PIO Mode After Encoding & Other Stuff

[jagabo]

Hope the registry patches work.

[Tom Saurus]

The technician is going to be sorting out today if the problems lie in the ram, motherboard, hard drive or operating system. He mentioned a burn test that turned out successfully; but after that there were several different kernal errors and the computer shutting itself down. He talked about maybe flashing the BIOS. He said he could get me a dual core tower with a higher speed for about 300 bucks, and depending on the labor charges, that may be the best way to go. He thinks the Hauppauge 150 card can be put into the new tower and I am starting to lean toward the new tower, my dual core chip that I currently have is 2.3 ghz and the one in the other tower is 3.0ghz and he said my Windows XP Home could be installed on the new system. Windows 7 is installed on my sister's laptop and I find it a little nerve wracking as it just too quick in that lets says the mouse courser is hovering over something it assumes I want that thing clicked on. I am happy with Windows XP on my desktop so if he puts it on the new computer and updates it to Service Pack 3, and he said he would make sure it holds all my hard drives, I want at least two in there and if I have a performance boost in the encoding of mpeg2 to .divx files I might be better off. I paid nearly 300 bucks a few months ago to another technician at a different place and it looks like that money has been wasted, as my computer is on its last legs. I certainly don't want to pay a couple hundred bucks and this computer that I have now breaking down again.

[jagabo]

I sure hope there is life in my old computer yet. It is about 5 years old now as it was built in 2006.

I may be bad capacitors on the motherboard. Look around the CPU. Are they bulging?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

[Tom Saurus]

jagabo: Thank you for that link. I read through the article at wikipedia and it seems to match up with a lot of the symptoms of the computer. The night before my computer really started acting up there was a loud popping sound in our house and perhaps it is connected to this. Though a few months back out of the blue the computer shut itself down and restarted. I have an APC Power Backup that I plug the computer into, and hopefully that was protecting against power surges. Once again thank you very much for the lead on possibly what is wrong with the computer.

[Tom Saurus]

I was talking to the technician and he tested the ram and it stands up to the tests. It looks the drives are all stable now. So the problem may lie in the motherboard or the Operating System. I have decided to go with having my hard drives and Hauppauge card moved to another computer with a slightly better chip. So I may have a better system than what I have. I think this technician is interested in getting me a more stable computer system and my OS can be reinstalled if necessary and if things go well a couple months down the line if I can scratch some money up I will have the 250gb hard drive replaced with a 2 TB hard drive. He is going to install some fans on the hard drives to keep them cool.

I have decided to go this route and feel at ease with the decision. I have tied up quite a lot of money in the computer in the last year or so. My best bet will be to save for an i5 computer or something similar for next year.

[Tom Saurus]

I got my computer back today. It is another case, it has a different motherboard, more ram and I have everything set up again on the computer. The only thing is I think I might of downgraded to a Pentium 4 chip even though it is 3.0ghz from my E6400 and this is kind of giving me a funny feeling. I am used to seeing 2 graphs in the performance tab in Task Manager. So I think processor wise I may have went backwards. But I do see to have a more stable computer, the USB issues and PIO mode stuff seems to solved. The only thing is Pentium 4 is a hotter chip with less zest that a Core Duo chip, if I remember correctly. Everything else seems to be fine, but I got a weird feeling about this.

[Tom Saurus]

A picture of my former computer's task manger snapshot:

[Tom Saurus]

I am going to try to remain positive. I left my case and what was left behind and he said he would keep it for me for my old pentium 4 computer which I plan to bring in and put in my Antec Sonata 2 case and I suppose have a new motherboard put in and hopefully the E6400 chip and the ram put in. But it looks like my newer computer is a Pentium 4 too. I think I will phone the technician on Monday. I will do a test with Tmpgenc Xpress 4.0 tonight and see how things go. When he said I was get a 3.0ghz chip I assumed it was a dual core chip or core duo chip.

