Win2K+G200+DVD=100% CPU

[steev]

I've just moved from 98 to 2000 and since I bought a Ricoh 9060 combo drive recently I'd like to play DVDs. I'm playing with WinDVD 2000 and it plays reasonably, but sometimes seems jerky. My CPU usage hovers just below 100%. Is this normal? I'm sure my CPU should be more than capable. I've seen DVDs play on much slower machines.

I'm currently using the default Win2K driver for my G200. Will the latest Matrox (5.33) help? I understand that what I have may not make the best use of the card.

Steve

Duron 650 on MSI K7T Pro
128MB PC100 (it's what was on my old PII/350)
Matrox G200 8MB
Ricoh 9060 DVD/CD-RW
IBM 75GXP 46GB
Yamaha WF192XG

[Taz]

Try using PowerDVD, if you can, as that seems a more efficient player.

[fds]

Are you sure you have DMA turned on for your drive or is it SCSI?

If it's an IDE drive, right-click on My Computer and select Manage, then in the Device Manager expand IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers and double-click on the entries found there. There should be a tab page about setting DMA.

Also try installing a driver newer than the default. I think it's more likely though that you have a case of DMA not turned on.

[steev]

I've now tried PowerDVD as well. That only uses around 80% CPU and is much smoother, but the sound breaks up. I get various crackles and pops. WinDVD sound was fine.

The other downer on Power is the price, $50 vs $30. I only have 2 speakers so the surround versions are irrelevant. I just want to be able to watch the occaisional movie.

I've checked and the drive is using DMA.

Thanx

Steve

[Taz]

How's the DVD drive connected IDE or SCSI?

If it's IDE is it on the Primary or Secondary IDE controller and is it set to Master or Slave?

[steev]

It's on the 2ndry IDE as a master.

What I want to know is:

1. Can the G200 help at all in DVD decoding?

2. Has anyone else got a similar setup and can they play DVDs?

3. What difference does running W2K make?

Thx

[mynx]

My original setup was G200, K6-2/400 and the cinimaster player under 98se. This setup had about 95% cpu usage. Is there a background program running? Ctrl+Alt+Del (or the Win2k equiv) and see whats running.

[WayneHu]

Maybe the resolution and color depth you choose does not provide hardware DirectDraw Overlay. As I know, G200's limitation is 1152x864x32bpp or 1280x1024x24bpp...

G400's limitation is around 1440x1080x32bpp.


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PIII-550E@733/1.65v, P3B-F, G400DH/32MB@140/186

[dZeus]

the limitation has all to do with the amount of memory on the board, and little with the card's core.

[WayneHu]

Are you sure?

I have one Millennium G200 with additional 8 MB SGRAM. The the resolution of DDraw Overlay acceleration doesn't increase with the additional RAM...

Maybe it has been supported with newer version driver. In my memory, newer version drivers support higher resolution DDraw Overlay space. But it is obvious that there is no hardware acceleration and the CPU load is 100% during full screen video playback. With hardware video acceleration, cpu load won't reach 100% with WinDVD or Media Player.


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PIII-550E@733/1.65v, P3B-F, G400DH/32MB@140/186

[steev]

If mynx gets 95% CPU on a K6-2/400, then my Duron 650 should have no problems. The WinDVD site claims a K6-2/450 is adequate for purely software playback.

What I may try is putting back my old hard drive with Win98 and seeing if that's any better. I can't remember how well that worked when I tried it briefly before I moved to Win2K.

My standard resolution is 1024x768, generally at 24 or 32 bit.

I'm off skiing next week, so feel free to leave more suggestions and I'll try again when I get back.

Thanx for all the help

Steve