Discrete HTPC GPU Shootout
by Ganesh T S on June 12, 2011 10:30 PM EST
Before proceeding to the conclusions, let us deal with a couple of topics which didn't fit into any of the preceding sections.
First off, we have some power consumption numbers. In addition to idle power, we also measure the average power consumption of the testbed over a 15 minute interval when playing back a 1080p24 MKV file in MPC-HC.
| HTPC Testbed Power Consumption | ||
| Idle Power Consumption (W) | Playback Power Consumption (W) | |
| HTPC Testbed (Core i5-680) | 56.6 | 67.7 |
| AMD 6450 | 66.4 | 84.9 |
| MSI 6450 | 66.2 | 78.4 |
| Sapphire 6570 | 66.7 | 79.6 |
| NVIDIA GT 430 | 65.7 | 76 |
| MSI GT 520 | 67 | 73.4 |
There is not much to infer from the above power consumption numbers except that the GDDR5 based AMD 6450 needs to be avoided. All the cards idle around the same value. The AMD cards consume slightly more power when playing back the video.
I am sure many readers are also interested in the performance of the GPUs for 3D videos. With the latest PowerDVD and Total Media Theater builds, all the 3D Blu-rays we tried played back OK. Beyond this, we did't feel it necessary to devote time to develop a benchmarking methodology for 3D videos. There is no standardized way to store and transfer 3D videos. 3D Blu-ray ISOs are different from the 3D MKV standard, which, in turn are different from the standards adopted by some of the camcorder manufacturers. In our personal opinion, the 3D ecosystem for HTPCs is still in a mess. It is no secret that NVIDIA has invested heavily in the 3D ecosystem. In addition to the support for 3D movies, they also supply software to view stereoscopic photographs. If you plan on connecting your HTPC to a 3D TV and also plan to invest in 3D cameras or camcorders, the NVIDIA GPUs are a better choice (purely from a support viewpoint). If all you want to do is to play back your 3D Blu-rays any current GPU solution (Intel or AMD or NVIDIA) should be fine. Note that SBS/TAB (side-by-side/Top-and-Bottom) 3D streams (as used in TV broadcasts) are likely to have performance similar to that of the 2D 720p/1080i content.
From a broadcast perspective, MPEG-2 is a mature codec, but it is not very efficient at HD resolutions. H.264 is widely preferred. Current H.264 broadcast encoders take in the raw 4:2:2 10-bit data, but compress them using 8-bit 4:2:0 encoders. Recently, companies have put forward 10-bit 4:2:2 encoding [PDF] as a way to boost the efficiency of H.264 encoding. Unfortunately, none of the GPUs have support for decoding such streams (encoded with profile level High10). Considering that 10-bit 4:2:2 is finding acceptance within the professional community only now, we wouldn't fault the GPU vendors too much. However, x264 has started implementing 10-bit support now, making it possible for users to generate / back-up videos in the new profile. We would like GPU vendors to provide decode support for the High10 AVC profile as soon as possible in their mainstream consumer offerings.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
70 Comments
View All Comments
enki - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
How about a short conclusion section for those who just use a Windows 7 box with a Ceton tuner card to watch hdtv in Windows Media Center? (i.e. will just be playing back WTV files recorded directly on the box)What provides the best quality output?
What can stream better then stereo over HDMI? On my old 3400 ATI card it either streams the Dolby Digital directly (the computer doesn't do any processing of the audio) or can output stereo (doesn't think there can be more then 2 speakers connected)
Thanks
BernardP - Monday, June 13, 2011 - link
The inability to create and scale custom resolutions within AMD graphics drivers is, for me, a deal-breaker that keeps me from even considering AMD graphics. It will also keep me from Llano, Trinity and future AMD Fusion APU's. I'll stay with NVidia as long as they keep allowing for custom resolutions.My older eyes are grateful for the custom 1536 X 960 desktop resolution on my 24 inch 16:10 monitor. I couldn't create this resolution with AMD graphics drivers.
bobbozzo - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
In your case, you should just increase the size of the fonts and widgets instead of lowering the screen res.Assimilator87 - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
I wish there was a section dedicated to the silent stream bug. I have a GTX 470 hooked up to an Onkyo TX-SR805 and this issue is driving me insane. For instance, does this issue only plague certain cards or do all nVidia suffer from it? I was hoping the latest WHQL driver (275.33) would fix this, but sadly, no. Otherwise, the article was amazing and I'll definitely have to check out LAV Splitter.ganeshts - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
The problem with the silent stream bug is that one driver version has it, the next one doesn't and then the next release brings it back. It is hard to pinpoint where the issue is.Amongst our candidates, even with the same driver release, the GT 520 had the bug, but the GT 430 didn't. I am quite confident that the GT 520 issue will get resolved in a future update, but then, I can just hope that it doesn't break the GT 430.
JoeHH - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
This is simply one of the best articles I have ever seen about HTPC. Congrats Ganesh and thank you. Very informative and useful.bobbozzo - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
Hi, Can you please compare hardware de-intelacing, etc., vs software?e.g. many players/codecs can do de-interlacing, de-noise, etc. in software, using the CPU.
How does this compare with a hardware implementation?
thanks
ganeshts - Tuesday, June 14, 2011 - link
This is a good suggestion. Let me try that out in the next HTPC / GPU piece.CiNcH - Wednesday, June 15, 2011 - link
Hey guys,here is how I understand the refresh rate issue. It does not matter weather it is 0.005 Hz off. You can't calculate frame drops/repeats from that. In DirectShow, frames are scheduled with the graph reference clock. So the real problem is how much the clock which the VSync is based on and the reference clock in the DirectShow graph drift from each other. And here comes ReClock into play. It derives the DirectShow graph clock from the VSync, i.e. synchronizes the two. So it does not matter weather your VSync is off as long as playback speed is adjusted accordingly. A problem here is synchronizing audio which is not too easy if you bitstream it...
NikosD - Thursday, June 16, 2011 - link
Nice guide but you missed something.It's called PotPlayer, it's free and has built-in almost everything.
CPU & DXVA (partial, full) codecs and splitters for almost every container and every video file out there.
The same is true for audio, too.
It has even Pass through (S/PDIF, HDMI) for AC3/TrueHD/DTS, DTS-HD. Only EAC3 is not working.
It has also support for madVR and a unique DXVA-renderless mode which combines DXVA & madVR!
I think it's close to perfect!
BTW, in the article says that there is no free audio decoder for DTS, DTS-HD.
That's not correct.
FFDShow is capable of decoding and pass through (S/PDIF, HDMI) both DTS and DTS-HD.
And PotPlayer of course!