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The "essentials" for good dual-channel playback in InfoChannel 5
Hardware FAQ Solution #1, dual video (last modified 09/20/2007):
The "essentials" for good dual-channel playback:
#1 Dual-Core CPU is suggested.
#2 A Fast "Front Side Bus >800 MHz, with FSB 1066, 1333, 1666 MHz when possible for very high-performance playback!" is highly desirable!
#3 Largest possible L2 CPU cache.
#4 Dual-Channel memory (DDR2-667, PC2-5400, or better).
#5 As much 128-bit, or better: 256-bit, wide video memory as possible on a PEG--PCIeX16 w/256MB _minimum_!
#6 nVidia is the only fully functional Dual-Channel-3D solution in the marketplace currently while ATi has _superior_ performance--however in "Dual-Output" DirectX/D3D modes all X1K ATi products will drop 2-3 video frames each second on the secondary video port--which means a visible "glitch" on the 2nd output. [...this is a serious shame as at the same cost level the ATi cards have 70%+ better video playback performance in Dual-Channel mode!]
Example of a USD$900 solution for 2x1360x768 playback of 720p HD-WMV9 with a single 72pt crawl on each display:
Intel D946GZIS Motherboard
XFX GeForce 7600GS PEG: 512MB-GDDR2/2xDVI-I
Two 512MB DDR2-667CL:4-4-4-12 DIMM's (or DDR2-800)
Intel Core2Duo E6420 (sSpec SLA4T only)
[2.13 GHz, 1066 FSB, 4MB L2]
Chassis with a 350W+ PSU [400W or better suggested]
SATA or EIDE DVD-ROM
250GB 7,200RPM 3.5" HDD, [8MB or 16MB HDD cache]
Windows XPPsp2
Alternatives:
AMD Athlon64-X2 or Athlon BE2###-series Dual Core 35W or 45W CPU
AMD 690G chipset motherboard
--the rest as above
(nVidia GeForce6150 solutions are also acceptable but not quite as desirable)
Example motherboards:
ASUS M2NPV-VM
ASUS M2A-VM
MSI K9AGM2-FIH
'Main Stream' machines:
HP dx5750 MT (w/High eff. PSU) -- with a 3rd party GeForce7600XX/512MB/2xDVI-I card; this is an AMD A64-X2/ATi RS48x-based solution that will be refreshed by an Athlon-BE/AMD690G solution at the end of September.
DELL Optiplex 745 MT -- with a 3rd party GeForce7600XX/512MB/2xDVI-I card; this is an Intel C2D/965-based solution that will be refreshed by an updated C2D/X3#-based solution at the end of September.
DELL Optiplex 740 MT -- AMD A64-X2/nV MCP51PV-based, (GeForce6150LE), solution with a 3rd party GeForce7600XX/512MB/2xDVI-I card;
Fujitsu-Siemens ESPRIMO P-series
P5916 -- a C2D/Q965 machine similar to the DELL-745 with a Power Supply that is 35W _less_ capable--so *careful* selection of the 3rd Party Graphics card is critical!
P5615 -- AMD A64-X2/nV MCP51PV-based, (GeForce6150LE), machine similar to the DELL-740 with a Power Supply that is 35W _less_ capable--so *careful* selection of the 3rd Party Graphics card is critical!
PROBLEMS WITH THE "Main Stream" SOLUTIONS:
#1) Extremely minimal Power Supplies,
#2) Limited Audio--they tend *not* to be able to function in such a manner that it would be possible to have 2x-Stereo pairs in order to be able to provide Stereo Audio for each programme.
Alternative option for some classes of implementations:
A good _SINGLE_OUTPUT_ machine with a Matrox "DualHead2Go" or"TripleHead2Go", (analog or digital), attached. This is the only solution that would permit "Low Profile" machines or the very small SFF-class machines such as the Shuttle XPC X100 to be used as a Dual-Channel IC5 Player.
Regards,
Scala Technical Support