[Tom Saurus]

I just started a project of converting a mpeg2 file to a .divx file and it is taking 100 percent of the resources when I look at the speedfan readings and the the temperature went from 40 C up to 51 quite quickly. If that is par for the course I know this computer is no computer for encoding. My only hope for encoding is to go the Future Shop Canada and go with perhaps an i3 computer or take a chance with a cheap quad core. Or take my old Pentium 4 that predated "Tom Saurus' Potentially New Computer" and see if the core duo chip can be put in a new motherboard. Maybe I should just try to scratch up the money and get a computer from Future Shop Canada. The picture below is the Speedfan readings when there is a light load on the computer.

[Tom Saurus]

Would this be a good computer for me to get? It is an i3 and it has a PCI slot so maybe my Hauppauge Card could be put in it.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/gateway-gateway-intel-core-i3-2100-computer-dx4...5e26c66c45en02

Here is a list of all the desktops at Future Shop Canada:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/category/desktop-computers/10607.aspx?path=f7ffd2127fff...2fe93123f3en01

Any advice is appreciated. I guess I could use my sister's laptop and move Tmpgenc Xpress 4.0 over onto that but that might wearout the laptop pretty fast. Her laptop has 6 cores, but it gets pretty hot when encoding. Maybe I should except the limitations of the P4 and the potential heat issues, I don't want to blow all my savings and I feel bad wasting much energy worrying about these computer issues with a family member having an operation soon.

[Tom Saurus]

The video being tested in Tmpgenc Xpress 4.0 is 54 minutes in length. It looks like it is going to take 3 hours to encode; my dual core would of done it in half the time and only use about 75 percent of the resources. It looks like the temperature is only getting as high as 52 C. Here is the speedfan reading for the full load:

[jagabo]

The only thing is I think I might of downgraded to a Pentium 4 chip even though it is 3.0ghz from my E6400 and this is kind of giving me a funny feeling. I am used to seeing 2 graphs in the performance tab in Task Manager. So I think processor wise I may have went backwards.

Yes, that's a big step backwards. You've gone from a Core 2 Duo to a single core P4. Roughly half the CPU power.

I just started a project of converting a mpeg2 file to a .divx file... the temperature went from 40 C up to 51 quite quickly.

That's normal for a P4 CPU. Nothing to worry about.

[jagabo]

Would this be a good computer for me to get? It is an i3 and it has a PCI slot so maybe my Hauppauge Card could be put in it.

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/gateway-gateway-intel-core-i3-2100-computer-dx4...5e26c66c45en02

That would be a good choice for a low end system. Significantly faster than your old Core 2 Duo:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/94?vs=289

And much much faster if you can use the Quick Sync encoder. See the MediaEspresso benchmark here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-a8-3850-llano,2975-17.html

[Tom Saurus]

jagabo: Thank you for the information on the P4 and that that was a safe temperature range; that certainly is a relief. I don't know if it is a better computer than the i3 but I am kind of leaning toward this computer now:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/hewlett-packard-hp-pavilion-amd-athlon-ii-645-q...d08a0da696en02

I do have a Hauppauge HD PVR model 1219 that I have never tried. It is still in the box. I am hesitant to use it because I have read of audio synch issues and I didn't think I had a computer powerful to use it and I thought the USB 2.0 cable transferring the video the hard drive would be rather pathetic compared to an actual card in the computer. I notice both computers that I am considering buying have a PCI slot, does this mean my Hauppauge 150 Card could go in that slot?

If you were choosing between the computers and encoding was your main reason to get it, which would you chose?

Thank you for your advice it is much appreciated.

[Tom Saurus]

I found a comparison chart between the two computers:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/compare-result.aspx?ProductIds=10172480%2C10171614&re...6subclass%253d

I am probably going to kick myself for not spending 3 or 4 hundred bucks more and getting an i5, but that is money I don't have or money I shouldn't part with at this time.

I am noticing the Quad Core does have a PCI slot but it is PCI Express x16, so maybe the Hauppauge 150 card wouldn't go in there; but maybe I can record stuff with my USB Hauppauge or leave the Hauppauge in the P4 and perhaps just send my edited womble files via a network cable to the new computer and encode them to divx with Tmpgenc Xpress 4.0. Maybe a router or network won't like it one computer being Windows Xp and the other being Windows 7.

