Converting a pc to HTPC

[xxdaman1200xx]

Whats up everybody! Im new to this forum and looking to get a some knowledge on making one of my current pcs able to play H.264 flicks. Neither PC has a problem with 720p. It's just 1080p.

Here are my pc specs:

Win XP Pro w/ SP3
Asus P5N32-SLI SE DELUXE
Pentium D 940 Presler 3.2GHZ CPU
4x1GB CorsairXMS2-6400 RAM
2x Nvidia Geforce 7900GTX
Creative Xfi Fatality gaming sound card


Win XP Pro w/ SP3
ASUS P5ND2-SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 4 SLI Intel Edition
Pentium 4 630 Prescott 3.0GHz CPU
3GB CORSAIR ValueSelect 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667
MSI NX6200LE-TD64E GeForce 6200LE 256MB


When I play some movies on my Pentium D PC the video is clear with no stuttering but the audio stutters and is about 5 to 10 seconds ahead. The RAM never goes past 23% and the CPU tops out around 80%. But there are also 1080p videos I try to watch that end up stopping or pausing for some reason. The P4 PC hits 100% CPU utilization fairly quickly. It really cant handle much.

Im not sure if I need some kind of codecs or decoders or what???

I also have recently purchased a XFX HD-487A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card



Let me know if you guys need any other kind of info.

Thanks for any help!

 

[dougie_boy]

looks like the GPU is not handling any of the decoding.
are you playing the 1080p movies from HD or blueray?

The asus p5n32-sli se deluxe is core duo ready so why not stick a nice new low powered CPU in, maybe a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056

will be a damn sight faster that the pentiumD.

 

[djbrad007]

Hi,

you can try to install Coreavc to decode 1080p.

It works well with my intel atom 330 & GMA950.

Other solution is to try with a low end radeon 3450/4350.

Brad

 

[ausch30]

looks like the GPU is not handling any of the decoding.
are you playing the 1080p movies from HD or blueray?

The asus p5n32-sli se deluxe is core duo ready so why not stick a nice new low powered CPU in, maybe a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056

will be a damn sight faster that the pentiumD.

This is a list of the supported CPU's for that board and the E7500 isn't on it.
http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5N32-SLI%20SE%20Deluxe&product=1&os=24

OP, if you were looking to upgrade your CPU you could put a E6600 or E6700 in there which both were very popular chips and can be found used for very little money and will give you a nice performance increase. You really don't need a new CPU though, your best bet would be to buy a newer video card. The newer Nvidia GTX cards as well as the ATI 4*** cards take the video processing duties away from the CPU and either will provide smoother video.

After I posted this I noticed you wrote that you bought a 4870. You don't have it listed in either system or mention any difference in performance between it and the other cards. Have you installed it and if so in which system? Also, if you installed it were you sure to clean out all the old drivers before in stalling the drivers for the new card? Was there a difference in performance?

 

[xxdaman1200xx]

Hi,

you can try to install Coreavc to decode 1080p.

It works well with my intel atom 330 & GMA950.

Other solution is to try with a low end radeon 3450/4350.

Brad

I tried with Coreavc on the P4 machine. This didnt help. I also used the Radeon HD4870 video card and still had the same issues with audio/video sync and stuttering.

 

[xxdaman1200xx]

looks like the GPU is not handling any of the decoding.
are you playing the 1080p movies from HD or blueray?

The asus p5n32-sli se deluxe is core duo ready so why not stick a nice new low powered CPU in, maybe a http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056

will be a damn sight faster that the pentiumD.

I might have to do that. I have read that pretty much any dual core CPU should be fine. I'm just not sure if this is a codec issue. Mainly Blu-ray but some are files too.

 

[xxdaman1200xx]

This is a list of the supported CPU's for that board and the E7500 isn't on it.
http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5N32-SLI%20SE%20Deluxe&product=1&os=24

OP, if you were looking to upgrade your CPU you could put a E6600 or E6700 in there which both were very popular chips and can be found used for very little money and will give you a nice performance increase. You really don't need a new CPU though, your best bet would be to buy a newer video card. The newer Nvidia GTX cards as well as the ATI 4*** cards take the video processing duties away from the CPU and either will provide smoother video.

After I posted this I noticed you wrote that you bought a 4870. You don't have it listed in either system or mention any difference in performance between it and the other cards. Have you installed it and if so in which system? Also, if you installed it were you sure to clean out all the old drivers before in stalling the drivers for the new card? Was there a difference in performance?

I have only used the 4870 on the P4 machine. My next test is going to be in the Pent D PC. I did notice that the screen never froze up with the 4870. Thats really about it. I plan on putting the 4870 in my other PC this weekend. So ill test and report back.

 

[ausch30]

I have only used the 4870 on the P4 machine. My next test is going to be in the Pent D PC. I did notice that the screen never froze up with the 4870. Thats really about it. I plan on putting the 4870 in my other PC this weekend. So ill test and report back.

You might also consider doing a clean install when changing to the 4870. It's a lot of work but I think you'll see better results.

 

[xxdaman1200xx]

I havent had time to do a clean install but after installing the 4870 in the Pentium D PC, there is no video lag just the audio is about 5-10 seconds fast. If it gets to far ahead then the audio stutters. Thats about it.