I'm thinking of converting my gaming rig to an HTPC/gaming rig running WMC for TV/PVR. This is my current setup:
MSI P67A-C43 (B3)
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge overclocked to 4.4ghz
8GB of G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series DDR3 2133
1 XFX Radeon HD 5870 1GB
I've played with the software but have a few questions on performance and hardware:
How would two simultaneous recordings or live tv and one recording perform if I were to play a game at the same time? For example, I'm playing Witcher 2 which I can currently play with great performance. If those tasks would significantly degrade my gaming performance, are there any hardware options to offload the work of two simultaneous recordings to say a PC card or maybe some other small external device?
Also, how important is a sound card when it comes to HTPC? Does it help with audio encoding?
Any advice or guidance is appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Gaming/HTPC hardware questions
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binarydivision
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slowbiscuit
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I game on a rig not much more powerful than yours (i5-3570k, 8GB RAM, GTX 650) and see no issues at all with either recording or watching live TV on an Xbox extender. Current stuff like Far Cry 3 and Guild Wars 2. You shouldn't have a problem.
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binarydivision
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Appreciate the response! My PC has been in the living room since Steam Big Picture came out and having it so close to the TV and cable box made my geek senses tingle. MUST TINKER!
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LuckyDay
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Yeah, you'll have no problems at all with that. 5870 and 2500k is still a high end set up.
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NWW
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One thing that *could* degrade performance is playing a game located on the same HDD/partition as your Recorded TV. But even then, I have never seen any degradation while recording and playing on a similar setup as yours. You'll be fine!
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binarydivision
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Awesome. I have spare 500GB HDDs doing nothing in my box that I will RAID 0. I may get NAS once I'm satisfied with how it all works.
I'm surprised though, I thought video encoding (during recording) would hamper game performance. I'm no expert but doesn't encoding take a lot of CPU?
I'm surprised though, I thought video encoding (during recording) would hamper game performance. I'm no expert but doesn't encoding take a lot of CPU?
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LuckyDay
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Recording TV is handled by the tuner. The hardware on the tuner takes care of it. The CPU hit during recording is pretty minimal.binarydivision wrote:Awesome. I have spare 500GB HDDs doing nothing in my box that I will RAID 0. I may get NAS once I'm satisfied with how it all works.
I'm surprised though, I thought video encoding (during recording) would hamper game performance. I'm not expert but doesn't encoding take a lot of CPU?
Encoding video in other programs, like converting different file types with something like Handbrake, or compressing video to smaller file sizes, is pretty CPU intensive.
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binarydivision
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Ah-ha! Awesome. Well time to look for tuners. Thanks everyone.
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barnabas1969
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That's true, as long as you get a tuner with a hardware encoder on the card. Most tuner cards have hardware encoding, but a few don't.LuckyDay wrote:Recording TV is handled by the tuner. The hardware on the tuner takes care of it. The CPU hit during recording is pretty minimal.binarydivision wrote:Awesome. I have spare 500GB HDDs doing nothing in my box that I will RAID 0. I may get NAS once I'm satisfied with how it all works.
I'm surprised though, I thought video encoding (during recording) would hamper game performance. I'm not expert but doesn't encoding take a lot of CPU?
Encoding video in other programs, like converting different file types with something like Handbrake, or compressing video to smaller file sizes, is pretty CPU intensive.
binarydivision, what kind of tuner are you looking for? It would help to tell us what country you are in, and what type of TV you want to receive (over-the-air, cable, satellite).
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binarydivision
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US of A, cable, HD and definitely a card (or possibly a standalone) with hardware encoding.
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barnabas1969
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OK. Does your cable company copy-protect any of the channels you want to receive?binarydivision wrote:US of A, cable, HD and definitely a card (or possibly a standalone) with hardware encoding.
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binarydivision
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Sorry. I just checked using Silicon Dust's site and it appears to be a mix of encrypted and not. So yes, I would have to read encrypted channels as well.
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barnabas1969
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OK, so you'd want a CableCARD tuner then. There are three options: 1) Silicondust HD HomeRun Prime, 2) Ceton InfiniTV4, 3) Hauppauge DCR-2650.
