1 Topic by Tyrel (edited by Tyrel 22-12-2015 08:34:58)

Topic: Requesting help to improve performance

Hi!

I've been using SVP for quite a while, but only recently started using it on my HTPC. Problem is, the performance can be horrible for some videos, while it's okay with others. The issue is not resolution related, since I have a bunch of 720p videos that run fluently, and then there are other 720p videos that stutter and slow down so much that they go out of sync with the audio.

System:
AMD Athlon 5350 APU (4 cores @ 2.1 GHz, with integrated Radeon HD8400 GPU)
8GB RAM (1600MHz, CL9)
Windows 10 64bit (up to date)
Radeon Software driver 15.12

SVP:
Up to date with all components, currently at 4.0.0.54
Using madVR
Using default settings
Using GPU acceleration
Using MPC-HC installed by SVP

Now I know this Athlon 5350 is pretty far from being a beast, but still, it's not a bad APU. I've seen it demonstrate an impressive performance compared to its price several times, and even if the 4 CPU cores it has weren't enough, it also has an AMD GPU and plenty of memory.

Still, SVP performance is pretty bad on this thing. I do understand frame interpolation is a complicated thing to do / calculate, but I would expect such a system to be able to do it up to FullHD. Problem is, it can't.
SVP Performance slider is already set to maximum performance. CPU load is jumping between 90-100%, while SVP Index is jumping around 0.8 - 1.1. I've also checked the GPU load using GPU-Z and it's a bit weird. It generally is 100% but with quite a few short gaps in it, where the GPU load falls straight to 0% as if it ran out of stuff to do.

Is such a system really too weak to run videos with SVP? Or are there some kind of magic settings that can be used to improve performance?
I've tried reinstalling without madVR, but that didn't seem to change anything at all. Please help...

P.S.:
What I find really really weird is, that playing the very same video on my desktop PC shows the following:
Intel i5-3570K
AMD R9 390
Software and SVP setup is exactly the same (Radeon SW 15.12, Win10 64bit, same SVP settings except the performance slider is up to about 2/3 into the High Quality zone)

CPU load is about 30-40% and GPU load is basically non-existent. Ocassionally it spikes to about 50% then instantly goes back to 0. GPU acceleration is of course enabled.

So howcome my desktop PC doesn't break a sweat when playing that movie, while the HTPC dies trying? And howcome one of them has 100% GPU utilization with some gaps, while the other one doesn't seem to use the GPU at all?

Re: Requesting help to improve performance

using madVR on "integrated Radeon HD8400" is not a greatest idea

3 Reply by Nintendo Maniac 64 (edited by Nintendo Maniac 64 23-12-2015 03:03:32)

Re: Requesting help to improve performance

Also the desktop CPU is practically 4 times faster (I'm not even exaggerating).  SVP scales quite linearly with a faster CPU, but the GPU only needs to be above a certain level of performance at which point the extra GPU performance is not necessary.

Take a look at this chart that shows the single-core performance per GHz.  Your 5350 APU is extremely similar to the Athlon 64 x2 while the i5-3570 would be a bit faster (~8%) than the fastest CPU on this list:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/processor-architecture-benchmark,2974-15.html wrote:

http://media.bestofmicro.com/I/O/298752/original/overall.png

That alone would put the desktop CPU at nearly 2x the performance of your HTPC, but the desktop CPU also clocks to almost double of what your HTPC is clocked at.

  • MAG79
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Re: Requesting help to improve performance

Tyrel
are there some kind of magic settings that can be used to improve performance?

Use EVR Custom with D3D Fullscreen.
MPC-HC - menu View - Options - Output tab - select Enchanced Video Renderer (custom presenter) - enable D3D Fullscreen - select Resizer (Bilinear for weak GPU, Bicubic A=-1.0 for more sharpness for strong GPU) - OK

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Re: Requesting help to improve performance

MAG79 wrote:

Bicubic A=-1.0 for more sharpness for strong GPU) - OK

His GPU should be able to do bicubic easily.

However, make sure you compare the performance to bilinear (NOT the bilinear that's PS 2.0) and see if it is any slower.


Also, one thing to consider is that, since your HTPC is likely connected to a TV, you may want to have your TV do the upscaling rather than your PC (this is assuming you do not have a TV with crappy upscaling).

Lastly, you can try running your TV at 48Hz for 24fps content, 50hz for 25fps content, and 60hz for 30fps content.  This will take less CPU for 24 and 25fps content while also giving a smoother result than just always running at 60Hz.  I personally recommend using MPC-HC's built-in automatic resolution changer for this ability.

If your TV doesn't natively support 48Hz and 50Hz, try making custom resolutions via CRU - Custom Resolution Utility.   Make sure that these are "Detailed resolutions" and that you try "LCD standard", "LCD native", and "LCD reduced".  Note that you need to reboot after adding custom resolutions.  If you change to an unsupported refreshrate and Windows doesn't automatically change back, restart your PC (windows start keyboard key -> right arrow key -> enter key) rapidly press F8 before Windows loads while your PC is booting up, and select "Low resolution" / 640x480 mode.