Tips and Tweaks for 780G systems

[m1abrams]

Ok I just built a new SageTV machine (client/server) this weekend based on the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-SH2. Mine is paired with the Phenom 9500 CPU, wish I had waited just a bit longer to order the 9550. Oh well it does not make that much of a difference since this machine does not appear to be CPU bound. Video sources: 1 PVR-150, 1 PVR-250, 1 HDhomerun. Memory 2GB DDR2 8500.

Seeing that a decent number of users are currently setting up a Sage machine based on this chipset thought maybe we could share tips on what works and does not work.

First off I installed XP Pro with SP3 slipstreamed. Since I made the slipstream I also included the SATA drivers this allowed me to install XP Pro with the SATA drives set to AHCI mode.

My build is in a fairly roomy case for a mATX board however being stored in the entertainment cabinet I added a small 40mm fan just over the NB chip to add a little cooling to it. Note that one of the temp sensors reported by SpeedFan shows a temp of +80C, I am assuming this is wrong since the other 3 sensors report ~37C.

The OEM cooler for the Phenom is stupid loud so I am going to try and pickup one of these today Scythe SCNJ-1000 Ninja.

I have found that setting Deinterlace in CCC to Motion Adaptive and SageTV to VMR9 with FSE seems to eliminate tearing in 1080i broadcast. Has anyone else had successful settings?

Any other tips out there.

Such as do you need to buy PowerDVD ultra if you plan to use SPDIF outputs with Bluray playback? I noticed with PowerDVD BD 2ch that came with the drive plays back a normal DVD with DD and sends the DD over SPDIF just fine. Would I need ultra to use DTS Connect to downconvert TrueHD?

[bialio]

Got mine in yesterday. Specs:
* CPU : AMD 4850e @ 2.5GHz, 45w
* CPU Cooler : Scythe Mini Ninja
* Case : NSK2400

Installed it all last night and got Vista Business installed. Then took an image so that during the growing pains I can get back to a clean slate easily.

Speedfan reports the same +80C temperature, which is definately an error somewhere. The Core temp (CPU I assume) that speedfan reports idles in my machine at 14-15C. Under HD Video load (BluRay / VC1.mkv), CPU bumped up to about 40%, with temp around 21C.

Haven't had a lot of time to play with it yet with Sage, but running at 720p, VMR9 + FSE paired with Cyberlink Decoders produces smooth HD. Without FSE I saw a little bit of tearing.

I did something to break the audio. I am not sure what - I was using SPDIF for everything, and then it broke. Still trouble shooting this.

btl.

[bialio]

One thing that I'm thinking is that I'll be overclocking the CPU some. For PowerDVD it is plenty powerful, but the Sage GUI wasn't as responsive as I'd like.

[m1abrams]

You know I picked up the Scythe Ninja the other day from Microcenter and when I got it home it was about 0.5 inches too tall for my case This is why I buy coolers from Microcenter so that I can return them if they do not fit . I went to return it for the Scythe Mini Ninja and they had just sold the last one. So I grab the Scythe Zipang instead, thing I like about the Zipang is the fan overhangs to the NB chip so should provide a little more airflow on the NB.

You temps of the core seem a bit low, how cold is your HOUSE? 14C is 59F, you hang meat in the TV room? You under load temp 21C is only 70F which is still below my ambient temp for my house.

My core temps idle is 41C and 49C under load. Note my box is in an entertainment cabinet, it does have fairly open back(8, 2 inch wide open slates top to bottom) but closed front. My case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112126

[bialio]

We do keep the house at about 70F - I'm not sure how it was reading such a low temp!

[Polypro]

Tearing? Are you *not* running Aero?

P

[gilded07]

Originally Posted by bialio

Got mine in yesterday. Specs:
* CPU : AMD 4850e @ 2.5GHz, 45w
* CPU Cooler : Scythe Mini Ninja
* Case : NSK2400

Installed it all last night and got Vista Business installed. Then took an image so that during the growing pains I can get back to a clean slate easily.

Speedfan reports the same +80C temperature, which is definately an error somewhere. The Core temp (CPU I assume) that speedfan reports idles in my machine at 14-15C. Under HD Video load (BluRay / VC1.mkv), CPU bumped up to about 40%, with temp around 21C.

Haven't had a lot of time to play with it yet with Sage, but running at 720p, VMR9 + FSE paired with Cyberlink Decoders produces smooth HD. Without FSE I saw a little bit of tearing.

I did something to break the audio. I am not sure what - I was using SPDIF for everything, and then it broke. Still trouble shooting this.

btl.

I don't have anything HD yet but every once in awhile I like to read about new technology (and I've read and heard nothing but great things about this 780G chipset). I'm not familiar with VMR9 or FSE. I googled FSE and none of the first 15 or 20 hits looked like they had anything to do with HD video. In a sentence or two can you tell me what these acronyms mean?

Thanx.

[bialio]

Originally Posted by bialio

Speedfan reports the same +80C temperature, which is definately an error somewhere.