There seems to be benifits for each computer and maybe the fact that the Quad Core is Windows 7 64 bit is important.

[jagabo]

That Athlon II 645 quad core system is slightly faster than the i3 system at video encoding:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/188?vs=289

If you do much MPEG 2 encoding you may find that the i3 runs faster because most MPEG 2 encoders don't scale well past 2 threads.

And, as mentioned earlier, if you can use a Quick Sync encoder the i3 completely blows away everything else (except the faster Sandy Bridge based processors, obviously). I haven't used Quick Sync myself so I'm not sure how the quality compares. I have used the CUDA (Nvidia graphics card) encoder but I found the quality unacceptable. But from the reviews I've seen of Quick Sync it looks like the quality is there.

64 bit Windows is somewhat of a pain, and there's no real benefit, with video applications

[Tom Saurus]

jagabo: From those benchmarks it looks like the i3 is the best way to go. It is 50 dollars more than the Quad Core. Last nights test of the video file which was 54 minutes in length in Tmpgenc Express took 154 minutes or 2 hours and 34 minutes. So regardless which computer I get I am probably going to get a 4 time improvement over the P4 which is enough for me. I have read about CUDA encoding and such but I am happy with what Tmpgenc Xpress can do, I do want to upgrade to their current program but that has to wait. I would go with AviDemux to do the encoding and the .xvid format, but my mpeg2 captures are best processed through the .divx home theater profile, if I use .xvid the video is jumpy and hard on the eyes and I never did figure out that problem. There is something about the home theater profile that smooths it out and the video is excellent. I used the better quality setting in Tmpgenc Xpress 4.0 and it takes longer but I do notice an improvement to the regular setting. I rarely convert a file to .mpeg2, I mostly convert mpeg2 captures to .divx files and occasionally convert .flv files to .avi files. But with VLC being able to play just about every format including .flv files there is no pressing need to convert the files.

Thank you very much for your advice. I do still have some timestamp issues but it may boil down to an 87 percent fragmented hard drive that is only 8 percent away from being full and the computer wanted to go to sleep after 10 minutes or screensaver and power settings, but I have adjusted it to stay on all the time and the screen saver not to kick in for a long time.

[jagabo]

So regardless which computer I get I am probably going to get a 4 time improvement over the P4 which is enough for me.

I wouldn't set my hopes that high. But maybe... Please run a few benchmarks when you get the new computer and let me know what you get!

[Tom Saurus]

jagabo: I ended up getting this computer instead:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/hewlett-packard-hp-pavilion-intel-core-i5-2300-...3b868444d6en02

It is an i5 and it was 50 dollars more than the i3. I got a 3 year warranty and paramedics were on standby in the event I collapsed at forking over most of my savings. The one thing that disappointments me is that there is no slot suitable for my Hauppauge 150 capture card. But if the P4 can hold up to the task of video capturing I can send the files to the i5 to let Tmpgenc Xpress 4.0 to work on. I wrote a message to Tmpgenc and hopefully after I install Tmpgenc Xpress 4.0 off the P4 computer they will allow me to use it on the i5 one.

[jagabo]

I think you'll be happy with that. It's a good deal.

[Tom Saurus]

I won't be able to try it out tonight because my monitor has a vga hookup and this computer has hdmi and DVI. I will probably have to get a new monitor or buy a DVI to VGA adapter. I just went and looked in the box I got my PVR and have found a DVD to HDMI cable and I can test the computer out on my mom's lcd tv.

[jagabo]

I won't be able to try it out tonight because my monitor has a vga hookup and this computer has hdmi and DVI. I will probably have to get a new monitor or buy a DVI to VGA adapter.

It didn't come with a DVI-I to VGA adapter? Almost every graphics card I've bought came with one!

[Tom Saurus]

jagabo: I looked in the box and no adapter. I think I had one at one time because I had an AIW Pro card years ago and it may have had an adapter on it; but if it I have lost it. I did get it hooked to my mom's LCD TV, but it is a 480p 20 inch and I had to put the resolution down to 800x600 to be able to access much on it and it just weird looking. I should of thought of it when I was a Future Shop.

