.AAC.MP4 | HD Camcorder Clips |
10
|
10
|
Windows MC | |||
030-272p.VP6.MP3.FLV | VP6 in FLV, MP3 |
10
|
10
|
VLC | |||
031-854x480p30.H264.AAC.flv | H.264 in FLV |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
032-1080p.VP8.Vorbis.webm | VP8, WebM |
10
|
10
|
VLC | |||
033-480p24.MPEG1.mpg | MPEG-1 |
4
|
4
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
034-1080p24.xvid.avi | HD Xvid, AVI |
10
|
10
|
MPC-HC | |||
035-672p30.DIVX.MP3.divx | DivX |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
036-720p60.MPEG2.m2v | MPEG-2, M2V |
2
|
2
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
037-1080p30.MPEG2TS.ts | TS |
2
|
2
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
038-1080p25.AVC.AAC.6Ch.MOV.mov | MOV |
10
|
10
|
PDVD10 Mark II | |||
039-1080p24.RV40.Cook.rmvb | HD Real Media |
8
|
6
|
VLC** | |||
040-Anamorphic.MultAud.MultSubs.mkv | Anamorphic, SSA Subs |
10
|
10
|
MPC-HC | |||
041-1080p24.VC1.DTSHD-MA.m2ts | VC1 in M2TS, DTS-HD Bitstreaming |
6
|
6
|
MPC-HC | |||
042-1080p24.VC1.TrueHD.AC3.m2ts | VC1 in M2TS, TrueHD Bitstreaming |
6
|
6
|
VLC | |||
043-1080i30.H264.HeavilyInterlaced.ts | Deinterlacing for H264 |
8
|
7
|
VLC* | |||
044-1080i30.VC1.HeavilyInterlaced.ts | Deinterlacing for VC1 |
8
|
6
|
MPC-HC | |||
Total |
328 out of 336
|
**: For perfect playback, the CPU was overclocked to 2.24 GHz (FSB at 140 MHz) using ASRock's OC Tuner program from within Windows
Programs such as PowerDVD 10 Mark II and VLC use their built in codecs. For files played back through MPC-HC, the order of preference for the decoding filters which had to be tried out for successful playback is given below:
Audio
1. ffdshow Audio Decoder (Passthrough enabled for all formats in the Mixer section). [ Refer to Damian's excellent guide on how to achieve bitstreaming using ffdshow ]
Video
1. MPC-HC's internal splitters
2. H.264 Decoder :
2.1. Microsoft DTV-DVD Video Decoder
2.2. MPC-HC's internal MPCVideoDec
3. VC-1 Decoder :
2.1. Andy's Modified Clarkdale VC-1 Decoder
2.2. WMVVideoDecoder DMO [ Doesn't use hardware acceleration ]
Fortunately, the Core i3-330M is more than powerful enough for HD VC-1 decoding. The ArcSoft TMT VC-1 decoder also works quite well (inferred from the very low CPU usage observed while playing back VC-1 Blu-Rays), but it is not straightforward to use the decoder in MPC-HC.
Ideally, we expect HTPCs to score a perfect 100 in the media streamer test suite. However, Intel's stubbornness in opening up some key driver APIs and some sloppy drivers have resulted in a slight slip up. The ASRock Core 100HT-BD scores 97.62%, which is much higher than what many other media streamers can claim. We will use this score as a reference while evaluating media streamers and HTPCs in the future.
107 Comments
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ganeshts - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
erictorch,Thanks for informing me about eWiz carrying the mobile processor. We searched on the usual haunts (Amazon and Newegg), and neither of them carried the processor
I perused further, and it looks like the i3-330M is the only i series processor they have (The i7 mobile they carry has no GPU die in the package and its TDP is 45W).
In any case, I couldn't find a mobo based on the HM55. Are you aware of any with the PGA 988 socket?
By the way, I did see AHCI is selectable in the BIOS, but didn't personally verify whether it works. I will get back to you here in a couple of days if it doesn't :)
erictorch - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I stumbled upon this list of mini-itx motherboardshttp://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php...
with froogle.com I was able to find the
IEI KINO-QM57A $320
IBASE MI953F $440
DFI CP100-NRM $400
I was also able to find the i5 mobile CPU through pricewatch.com
ganeshts - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Thanks for the links, erictorch.At $320 for the board, a build similar to the Core 100 is going to be pretty costly.. We had budgeted $140 for the board.
I wonder how many end users actually end up doing builds based on these mobos.
But you are right! It is possible to do such a build on one's own if the necessary efforts are taken. However, most people will go in for the Clarkdale builds because they are much more cost efficient.
spddemon - Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - link
That is very true, ganeshts; however, I would love to see what the end result would be with one of those boards instead of a clarkdale...I am more than willing to spend a couple hundred more for a true low powered system providing my performance and functionality were not hindered.
I was targeting a Core i3 530 but if the performance per watt of the 330 is close to the 530 then it could be a great trade off.
I will have to add this info to my build sheet and see where it goes.. I have sifted the hardware down quite a bit, but I still have a lot of products to research before i start..
Riccardo - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Hi Ganesh,Good work on this review - I really appreciate the HTPC focus on this one. I look forward to seeing it used again in relevant reviews. Thanks!
Pessimism - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I'd pay an extra $5 for a remote that doesn't look so cheesy and cheap. They aren't the only company at fault though. I see a LOT of slick looking devices with cheap, tacky, flimsy looking remotes that don't match up with the look of the device whatsoever.OblivionLord - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I'm thinking that people would be more inclined to believe your point of using a USB capture card if they knew the real benefit of it compared to a typical PCI Capture card. The only real physical drawback with the USB card is that you need a second one if you want a dual tuner setup.The other problem is that the quality of the captured video produced by a USB card is inferior to a PCI capture card. This is what I've come to believe since I've never owned a USB card for this purpose.
Perhaps you should do a comparison of a few USB capture devices vs PCI capture cards. This will show the truth.
pcfxer - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
I'm surprised that you chose A-weighting for the measurement of the machine. I'm also surprised that you used the Radioshack and took the 53dB as a "solid" measurement. I have the same SPL meter and its accuracy does not live in the 50dB range. It is far more accurate and stable (if you've used this to get any meaningful information you'll know what I mean) 65+dB.That said, I am fully aware of the noise required to gain measurement on that darn thing. That "HTPC" is effing LOUD! Even inside my case I get the good old Lo A-weighted/C-weighted.
ganeshts - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
pcfxer,Thanks for your feedback. I will keep this in mind for future reviews.
Shadowmaster625 - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - link
Mainstream Market? For $700? I got news for you... there may be millions of mindless drones rushing out to buy iCrap, but this is way above and beyond mainstream for a HTPC. It only costs $100 to build a HTPC. Anything more than that and you may as well go on ebay and buy a notebook with a damaged LCD and use that as a HTPC (assuming it has hdmi out of course).