|
PC Gamer
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,259
Rep: 126 
Unique Rep: 96
|
[Xbit]HD PC Experience: Graphics Cards vs. High-Definition Video Playback
Quote:
The recently released new graphics cards generations – ATI Radeon HD 4000 and Nvidia GeForce 9 – promise to further improve high-definition video playback quality. But is it really so? Let’s find out if these solutions really improve the HD playback quality and can decode two video streams simultaneously with enabled picture-in-picture mode. We will also try to find out what graphics card will be the best choice for a home theater PC.
Table of Contents
Blu-Ray Has Won: HD for Every Home
Audio over HDMI
Power Consumption of HTPC Oriented Graphics Cards
Testbed Configuration and Methodology
Video Playback Quality
CPU Load at HD Video Playback
Free HD Content Playback
Conclusion
Playback Quality
CPU Load
Shopping Advice
System Configuration
- Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 CPU (3.16GHz, 6MB cache, 1333MHz PSB);
- Gigabyte EG45M-DS2H mainboard (Intel G45 chipset);
- OCZ Technology PC2-8500 memory (2x1GB, 1066MHz, 5-5-5-15, 2T);
- Western Digital HDD (640GB, SATA-150, 16MB buffer);
- Antec Fusion 430W chassis;
- Samsung 244T monitor (24”, 1920x1200@60Hz max resolution);
- LG GGC-H20L optical drive (Blu-ray, HD DVD, DVD);
- Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit;
- ATI Catalyst 8.11/8.12 for ATI Radeon;
- Nvidia ForceWare 178.24 for Nvidia GeForce;
- CyberLink PowerDVD 7.3;
- Microsoft Windows Vista Performance Monitor.
Below is the list of graphics cards and integrated solutions participating in out today’s test session:[LIST][*]ATI Radeon HD 4850[*]ATI Radeon HD 4670[*]ATI Radeon HD 3870[*]ATI Radeon HD 3650[*]ATI Radeon HD 2400/3400-series[*]ATI Radeon HD 3300 IGP (AMD 790GX)[*]Intel Graphics and Media Accelerator 4500 IGP (Intel G45)[*]Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX+[*]Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT[*]Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT[*]Nvidia GeForce 9400/8500 GT[*]Nvidia GeForce 8300 IGP
/[LIST]
We used the following tools to estimate the video playback quality in standard (SD) and high-definition (HD) resolutions:
Silicon Optix HQV Benchmark
Silicon Optix HQV HD Benchmark
Since there is also a lot of HD content available online these days, we also measured CPU utilization during playback of several free videos with the following parameters:- WMV HD 720p (1280x720, 24 fps progressive, 6 Mbit/s)
- WMV HD 1080p (1440x1080, 24 fps progressive, 8 Mbit/s)
- MPEG4-AVC 720p (1280x720, 24 fps progressive, 6 Mbit/s)
- VC-1 720p (1280x720, 60 fps progressive, 15 Mbit/s)
- MPEG-2 HD 1080i (1920x1080, 30 fps interlaced, 20 Mbit/s)
- DivX HD 1080p (1920x1080, 25 fps progressive, 9.5 Mbit/s)
CPU Load at HD Video Playback
Blu-Ray/HD DVD Playback
![](http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/media-playback/h264-1080.gif"]http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/media-playback/h264-1080.gif)
Free HD Content Playback
Conclusion
Nearly every modern GPU is effective at decoding high-definition video. However, the playback quality may vary greatly even within the same GPU series.
Playback Quality
Our tests show that despite the 12-year-long tenure of the DVD standard on the market none of the graphics cards can boast maximum playback quality with it.
ATI’s Radeon HD 4800/4600 and Nvidia’s GeForce 9600 GPUs deliver the best image quality in the Silicon Optix HQV test (118 out of 130 points). The Radeon HD 3800 and GeForce 9800 are but barely worse, scoring 116 out of 130. Surprisingly, the Intel GMA 4500 processor is almost as good as the discrete GPUs, scoring 113 out of 130 points. The GeForce 8300 IGP and GeForce 8500/9400 GPUs are a disappointment as they could score only 80 points.
