[Micro-ATX] Pentium 2x2.6Ghz + GT210
#31
jackh Wrote:ps2: [color="red"]a hat-tip to the excellent work of the open-source community in general, and in particular to xbmc, to eskro for his hardware recommendations

ftw!!!!!!!!
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#32
I just built myself a HTPC from this spec to replace my old HTPC
a Fujitsu Q1510 with an intel i3 330M processor, since the intel onboard gpu just can't handle high bitrate h264 encoded videos...

Due to local avilability I changed the config slightly
CPU: Intel Celeron G540
Graphics ASUS Geforce 210 512MB Silent
Motherboard: ASUS P861-M PRO

Windows 7 Ultimate x64, and XBMC 11.0 Eden Beta 3

Started off with some heavy blu ray rips with high bitrate and everything was smooth and nice (with DXVA enabled, otherwise it stutter, which I kind of expected with this CPU). So I was quite happy.

Then I was going to watch some mpeg2 PAL region 2 dvd rips, and the video stutters and drops frames.. I just couldn't imagine that one coming... Turned off DXVA and it's smooth as silk. ok, maybe old drivers (I was using what windows update gives me here) so I went to nvidia and downloaded the and installed the latest drivers, version 285.62, with the result that it got even worse...

In XBMC I have the following settings
Render method: Auto detect (Tried with DXVA as well, with no difference)
DXVA: On
Adjust display refresh rate to match video: On
Sync playback to display: Off

So when running this DVD the resolution is set to 1920 × 1080, 50 Hz

Started to lookup on reviews of the Geforce 210, and it seems that it's having quality issues on playback, see this one for example: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphic...html#sect1

I was kind of surprised since this card seems to be recommended by a lot of people in the xbmc forums...

Do you have any nice trick to solve this, some special settings in the nvidia driver? or xbmc? or should I just go and buy a better graphics card....
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#33
Erikt:
I have almost your same motherboard (ASUS H61, different model), almost your same processor (Celeron G530), and almost your same graphics card (ASUS 1GB Silent).
The only big difference is that I use Linux, not Window$... and my machine runs flawlessly with anything I throw at it.

I'd suggest give XBMCLive a try and see what happens...
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#34
I'm going to fiddle around in windows a bit more to see if I can get it working properly first.

Otherwise I will probably give XBMCbuntu a try.
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#35
ok, now I downgraded the drivers to what Asus have on their webpage, version 267.85 which is definitively better than 285.62, but mpeg 2 still works better with dxva turned off...
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#36
delete plz
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#37
after watching some more movies and tv shows I encountered occasional frame drops and stuttering on h264 playback as well, I tried many different drivers etc, but just couldn't get it working satisfactory. So I have now replaced the card with a GT 520 instead, looking good so far!
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#38
weird, which gt210 u had? never had a single issue with mine
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#39
Just curious: If I want to use this build together with an SSD, wouldn't it be better to use a board that support SATA 6Gb/s?
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#40
depends on what u mean by better....
i got a SATA-II SSD and its all the fast'ness i need.
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#41
(2012-03-12, 19:31)eskro Wrote: depends on what u mean by better....
i got a SATA-II SSD and its all the fast'ness i need.

Some thing here. It flies... high enough for me Smile Booting takes seconds and menus are snappy. How much more do you need?
I don't think SATA III would make a noticeable difference
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#42
jackh Wrote:How much more do you need?
All I can getSmile. I just thought SATA III would be kind of a "standard" for SSDs (and already ordered one some days ago). I have no idea if I will notice it, but I guess if I already have the faster SSD I will also spend the 10 extra bucks to get the faster board.
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#43
eskro: yes, very weird the 210 should be able to handle it and seems to work fine for most people.
It was an ASUS Geforce 210 512MB Silent that I had the problems with.
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#44
that asus runs HOT!

when a GPU is too hot, stutter occurs

i actually sold mine becuz it would run wayy to hot for my liking
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#45
(2012-03-16, 19:48)eskro Wrote: that asus runs HOT!

I have the ASUS 1GB Silent, and recently noticed it was running quite hot (about 70 C).
So I got the vacuum cleaner, opened up the case and gave the little machine a thorough cleanup, especially the GPU and CPU heatsinks. Call it a "regular maintenance" job, like greasing your garage door hinges every few months Wink
It now runs at 56 C. I'd say it's a pretty decent temperature level for a fanless card.

In summary, we have to take care of these babies, at least a little...
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[Micro-ATX] Pentium 2x2.6Ghz + GT2100