I'm beginning to think this isn't an error. From what I've been reading the Northbridge on this MB runs insanely hot - so maybe this reading is legit?

I've overclocked up to 3.0GHz with out any trouble at all.

btl.

[m1abrams]

Originally Posted by bialio

I'm beginning to think this isn't an error. From what I've been reading the Northbridge on this MB runs insanely hot - so maybe this reading is legit?

I've overclocked up to 3.0GHz with out any trouble at all.

btl.

See I read the same reports by people online and I really have a hard time believing it is running that hot. Heck I can put my hand on the NB heatsink and it is not warmer than other parts. If someone has a laser thermometer check the temp of the heatsink. The other thing is EasyTune does not report that temp. it is extremely possible that the probe on the chip reporting that temp is either not connected, or not calibrated because it was not intended to be used. Just like in speedfan there is an extra PWM because the chip has it but it is not connected to anything. I have similiar readings on other boards where a temp probe is not used by the manufacturer and just has some very odd reading, either very high or very low.

FSE - Full Screen Exclusive mode, this is basically how most 3D games run. It gives the program full control of the video card, can sometimes solve issues like tearing or stuttering.

VMR9 - again is a 3d rendering mode basically DirectX9.

Check out the FAQ http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...090#post161090

Neither of those have anything directly to do with HDTV.

[m1abrams]

Notice - Gigabyte has release BIOS update F4. They also released newer video drivers. Why does Gigabyte not included CCC with the video drivers? Very annoying having to go out to ATI to get just the CCC portion.

I installed the video update, have not noticed any changes yet. Have not done the BIOS update yet.

[m1abrams]

Oh some people on the AVS forums are saying that the v1.1 of the board was done to fix the thermal issue because it shows a different heatsink on the NB. However looking at the photos online I doubt the new heatsink will make much of any difference because it still is the same height (has to be, because the PCIe 1x slot would be blocked if it was not). The new heatsink actually has the fins running the WRONG direction for a tower case install, you always want your fins to run parallel with gravity, granted they are cross cut but that wont really add much cooling. I suspect the "new" heatsink is just because that got a new supplier for heatsinks.

[emverham]

I just built a system last week and also noticed that software was reporting the wrong temps (CPU was around 14C). Check the temps in the hardward section of the bios.. those were reporting the right temps... go figure. Anyway I still haven't figured out the quirks of the internal audio settings. The whole "DTS Interactive" mode is strange, definitely not straight forward. I've also had problems with my ATI HDWonder.. but that card has always caused me problems. Can anyone recommend a simple OTA HD card?
System: WinXP, AMD 6400+, 2 GB DDR2, Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-SH2, 640 GB SATA HD (running in IDE mode.. i'm lazy what can i say and is it really worth it ot be in AHCI mode?). I'm too cheap to purchase an MPEG-2 decoder so i've been trying to slide by with a few included decoders, but honestly they suck. I'll have to splurge for PowerDVD. I've been using AC3filter.. free and fun to play with. I also am reaching the limits of the onboard video card.. can't figure out how to make my VGA monitor the primary display and run it at a different resolution than my DVI/HDMI. Overall i'm happy with the system, and I saved money by not having to buy a vid card or sound card, but there are trade-offs.

[m1abrams]

Originally Posted by emverham

I just built a system last week and also noticed that software was reporting the wrong temps (CPU was around 14C). Check the temps in the hardward section of the bios.. those were reporting the right temps... go figure. Anyway I still haven't figured out the quirks of the internal audio settings. The whole "DTS Interactive" mode is strange, definitely not straight forward. I've also had problems with my ATI HDWonder.. but that card has always caused me problems. Can anyone recommend a simple OTA HD card?
System: WinXP, AMD 6400+, 2 GB DDR2, Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-SH2, 640 GB SATA HD (running in IDE mode.. i'm lazy what can i say and is it really worth it ot be in AHCI mode?). I'm too cheap to purchase an MPEG-2 decoder so i've been trying to slide by with a few included decoders, but honestly they suck. I'll have to splurge for PowerDVD. I've been using AC3filter.. free and fun to play with. I also am reaching the limits of the onboard video card.. can't figure out how to make my VGA monitor the primary display and run it at a different resolution than my DVI/HDMI. Overall i'm happy with the system, and I saved money by not having to buy a vid card or sound card, but there are trade-offs.

I highly recommend the HDHomerun if all you need is an OTA HD card, note it will not capture analog signals. Many users here use the HDHomerun and have had a good deal of luck with them.

As for is AHCI worth it, that I am not sure it does add Native Command Queueing which may help. For me I was making a slipstream CD anyhow so why not throw in the SATA drivers.

If you buy a BluRay drive for ~$100 many of them include the OEM version of PowerDVD which is a decent decoder. Note it only support 2ch audio, however you will be using AC3Filter with SageTV so that will only matter when you watch BluRay.

