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Sorry for yet another what CPU thread but there are just so many semi-conflicting reports.
I know the recomemnded CPU is a E8400 but i have read alot of people saying a E7200 works just fine.
There are variuos deals on the go this now for a "HP Pavilion S3631 Slimline PC" that whilst not the prettiest is hugely convenient and very very cheap.
The relevant specs are:
Intel® Core™2 Duo E7200 Processor
3GB DDR2 RAM / 500GB Hard Disc Drive
Chipset NVIDIA® nForce™ 630i chipset
Hard Drive 500GB SATA 3G Hard Disk Drive (7200 rpm)
Fast Ethernet
Graphics Processor NVIDIA® GeForce™ 9300 GE with PureVideo® HD
Dimensions (WxDxH) 10.7 x 35.2 x 27.6 cm
HDMI + coax surround
So im looking for a show of hands of people that have real life first person E7200 with 1080p success or failure stories.
Thanks in advance :0
p.s. i am on IRC as xe almost all the time if you want to catch em there.
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It *should* work for normal h264 content, bar some really tough spike here and there.
I don't know if the motherboard would offer any opportunity for an overclock. Even a mild one should suffice to cover everything flawlessly.
I'll try to lower my E2160 from 3GHz to 2.53 and see how it perform. Will report back
Also, you know that the PureVideo HD stuff is out of reach for XBMC, right? No hardware acceleration is possible, currently, with XBMC.
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Thanks for the post. Yeah I know about GPU etc. Im a n00b forum guy but ancient irc dude.
I know this might not be the best box in the world but a small not ugly pc that can be delivered for only £100 more than a E8400 alone costs is quite attractive as a medium term solution.
Also when GPU accel comes in whatever timecale the box would suddenly become quite a bit over specced.
I suppose i could use the extrernal loader patch but i try to stay pure SVN if i can.
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LaTropa64 thats extremely useful information. I had made the assumption that offloading was 100% reliable. If it is not and could potentially mean many hours farting about tweaking things then it doesn't excite me at all.
I am still researching but one factor will be if people post saying that the E7200 doesnt do almost all 1080p with a few uber exception like Planet Earth I think i will bin the idea.
I think this will still be useful for people who have an E7200 already but based on responses still to come it might be folly to spend considerable money on a system that will only play some 1080p.
Responses will tell i hope.
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I have the E7200. It play almost all 1080p stuff for me. It still stutters a bit at the killa sample but it's not like I watch that every day.
I even overclocked it from 2.53 to 3.15 and it still stutters, albeit barely noticeable. For regular 1080p stuff, I think it's sufficient for my needs.
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Ok, did some testing.
CPU is an E2160, 2GB RAM. I'm almost positive it has less cache than both the E7200 and the Q6600 (that could make a positive difference for you).
I did the test with Planet Earth episode 2, where the killer sample is taken from. By the way, I noticed that the killa sample that's downloadable has probably been "cut" very roughly, missing some key frame or something, because, at the beginning it loses 8 frames where the whole episode doesn't.
In any case, that scene, even in the full episode, peaks at about 41.29 Mbps.
With the CPU at 2.56 GHz it lost 11 frames. Definitely watchable but somewhat annoying.
With the CPU at 2.7 GHz results were mixed. The first time it lost 3 frames, another time it lost one. Going back and forth, for other 4 times it played back the scene without losing any frame. This is why I say that, maybe, a processor with more cache could perform better.
At 3GHz no frames are lost.
Bear in mind that that scene is really, really at the top of the scale.
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A new cut of the killa sample would surely be useful to many users as IMHO as said previously the current one is not spot on.
I am going to price up a system based on E8400 and compare it to the E7200 system off the shelf today.
I get the general impression that a E7200 can play 90%+ of 1080p so it comes down to aesthetics and cost premium.
Thanks for all the replies so far.
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I dont want to fork my own thread but since were still talking about E7200....
I have no experience of overclocking as for business servers (where i spend my life) its not normal practice.
I have to say I have thought about it but for the sake of a few tenners and the feeling of better stability and the predictability of heat and power I dont think I will.
I will however be using those fans.! If there is any interest i can post my intended build in a new thread. It wont be to everyone taste but it may help. Shout if i should; would more than welcome some expert advice.