[Donnacha]

Originally Posted by Decadent Fool

Donnacha, chance you could post cpu and gpu usage when playing 1080p files please? I'd like to know if the cpu is carrying the load, as it does with mine (or rather, it doesn't with mine, hence the stuttering )

Happy to, but won't see the HTPC until Sunday!! Can you wait that long?

[Decadent Fool]

lol, yes mate; I've waited this long to get the ****ing thing working a bit more waiting and tinkering won't make any difference

[mug]

Has the Hardware Acceleration problems been sorted ?

[Decadent Fool]

mug, you read any of the previous posts at all?

Greetings to all.

Folks you all seem quite clued up on this card so can I throw in another headache?

I have just installed the HD2600XT AGP and ran a DVI-D cable from my pc to my HD LCD TV with a HDMI plug on the other end. When i plug in the cable to the card, nothing happens - my TV shows no signal. If I remove the plug and transfer it to my laptops ATIX2300 card I have no problems at all. If i select force TV detection in CCC it recognises only a standard TV whereas my laptop recognises the TV model, make and sends a fantastic picture.

What could be the problem with the loss of signal, could it be the socket? I have all the latest drivers both on my AGP slot and for the card.

ASRock 939A8X-M, 1GB Ram, Athlon64 4000+, 460wPSU, Vista Ultimate (32bit).

[Donnacha]

OK - I managed to fire up the HTPC today and tested my official first blu-ray purchase Black Hawk Down. Played lovely right from the off, just popped it in the drive and away she went!

I fired up the Catalyst Centre to see the GPU useage and also task manager to see what was happening on the CPU. During the film the CPU ranged between 40% and peaked at 60%. The GPU hung around the 45-50% mark!

When I played a rental bluray that I'd ripped to the HD (Blood Diamond) it only taxed the CPU and GPU to around the 20% mark!

So it seems the card is working for me for Bluray and PDVD.

For the WMV HD trailers in 1080p, I tried the Hulk HDDVD trailer in Theatertek which pushed the CPU to 92% but nothing on the card! So I tried it in Media Player to see if HW Acceleration was being used there - yes, between 50-60% on the CPU and 15% on the GPU.

...is this the best way to measure? Anything else I should be doing?

Hope this helps!

[dave_bass5]

Originally Posted by BigMacblue

Greetings to all.

Folks you all seem quite clued up on this card so can I throw in another headache?

I have just installed the HD2600XT AGP and ran a DVI-D cable from my pc to my HD LCD TV with a HDMI plug on the other end. When i plug in the cable to the card, nothing happens - my TV shows no signal. If I remove the plug and transfer it to my laptops ATIX2300 card I have no problems at all. If i select force TV detection in CCC it recognises only a standard TV whereas my laptop recognises the TV model, make and sends a fantastic picture.

What could be the problem with the loss of signal, could it be the socket? I have all the latest drivers both on my AGP slot and for the card.

ASRock 939A8X-M, 1GB Ram, Athlon64 4000+, 460wPSU, Vista Ultimate (32bit).

Hi
Im no expert but ill try and help. Ive also got a AGP 2600XT and had no issues with mine.
I assume you have enabled the second output. That to me sounds like the problem. You either need to do it in CCC or Windows display settings. Once you switch the other output on it should all spring to life. and then the fun begins.
sorry if you already have done that.. Its all i can think of at this time on a Monday morning.

Originally Posted by dave_bass5

Hi
Im no expert but ill try and help. Ive also got a AGP 2600XT and had no issues with mine.
I assume you have enabled the second output. That to me sounds like the problem. You either need to do it in CCC or Windows display settings. Once you switch the other output on it should all spring to life. and then the fun begins.
sorry if you already have done that.. Its all i can think of at this time on a Monday morning.