[m1abrams]

About DTS Connect. If you connect your HTPC to a receiver that supports DTS decoding then you want the HTPC set to DTS Interactive. Basically what I understand this does is any data that would be sent via analog or PCM over spdif the soundcard instead encodes in realtime to DTS. The only real benefit I see with it is for things like TrueHD and DTS Master. My receiver does not support those formats so with a decoder like PowerDVD it will decode the bitstream into discrete channels then DTS Interactive will reencode those channels to DTS that my receiver can handle. Granted you will NOT have the same quality as the original, however you may have slightly better quality than the DD track. Also from what I understand some Bluray discs with TrueHD may not have a 5.1 channel DD track in those cases you pretty much need DTS interactive to get surround sound, not sure if such a movie exists but I have heard that is possible. For DTS-Master I believe the requirement is to have a DTS core track so that one is not as big an issue as TrueHD which does not have the same requirement.

[bialio]

I downloaded the trial of Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre onto my new 780G system. So far I must say it works better than PowerDVD. I'll use it for a while and see how I feel at the end of the trial.

One for sure benefit is that it works with YXY, and PowerDVD doesn't on this machine. YXY is only important if you have a CIH setup, so that's not much of a factor for everyone. I will say that CPU load is lower in TMT, and the picture / audio is wonderful.

I wonder if anyone has tried Arcsoft's Directshow Decoders in Sage......

btl.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by bialio

I'm beginning to think this isn't an error. From what I've been reading the Northbridge on this MB runs insanely hot - so maybe this reading is legit?

I've overclocked up to 3.0GHz with out any trouble at all.

btl.

Originally Posted by m1abrams

See I read the same reports by people online and I really have a hard time believing it is running that hot. Heck I can put my hand on the NB heatsink and it is not warmer than other parts. If someone has a laser thermometer check the temp of the heatsink.

When I was putting it together I got 150F off the northbridge heatsinc with my IR thermometer. Course that's only about 65C.

Originally Posted by bialio

I downloaded the trial of Arcsoft TotalMedia Theatre onto my new 780G system. So far I must say it works better than PowerDVD. I'll use it for a while and see how I feel at the end of the trial.

Is that in XP? If so, does the UVD work? Arcsoft lists only Vista as supported for ATI hardware.

[bialio]

Vista Business.

[bialio]

So I battled with my 780G system all weekend, looking for the right "recipe" to make it all work nicely.

Random thoughts :

XP SP3 - never got things working well with sage in XP - HD quality just wasn't on par with my reference client (8500GT / C2D @ 2.6 Ghz).
HD-DVD / BluRay playback in XP was fine however with PowerDVD 7.

Vista Business - Every time I would start out with Vista I'd reach a point where the computer would freeze during windows startup. It was usually after the little green progress bar disappeared. After some trial and error , and a few re-imagings , I have concluded that the last two updates from Microsoft that it was offering were causing the issue. So beware Microsoft Update if you are using this board.

For sh*ts and giggles I put the 8500GT in to see how it would work in the system. And it is working a little better than the onboard IGP. I think it is because Nvidia's drivers are better - at least 169.25 NVidia are better than 8.4 ATI. YMMV.

btl.

[Polypro]

Not getting any action on AVS, thoughts?


"This is my first ATI build...when I connect to the boards VGA output (w/ a 3450 in Hybrid-Crossfire), The CCC Video settings give me a "Basic" de-interlacing mode with an "Auto" checkbox or a "Weave" or "Bob" slider. If I connect to the 3450's VGA out, I get various "Adaptive" de-interlacing modes, but Hybrid-Crossfire is disabled. I'm using Cyberlink PowerDVD 7.3 decoders. What's the deal here? What gives the best quality? Do I need to choose between Gaming and Video? Should I just run off the 3450?"

Thanks,

P

[m1abrams]

Originally Posted by Polypro

Not getting any action on AVS, thoughts?


"This is my first ATI build...when I connect to the boards VGA output (w/ a 3450 in Hybrid-Crossfire), The CCC Video settings give me a "Basic" de-interlacing mode with an "Auto" checkbox or a "Weave" or "Bob" slider. If I connect to the 3450's VGA out, I get various "Adaptive" de-interlacing modes, but Hybrid-Crossfire is disabled. I'm using Cyberlink PowerDVD 7.3 decoders. What's the deal here? What gives the best quality? Do I need to choose between Gaming and Video? Should I just run off the 3450?"

Thanks,

P

Well you did not mention what CPU you have however I am guessing it is not a Phenom CPU. In order to get the other de-interlacing options on the IGP you need to have a Phenom CPU, this is NOT because you need the faster CPU but because the Phenom CPU supports the higher speed Hyper Transport which allows the IGP to access the memory faster since the IGP uses the system memory. The 3450 has its own memory so does not have this dependency. Most likely the 3450 will give you better quality, try them and find out. As to which de-interlacing gives the best quality, I am not sure but try them and see which looks best. I think that depends a lot on the source material however I am not sure on the functions of the different modes.