The quality of HD video playback on today’s PCs is also questionable, according to the Silicon Optix HQV HD. ATI’s Radeon HD 4800/4600/4500 cards deliver an ideal picture (100 out of 100 points) whereas ATI’s Radeon HD 3800/3600 and Nvidia’s GeForce 9800/9600 are very close to that (90 out of 100 points). The integrated Radeon HD 3300 is good (80 out of 100) whereas the results of the Radeon HD 3400, GeForce 8300 and Intel GMA 4500 (65, 60 and 50 points, respectively) are simply disappointing.
Of course, the playback of high-quality Blu-ray movies (The Day After Tomorrow, Transformers, Casino Royale) is going to be top class even on the Intel GMA 4500, but there are a lot of movies that need noise reduction (28 Weeks Later) or detail enhancement (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). If these features do not work properly, watching such movies won’t be a pleasure.
We must note one thing here. Practice suggests that modern GPUs can be reprogrammed to deliver much higher video playback quality. Therefore, the current situation can change in the future. But right now, ATI’s Radeon HD 4800 and 4600 GPUs are the best in terms of DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD
CPU Load
Our tests showed that the CPU load was low with every graphics card when we decoded typical video content. In other words, any of the tested cards is going to be good for a HTPC in terms of video playback performance unless you have some specific requirements.
However, we’d recommend you to install a fast CPU into your system if you are going to play DivX HD or videos with an increased frame rate. Modern GPUs do not accelerate DivX HD whereas 60fps clips provoke a high CPU load.
Nvidia’s GeForce 8/9 GPUs do not offer hardware bitstream processing for the VC-1 codec and have a somewhat higher CPU load when playing VC-1 videos than ATI’s Radeons have. But the higher CPU load shouldn’t be a problem for a desktop PC. We guess that only cheap GPUs like GeForce 8500/9400 coupled with a slow CPU won’t be able to cope with complex scenes and you’ll have skipped frames or slow audio then.
Shopping Advice
So, we have identified those cards that deliver the highest quality when playing different video content and reduce the CPU load. We have also found out that the HDMI-supporting graphics cards offer different level of support for the audio-over-HDMI feature. It’s time for us to give you some shipping advice about choosing the graphics card for a HTPC.
Playback quality was our priority when we preferred a specific graphics card. But considering the specific requirements (e.g. power consumption), we’ve written a list of several graphics cards that can be viewed as the best options for a HTPC.
The most advanced HTPC-ready graphics cards in terms of gaming performance:- ATI Radeon HD 4850. It ensures nearly ideal playback of Blu-ray, DVD and HD DVD and can transfer 7.1 audio via HDMI, which makes it a perfect choice for a high-performance HTPC. Alas, its peak power consumption of 110W may prove to be too high.
- Palit GeForce 9800 GTX+. This card boasts high-quality reproduction of Blu-ray, DVD and HD DVD formats. Palit Microsystems reduced its form-factor while its peak power consumption is 76.1W. All this makes it a good choice for a HTPC. Unfortunately, GeForce 8/9/GTX200 series GPUs offer limited support for audio-over-HDMI.
The most economical HTPC card:
- The ATI Radeon HD 4550 plays Blu-ray, DVD and HD DVD with almost ideal quality. It can output 7.1 audio over HDMI and consumes a mere 18.5W at the peak. It can thus be cooled passively and produce no noise whatsoever.
The most appealing chipset with an integrated graphics core:
- AMD 790GX with the Radeon HD 3300 graphics core. This chipset offers the best video playback quality among the three modern chipsets for different platforms. However, the integrated graphics cores are still somewhat inferior in this respect to discrete GPUs.
|
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...-playback.html
CPU
Q6600 |
Motherboard
GA-EX38-DS4 |
Memory
2*1GiB DDR2 800 Kingston & 2*2GiB Patriot DDR2 800 |
Graphics Card
Gecube 3870 @ Stock |
Hard Drive
1 Maxtor IDE 200GB, 1 Samsung SATAII 500GB |
Sound Card
Creative SB Xtreme Gamer |
Power Supply
OCZ silent-stealth 600W |
Case
Icute with side window and 25cm side fan |
CPU cooling
stock - soon to be TRUE |
GPU cooling
stock |
OS
Vista Ultimate x86_64 |
Monitor
Samsung 2433BW 24" monitor 1920*1200 |
Last edited by wolf_08 : 01-24-09 at 05:45 AM
|
[Xbit]HD PC Experience: Graphics Cards vs. High-Definition Video Playback
01-24-09
