Sage HDTV client

[jhendrix]

I want to build a Sage Client to drive an HDTV.
I've been reading these forums and others looking for a solution that will work, and the more I read, the more confused I get.

I want a client that has as few cards in it as possible, preferably the only card would be the video card.

What setups (motherboard, cpu, video card, etc) have people built that can drive an HDTV to display OTA HD content at 720p and 1080i (and maybe even 1080p for all those new 1080p sets that are coming out)

CPU:
I've read that most people recommend an AMD socket 939 processor, but the socket 754 processors are a lot cheaper. From reviews that I've read, the socket 939 only offers a 2-5% increase in speed over the same speed socket 754 processor.

Motherboard:
I would like to use a motherboard that has S/PDIF out built in. Are the NVidia chipsets the best for this option? Onboard network is also a must, but that's standard on most motherboards these days.

Video Card:
It seems like the NVidia video cards are recommended over the ATI. I would like to go fanless if possible to help keep the noise down.
Will AGP cards work, or should I stick with PCIx?
Anybody have good luck with 6200, 6500, 6600LE, 7300GS, of 7600GS cards?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jeff

[cord]

I built two clients with no cards in them at all, using ASUS A8N-VM CSM motherboards. There is a header on the motherboard for an S/PDIF, but you have to order the header separately. You can get them for $10 at the ASUS EStore. With this motherboard, the S/PDIF header, and the nvidia mpeg2 decoders, I have two clients that play DVDs and HDTV with no troubles whatsoever.

[mattdcknsn]

Cord, how much memory are you putting in these motherboards? I am going through a similar situation and have been messing around with it for awhile. I am currently using a sempron 2500 and am going to test it out tonight after a complete overhaul. It has improved but if your solution works it might be worth it to build a new one. Thanks,

[Kirby]

Its probably overkill, but I used an Nvidia 7800GT card, in order to have a card that (supposedly) has H264 hardware assist built in. Not sure if it will ever get used, but at least its there. I run 1GB of ram, and a high end audio card (X-Mystique 7.1 which has Dolby Digital Live encoding built in).

I also used a motherboard I already had, Asus A8N-SLI Premium. Gives me lots of extra slots for whatever. Its running an AMD X2-3800 at stock speed. Again, overkill, but I had the parts already.

[cord]

I'm using 1gb of RAM, in two sticks. I'm also using an Athlon 64 3200+ processor. My CPU utilization rarely goes over 20% during playback, though.

[blade]

You should do some research on the ASUS A8N-VM CSM or any of the 6150 based motherboards for that matter before purchasing one. There have been a lot of problems with them.

[cord]

I did a lot of research on them, and the problems were with an older revision of either the hardware or the BIOS, depending on the manufacturer. The boards I bought have been rock-solid. Especially if you're only going to use it as a Sage client, there's nothing to worry about. More importantly, anytime you *really* start to read up on ANY new chipset, you'll see tons of complaints. The real thing to look at is, are the complaints consistent and do they keep going, even after the technology has been out for a couple of months? The 6150 boards aren't that old but the rate of complaints has already fallen off dramatically.

Bottom line is: I have the boards, I'm using them for the purpose described in this thread, and I have had absolutely zero problems with them.

[jhendrix]

cord,
What resolutions are you running? (720p, 1080i, 1080p).
I've read about problems with stuttering when running 1080i using the onboard video with that chipset.

[cord]

I haven't tried 1080i at all. I'm running 1280x720p on My PT-50LC13 and 1366x768p on my Dell W3201C. They're both lovely. I do have stuttering problems when using VMR9, with or without FSE. My server, which is running a 6600GT video card in a K8N Neo2 has the same issue.

[paulbeers]

I have been using a sempron 2600+ w/ a fanless geforce 6600 without FSE enable at 1080i and no studdering. In fact I rarely see over 40% cpu utitization (512 mb of ram, 6 gig hard drive for sage client and windows xp home only). If you are only using Overlay (as I do), the requirements appear to be a lot less than with FSE.

[blade]

Originally Posted by cord

I haven't tried 1080i at all. I'm running 1280x720p on My PT-50LC13 and 1366x768p on my Dell W3201C. They're both lovely. I do have stuttering problems when using VMR9, with or without FSE. My server, which is running a 6600GT video card in a K8N Neo2 has the same issue.