I prefer the Silicondust HD HomeRun Prime. It's a network tuner, so you can hide it in a closet if you want (that's what I did). The HDHRP has 3 tuners. It can be shared by multiple PC's (or only one). It performs dynamic tuner assignment, which means that you don't need to dedicate a tuner to an individual PC. It does this on the fly.
The Ceton InfiniTV4 comes in two varieties. One is PCIe (internal), and the other is USB (external). Both have 4 tuners. It seems that more people have trouble with the USB version. That could be due to their USB hardware and/or drivers. Both varieties of the InfiniTV can be shared over a network too, but they require the PC to which they are connected to be turned on. They also don't support dynamic tuner assignment, so if you assign a tuner to another PC, that tuner is not available for use by any other PC.
The Hauppauge DCR-2650 is 2 tuners, and only comes as a USB (external).
If your cable company uses Switched Digital Video, you'll also need a Tuning Adapter (aka Tuning Resolver). Your cable company will provide this, and they should know if you need one or not. The Tuning Adapter connects via USB. If you have the Silicondust HD HomeRun Prime tuner, it connects directly to the tuner's USB port. If you use the other tuners listed above, it will connect to a USB port on the computer. One nice thing about being able to connect the Tuning Adapter directly to the tuner, is that the Tuning Adapter can be hidden in a closet along with the tuner.
With all of the tuners, copy-protected shows can only be played on the PC where they were recorded, or on an extender for Windows Media Center. The only two currently-produced extenders are the XBox360, and the Ceton Echo. There are others that you can buy used on e-bay. Those are: 1) Linksys DMA-2100 and DMA-2200, 2) HP X280N, 3) DLink DSM-750. I do not recommend the DLink. The XBox360 is the only extender that is compatible with Windows 8. All of them work with Windows 7.
Hope this helps.
I prefer the Silicondust HD HomeRun Prime. It's a network tuner, so you can hide it in a closet if you want (that's what I did). The HDHRP has 3 tuners. It can be shared by multiple PC's (or only one). It performs dynamic tuner assignment, which means that you don't need to dedicate a tuner to an individual PC. It does this on the fly.
The Ceton InfiniTV4 comes in two varieties. One is PCIe (internal), and the other is USB (external). Both have 4 tuners. It seems that more people have trouble with the USB version. That could be due to their USB hardware and/or drivers. Both varieties of the InfiniTV can be shared over a network too, but they require the PC to which they are connected to be turned on. They also don't support dynamic tuner assignment, so if you assign a tuner to another PC, that tuner is not available for use by any other PC.
The Hauppauge DCR-2650 is 2 tuners, and only comes as a USB (external).
If your cable company uses Switched Digital Video, you'll also need a Tuning Adapter (aka Tuning Resolver). Your cable company will provide this, and they should know if you need one or not. The Tuning Adapter connects via USB. If you have the Silicondust HD HomeRun Prime tuner, it connects directly to the tuner's USB port. If you use the other tuners listed above, it will connect to a USB port on the computer. One nice thing about being able to connect the Tuning Adapter directly to the tuner, is that the Tuning Adapter can be hidden in a closet along with the tuner.
With all of the tuners, copy-protected shows can only be played on the PC where they were recorded, or on an extender for Windows Media Center. The only two currently-produced extenders are the XBox360, and the Ceton Echo. There are others that you can buy used on e-bay. Those are: 1) Linksys DMA-2100 and DMA-2200, 2) HP X280N, 3) DLink DSM-750. I do not recommend the DLink. The XBox360 is the only extender that is compatible with Windows 8. All of them work with Windows 7.
Hope this helps.
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binarydivision
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Thanks everybody for their help!!!!
I'm leaning towards the Ceton products. Getting the tuner card for the PC I mentioned in the opening post and then if things work out, order their extender for the bedroom. If I do get an extender, would I need to designate one of the tuners for it?
Thanks again.
I'm leaning towards the Ceton products. Getting the tuner card for the PC I mentioned in the opening post and then if things work out, order their extender for the bedroom. If I do get an extender, would I need to designate one of the tuners for it?
Thanks again.
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foxwood
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No - that's not how extenders work. The PC uses the tuner, and "extends" its display to the Extender.binarydivision wrote:If I do get an extender, would I need to designate one of the tuners for it?