Thanks for reply Dave but I'm afraid I've tried everything, enabling TV in CCC, force detecting TV, connecting 17" monitor onto D-Shell adaptor and plugging into DVI-I socket on card to prove the signal from the socket exists.
Cable is DVI-D on PC end and HDMI on other for connection to TV and goes through a HDMI splitter box because I also have an upscaler DVD player connected to this TV. When a DVD is playing in the upscaler, I can even hear the Audio transferring through the box, across the switch and back down to my PC speakers in the opposite direction through the HDMI cable?????? Why I don't know. The signal from my laptop to the TV proves that the switch box works OK and I have reverted to my old Nvidia GEF5500 wich also works.
It seems that my LG 32LX2R TV & HD2600XT card just won't get it on and I can't figure out why.

Some more suggestions would be greatly appreciated thanks.

[mug]

Do these cards have a hdmi port on them ?

[Donnacha]

Originally Posted by mug

Do these cards have a hdmi port on them ?

no - mine has Dual DVI X 2 outputs. You can get a DVI to HDMI adaptor for the card.

[dreaddan]

BigMacblue ,
I'm having the same problem with a PCI card I've got - I have a feeling that the poweroutput from teh cards are diffrent as my gecube AGP works fine!

[dreaddan]

7.11 are now out!

Folks, I've given up on ATI. I got in touch with Sapphire and was told by the horses mouth that these cards have software drivers problems when using a DVI - HDMI output. I was told to download and install drivers for CCC 7.7 as this is supposed to be the correct CCC version for my AGP card. Couldn't get that to install so tried 7.8, 7.9, 7.10 & 7.11. I even purchased another card and sent my first back to the supplier with the same results. As they said, IT JUST DON'T WORK.

Waiting on delivery of a XFX GeForce 7900 card, going back to NVidia.

LOL ATI users.

[dreaddan]

Odd as my GuCube works ok.
I think there is a general compatability issue with hdmi-dvi adaptors, as I can use a dvi-hdmi cable with my agp card ok but it wont work with my pci card.

[mossym]

Originally Posted by BigMacblue

Folks, I've given up on ATI. I got in touch with Sapphire and was told by the horses mouth that these cards have software drivers problems when using a DVI - HDMI output. I was told to download and install drivers for CCC 7.7 as this is supposed to be the correct CCC version for my AGP card. Couldn't get that to install so tried 7.8, 7.9, 7.10 & 7.11. I even purchased another card and sent my first back to the supplier with the same results. As they said, IT JUST DON'T WORK.

Waiting on delivery of a XFX GeForce 7900 card, going back to NVidia.

LOL ATI users.

can you let us know if this works, looking for a solution to my problem here
HD playback


and if you can get playback with any agp card i'm interested

[dave_bass5]

Originally Posted by BigMacblue

Folks, I've given up on ATI. I got in touch with Sapphire and was told by the horses mouth that these cards have software drivers problems when using a DVI - HDMI output. I was told to download and install drivers for CCC 7.7 as this is supposed to be the correct CCC version for my AGP card. Couldn't get that to install so tried 7.8, 7.9, 7.10 & 7.11. I even purchased another card and sent my first back to the supplier with the same results. As they said, IT JUST DON'T WORK.

Waiting on delivery of a XFX GeForce 7900 card, going back to NVidia.

LOL ATI users.

Exactly what did they say that doesn't work. As already mentioned by a few people, myself included the ATI AGP cards do work. In my case the only problem i had was no Audio over HDMI, not even the option to install it. Is that what they said wont work?

[KelvinS1965]

I've finally managed to get my GeCube HD 2600Pro AGP to work with hardware accelaration when viewing BBC HD using DVBViewer.

I'm using the CCC 7.10, Power DVD Ultra 7.3.3516 and AC3Filter V1.46. I also used some registry hacks that I found on the AVSforum 2xxx thread (ATI_HD2x00_Reg_Tweaks_0.6.vbs).

When watching live BBC HD my CPU is barley reading anything 0.8 to 1 % (according to Speedfan) and the GPU goes anywhere from 33 to 60% (according to CCC overclocking tab). I only had to tick the DXVA tab in 'View' / 'filters' within DVBViewer.

Only minor issue is that during BBC HD Preview (when there is frequent changes of video/film clips) the picture goes into a judder like there is only half frame speed. To fix this I have to select 'Rebuild graph' and it's OK for sometime. If I'm watching a single program then it seems to be fine, I guess due to the fact that the type of video/film remains the same during the program.