I have a 6600GT in my client and it runs VMR9 @ 1080i without any problems. Many others have the card running without any problems as well. If your's can't play it back you have a problem somewhere. There's no reason why it shouldn't be able to handle it.

The 6150 sounds like an ideal board for a client, but until I see a good number of people actually being able to use it for playback as it should be capable of I'm holding off on getting one. If it can't do VMR9 and 1080i it's not worth it for me personally.

[Humanzee]

Point of reference.
I'm running Socket 754 Athlon64 3200+ with a overclocked 6600GT at 1080p. nVidia PureVideo Decoders, AC3 audio decoder, Gig of RAM

In overlay, HD playback it pretty good, some pixelation but that may be in the recording, CPU ~40%

In VMR9, 3D accel, FSE, Picture color is a bit better (subjective), Less Pixelation (subjective), Horrible stuttering and jumping, slow GUI response, ~100% cpu utilization. more or less un-usable.

Whats my point? Well if a 6600GT doesn't do it, don't expect great things from a 6150 in VMR9. check http://www.nvidia.com/page/purevideo_support.html for different capabilities of the nvidia graphics.That being said it "should" work in overlay. When I build a a new server I will re-use this 3200+ 754 chip and ram in a client. For the server I'll probably go to a multi core 939, that or there are some interesting things coming from Intel in the fall.

I too am curious about the 7600gs, pcalchemy has a passively cooled one now. It just doesn't do Inverse Telecine or Bad Edit Correction, what ever they are.

[cohnhead]

It just occured to me that the stuttering on VMR9 might be due to using a resolution other then 1080i. It looks like those driving their monitors at 1080i get smooth playback, but those who drive it at an alternate resolution have stuttering. Is this true?

[mattdcknsn]

I just got a hd client running on a sempron 2500, I did have to upgrade the vid card to a nvidia 6200. With everything default the CPU usage was maxed out and it wouldnt work. Once I got the Nvidia purevideo decoder installed and running everything was smooth. I have not started messing around with overlay or vmr9 yet, I am running default (whatever that is).

Now all I have to do is figure out the audio to output dolby and it should be all set.

I am running the video out at 720p, that is the default for my TV. I have had bad experience trying out 1080i.

[GTwannabe]

I would avoid 754 boards; socket AM2 is coming soon and 939 prices will soon drop even lower.

Here's a great board that has just about everything you could want onboard:

DFI RS482

Review: http://www.pro-clockers.com/article.php?id=115

It has an onboard X300, but you can add a different video card if the onboard doesn't cut it.

[mattdcknsn]

I am actually using a socket A sempron 2500. It works fine with Overlay. I am looking into upgrading in the future but if it works now I dont want to touch it.

Originally Posted by GTwannabe

I would avoid 754 boards; socket AM2 is coming soon and 939 prices will soon drop even lower.

Here's a great board that has just about everything you could want onboard:

DFI RS482

Review: http://www.pro-clockers.com/article.php?id=115

It has an onboard X300, but you can add a different video card if the onboard doesn't cut it.

[blade]

Originally Posted by mattdcknsn

I am actually using a socket A sempron 2500. It works fine with Overlay. I am looking into upgrading in the future but if it works now I dont want to touch it.

I have an Athlon XP 2400 mobile cpu overclocked to XP 3200 speeds (the mobile cpus weren't multiplier locked). I don't know if you can still find them or not, but they were a great deal if you're motherboard can handle the mobile cpus. I think I gave around $70-80 for mine over a year ago. BTW it's also undervolted even lower than the default voltage for the mobile cpus which is lower than the desktop models to begin with. I don't know if it has enough power to do HD or not, but it runs quite cool.

[mattdcknsn]

Originally Posted by blade

I have an Athlon XP 2400 mobile cpu overclocked to XP 3200 speeds (the mobile cpus weren't multiplier locked). I don't know if you can still find them or not, but they were a great deal if you're motherboard can handle the mobile cpus. I think I gave around $70-80 for mine over a year ago. BTW it's also undervolted even lower than the default voltage for the mobile cpus which is lower than the desktop models to begin with. I don't know if it has enough power to do HD or not, but it runs quite cool.

How hot does it run? I currently have my client in a small underpowered case so I cant afford to do alot with it. Before this I was trying to get HD to work with a Duron 1300, did not work well at all. I think the biggest change was the L2 cache, it jumped from 64K to 256K. I think that was a large part of the performance difference between the two.