GeV said:
I'm using a 256mb video card (not sure of the exact specs) but in the Adapter settings in Display the max resolution is 1920 x 1200
at max color which I'm using presently. 720p stuff seems to play ok (somes some digital artifacts when the camera pans) but 1080p
stalls and freezes. The CPU is a 1.8ghz e4300 Core 2 Duo. I'm using a genuine Intel motherboard which unfortunately doesn't
support overclocking. I'm tempted to change but only if I can play 1080p. I don't do any gaming. I want to buy a hi-def video
camera but I need to be able to see what I just shot!
The video card can make a difference. The Intel chipset graphics
don't generally do that well in accelerated video tests, but some
of the other products do OK.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/media-playback_7.html
The accelerator in the video cards is described here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UVD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVIDIA_PureVideo
The hardest part in tbe battle of the video decoders, is getting
good quality comparison articles, complete with CPU scaling
information (so you can tell how much the CPU matters), for the
latest cards. The above Xbitlabs article is better than nothing,
but since they used a "high clock" CPU for testing, and didn't
compare to a second processor, you cannot really guess at the
CPU component to the decoding.
For example, in this older article, the slip in processor
performance, is not reflected in the %CPU used. So even for
the video cards that don't appear to be helping, they're actually
doing something, since the speed drop isn't as bad as it could
be.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3047&p=5
As for your point about overclocking, of course you can fix that
I've added two "features" to my motherboard, a board which has
fine hardware design, but a pitiful BIOS. You can use a "BSEL"
mod - I do my mod right in the LGA775 socket, insulating a contact
in the socket so it cannot touch the processor. I use some shrink-wrap
tubing, cut in half and strategically placed. I solder a wire to the
back of the socket. The wire then becomes my "overclock control".
Grounding the wire, before starting the computer, sets the FSB to
FSB1066. Leaving the wire open circuit (as it is now), sets the
FSB to FSB800. Some people do this with window defroster repair
kits (painting a track on the bottom of the processor), but my
implementation is switchable when I want it.
My second mod, is a "Vcore boost". There is a socket dangling
from the side of my computer right now. If I place a shorting
wire in the two holes, my Vcore is unboosted (at about 1.35V).
When I stick a 33K ohm resistor in the socket, my Vcore is boosted
to 1.45V. That allows my processor to handle the overclock when
the FSB1066 BSEL jumper is used. That mod required removing a
resistor from the motherboard (it was a bitch to do). Then
adding a twisted pair of wires to run out to where I could
reach them. Was it worth doing ? Not really, but when
a motherboard company goes to that much trouble to make
a useless motherboard, ya gotta do something to get even
Paul