I have been able to watch recordings using DVBViewer/CoreAVC (no HA)/ACFilter and an older version of CCC, but live viewing wouldn't work with the 2600Pro, so this is a bit of a breakthrough (especially as I now have a 1080p TV to view it on).

Lets hope we can receive Ch4 HD in the future once their tie in with Sky finishes, then I'll have two free HD channels.....

Also I'm thinking of adding this Toshiba HD DVD drive in the new year so I can be dual HD format. If the Power DVD codec is working with HA in DVBViewer, is it logical to assume it will work with HA when using Power DVD to play a HD DVD?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CD-000-TS

[EQUIVALENT]

Originally Posted by KelvinS1965

Also I'm thinking of adding this Toshiba HD DVD drive in the new year so I can be dual HD format. If the Power DVD codec is working with HA in DVBViewer, is it logical to assume it will work with HA when using Power DVD to play a HD DVD?

Yeah, since HD-DVD has more in common with blu-ray, powerdvd should handle it just as well (and does, according to all reports). Just keep an eye on the powerdvd thread.* As you said, in contrast, TV throws up all sorts of irregularities, like variable resolution changes and compression artefacts. I assume you've got your hardware deinterlacing checked? Arfster may know more about the odd judders. Good to know it's working for you!

*http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...pp=30&page=148

[Donnacha]

Originally Posted by KelvinS1965

I've finally managed to get my GeCube HD 2600Pro AGP to work with hardware accelaration when viewing BBC HD using DVBViewer.

I'm using the CCC 7.10, Power DVD Ultra 7.3.3516 and AC3Filter V1.46. I also used some registry hacks that I found on the AVSforum 2xxx thread (ATI_HD2x00_Reg_Tweaks_0.6.vbs).

When watching live BBC HD my CPU is barley reading anything 0.8 to 1 % (according to Speedfan) and the GPU goes anywhere from 33 to 60% (according to CCC overclocking tab). I only had to tick the DXVA tab in 'View' / 'filters' within DVBViewer.

Only minor issue is that during BBC HD Preview (when there is frequent changes of video/film clips) the picture goes into a judder like there is only half frame speed. To fix this I have to select 'Rebuild graph' and it's OK for sometime. If I'm watching a single program then it seems to be fine, I guess due to the fact that the type of video/film remains the same during the program.

I have been able to watch recordings using DVBViewer/CoreAVC (no HA)/ACFilter and an older version of CCC, but live viewing wouldn't work with the 2600Pro, so this is a bit of a breakthrough (especially as I now have a 1080p TV to view it on).

Lets hope we can receive Ch4 HD in the future once their tie in with Sky finishes, then I'll have two free HD channels.....

Also I'm thinking of adding this Toshiba HD DVD drive in the new year so I can be dual HD format. If the Power DVD codec is working with HA in DVBViewer, is it logical to assume it will work with HA when using Power DVD to play a HD DVD?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=CD-000-TS

Hi, a little offtopic, what card are you using to receive HD TV? Thanks!

[KelvinS1965]

Originally Posted by Donnacha

Hi, a little offtopic, what card are you using to receive HD TV? Thanks!

I use a Skystar 2 PCI card. Thanks to another poster I'm now also able to watch Luxe HD TV as well (not that there is much on of interest to me, but I can keep an eye on the schedule just incase).

Back on topic, I tried to install the later 7.11 driver (which is probably not a wise move as everthing seems to be working OK anyway) and got the 'hardware not recognised' message. I might try again once 7.12 comes out as there is supposed to be HA for the AGP models, but I don't know what benifit this will give me TBH. Perhaps it may help if I get the HD DVD drive?

[EQUIVALENT]

Did you use the gecube drivers? I don't know why you got that message (for the hdtv stream, was it?), but installing a hd-dvd drive won't change it, I don't think, as I don't think it's actively 'looking' for extra HD devices, HDCP-style. In fact, some people (arrrrr!) are managing to HA their blu-rays without a blu-ray drive installed!