Down the line I will probably get a nice monitor for it. I think I will stay away from a TV with PC Input, if the others are anything like my mom's it just won't look right.

[jagabo]

Just run down to your local electronics store and buy a DVI-I to VGA adapter. It should only cost a few dollars. Even Canadian dollars!
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-DVI-Cable-Adapter-DVIVGAMF/dp/B000067SOH/
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2350568

Make sure you have a DVI-I port on the graphics device (DVI-D doesn't include VGA).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface#Connector

[Tom Saurus]

jagabo: Thank you for your advice. I will phone tomorrow to a local place and see if they have an adapter.

[jagabo]

The tech who looked at your old system may have one sitting around he'll give you for free.

[Tom Saurus]

jagabo: In the following diagram the one labeled DVI Dual Link is what resembles what is on the back of my computer; the only difference being a very slight line intersecting the line at the one end between the four dots.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/DVI_Connector_Types.svg/181px..._Types.svg.png

I was talking to the technician and he might have one in stock, but he wanted me to get the exact configuration so that I get the proper adapter. I've sent him an email and perhaps tomorrow I can begin testing out this machine. I got an email back from someone at Tmpgenc and as long as I unistall Tmpgenc Express off of the P4 computer, I can use it on the i5 computer. The tech I took my computer can also cut me the length of cable I need so I can use my LYNXS Router to share files between computers. Thank you for all the advice you have been giving me.

[Tom Saurus]

jagabo: I have got the computer set up to the extent that I am encoding an mpeg2 file to a .divx file using Tmpgenc Xpress 4.0 The i5 blazed through the 22 minute mpeg2 file in 11 minutes and 37 seconds which is more than twice as fast as the dual core would of accomplished and atleat 4 times the spead as the Pentium 4.

[jagabo]

Glad it's working out well. In my experience with TMPGEnc Plus their MPEG 2 encoder doesn't scale much past two cores. Try running an x264 encode and should you see an even bigger difference. How much CPU usage do you see in Task Manager when encoding with TMPGEnc Xpress?

[Tom Saurus]

jagabo: I am still in the process of getting things configured to my liking on the i5. I have an old LYNXS router I set up and I am sharing my internet between the two computers and I set up that I can share my edited video folder from the P4 with the i5. I must of made a mistake or two along the way because my files transfer at only 11mbs and my USB 2.0 can transfer a file at 50mbs, and even taking into account transfering the video to the USB hard drive in the first place it is faster than my network. I have the network with cables as I just don't think wireless is safe.

I downloaded a trial version of Tmpgenc Works 5 and so far I am not impressed with it. I brought up speedfan during the encoding from mpeg2 to .divx process on Tmpgenc Xpress 4.0 and the load is divided between the four cores, but the majority of the work in put on the 4th core, and very little on the other cores. The CPU load didn't seem to get any higher than around 58 percent. The temperatures across the board stayed within safe margins, none of the cores and the hard drive got as high as 60 degrees.

I think to do some benchmarking I will put avidemux on the new computer and the P4 and test a file on each and compare the results. I did look at the readings in Task Manager, and on the i5 Windows 7 there is so much more information to access. My computers are sharing a crt monitor and it seems to shift in brightness and clarity. Text that is on a blue and orange background are very hard to make out at times; it is something to do with the crt monitor's cable the least movement it seems to do. I stuck with a crt monitor because when it comes to video editing my mpeg2 captures which are interlaced look better on a crt monitor.

I was up town on Thursday and a salesman demostrated a couple of monitors and a tv with PC Input because maybe down the line I can get a really nice video display device for the i5. I would like to have the option of using the device for other things, but maybe tv's with pc input just are not as good as a computer monitor. He did demostrate a touch screen monitor and even though it looked nice, I am repulsed by that technology for a desktop machine, especially when he demostrated playing solitaire. The neat thing though he had it hooked to this little mini computer that is so compact that you put it on a bracket on the back of the monitor. I was impressed with the mini computer.