[KelvinS1965]

It was the 'Official' ATI driver for 7.10 and 7.11, but the 7.11 one gives the 'hardware not found' message when I try to install. I can't see any particular benefit to using 7.11 ATM, so I'll leave it as it is for now. It was just that I read somewhere (maybe here?) that HA will only work with 7.12 when it comes out. I'm not sure which codec's HA will become enabled with 7.12 because, as I said, I'm getting HA with 7.10 when I use Power DVD's codec for H264 (ie BBC HD). As I'll be using Power DVD with the HD DVD drive when I get it, then it should work with the settings I have now.

I don't think that I'll be successful with these settings if I transfer the 2600 and Skystar to my XP3200 powered Shuttle as I read somewhere that there are HA issues with older motherboards / their drivers. I'd like to try out of technical interest anyway, incase it is useful information to other users.

The only slight worry is that I did various uninstalls whilst upgrading to Power DVD Ultra (from an older version of Power DVD) and to CCC7.10. I've had so many different CCC drivers installed/uninstalled, it is possible that I might not get the same results if I did a clean install of XP and just put these drivers/ version on it. I'm going to take a 'Ghost' of the settings, before I try installing any other software even seemingly unrelated programs.

[phusg]

That the situation will improve in 7.12 comes straight from the horses mouth: http://support.ati.com/ics/support/d...estionID=29894

I'd be very interested if it works in your shuttle, is it an nForce chipset by any chance? I only have nForce 1 and 2 motherboards and am holding back on purchasing the 2600 AGP until I hear it it supported properly. I opened a ticket at support.ati.com but that isn't getting me anywhere quick.

One thing I don't understand is how you are getting H264 BBC HD to work with a non HD Skystar card? If this works why do Skystar also have a HD card?!?

[Spinning Plates]

Anyone know where I can get a silent 2600 agp card from?

[phusg]

Originally Posted by Spinning Plates

Anyone know where I can get a silent 2600 agp card from?

AFAIK MSI is the only manufacturer making passively cooled AGP cards, such as their RX2600PRO-T2D256Z/D2.

As to where to buy one, that kind of depends on your location. I'd say Google is your friend ;-)

You shouldn't be paying more than 100 euro's for one at the time of writing, although that will probably be less after Christmas.

[KelvinS1965]

Originally Posted by phusg

I'd be very interested if it works in your shuttle, is it an nForce chipset by any chance?

I think it is an NForce 2 IIRC. We just use it for emails, photos and as a Freeview TV in the bedroom. Might be a while before I get round to trying it though with the Christmas rush underway and all that.

Originally Posted by phusg

One thing I don't understand is how you are getting H264 BBC HD to work with a non HD Skystar card? If this works why do Skystar also have a HD card?!?

I might have written down the wrong model number, but I'm pretty sure it is a 'Skystar 2' PCI card as it appears within DVBViewer in the list of hardware devices. Maybe the 'HD' card is an 'S2' version? If so I might get one next year if it will allow me to receive Ch4 HD if it becomes FTA (ie unencrypted) as some people think it might.

[EQUIVALENT]

Yeah, I've heard there are chipset variabilities. HA has worked fine for blu-ray in my shuttle - nForce3 sn95g5 (s939). Before the HD cards though it was truly shocking. The 1950pro achieved what can only be described as 'hardware hampering', even with HA unchecked! NVIDIA cards were fine, and though they hardly accelerated, faster cards resulted in better picture quality, even with HA unchecked.

[mug]

Does anyone know if this card is silent ?, it says it is in the description but the images looks like it won't be.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...=56&subcat=403

If not what are my options for an under £50 silent/passive agp card ?

Thanks,
Marcus

[EQUIVALENT]

I don't know about the silence, but I really wouldn't get the 2400. Apparently it really struggles to accelerate HD MPEG (AVC and VC-1 codecs are ok I think). The 2600, having more shaders, seems to be fine.

[EQUIVALENT]

I wouldn't install the 7.12 drivers:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...3#post12551173

EDIT: this seems to be a BIOS update problem, some others have found the drivers OK:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post12561412