GPU FOR MOVIES

[kiki4431]

Hi

 

I am need some suggestions on what GPU to pick for a "4K HDR playback PC".

 

So I'm looking for a GPU that has at least 1x HDMI 2.0 and one DP 1.4 or 2x HDMI 2.0 (better option if such card exists - would eliminate the need for DP-HDMI adapter - but not necessary, as I already have an adapter)

The said GPU doesn't need to be anything fancy, as no gaming will be done on it - the most demanding thing this GPU will have to do is MPC-HC with MadVR playing a 4K HDR movie, on a TV connected via HDMI 2.0 cable, and transfering 5.1 surround sound via another HDMI cable to AVR (the cable could be connected dirrectlly or via an adapter, as only sound is going through it it doesn't matter).

 

as a matter of fact the PC itself will probably be just a makeshift of garbage components (DDR2 RAM, with some low end CPU on a motherboard that has PCIe x16 for GPU) - all  I am tring to accomplish is to simplify my home cinema system and get rid of 6m distance betwwen my PC and TV (the HDMI repeater is connecting two 3m cables together right now to make things work)

 

also concerning the overall economy - I would be getting a chepest card (probably used too) that can do mentioned stuff, again no gaming just video playback, so all I care about is 4K HDR capability.

 

any suggestions would be appreciated

Best Regards

[Nena Trinity]

Used GTX 960? I think you will probably be fine with even lower end than it maybe.

[danalog]

Quadro k620. About $35 on ebay, good driver support, looks great. Has a decoder so can probably do 4k video.

[kiki4431]

6 minutes ago, Mel0nMan said:

Quadro k620. About $35 on ebay, good driver support, looks great. Has a decoder so can probably do 4k video.

unfortunettly it has only one DP and it's 1.2 - no HDR support

 

again no HDMI or another DP for my TV, it has DVI but that won't pass 4K signal at all.

16 minutes ago, Nena Trinity said:

Used GTX 960? I think you will probably be fine with even lower end than it maybe.

maybe, if I find the right vendor, as it seems that different vendors have different IO specs.

MSI for example has HDMI 1.4, while EVGA has HDMI 2.0

 

 

[danalog]

2 minutes ago, kiki4431 said:

unfortunettly it has only one DP and it's 1.2 - no HDR support

 

again no HDMI or another DP for my TV, it has DVI but that won't pass 4K signal at all.

maybe, if I find the right vendor, as it seems that different vendors have different IO specs.

MSI for example has HDMI 1.4, while EVGA has HDMI 2.0

 

 

You could get by with a 1050, that would be newer IO, etc

[Biohazard777]

1 hour ago, kiki4431 said:

makeshift of garbage components (DDR2 RAM...
so all I care about is 4K HDR capability.

Your CPU will lack HW for accelerated decoding for most of the modern codecs, if you try brute-force software decode with a CPU from that era, expect 100% CPU usage and a ton of dropped frames. Your GPU will have to take care of the decoding, instead of pulling random guesses out of my hat, take a look at the official docs:
https://developer.nvidia.com/video-encode-and-decode-gpu-support-matrix-new
GT 1030 is the cheapest (and still available new, pretty much always in stock) that will get the job done. Linus has thrown a lot sh*t at that card over the years, but for an HTPC that is all the GPU you need.

EDIT: Forgot about the HDMI + DP or x2 HDMI requirement you made, welp not sure you will find a 1030 with that configuration so next card down the list, 1050, or rethink that sound output.

 

[steelo]

1 hour ago, kiki4431 said:

Hi

 

I am need some suggestions on what GPU to pick for a "4K HDR playback PC".

 

So I'm looking for a GPU that has at least 1x HDMI 2.0 and one DP 1.4 or 2x HDMI 2.0 (better option if such card exists - would eliminate the need for DP-HDMI adapter - but not necessary, as I already have an adapter)

The said GPU doesn't need to be anything fancy, as no gaming will be done on it - the most demanding thing this GPU will have to do is MPC-HC with MadVR playing a 4K HDR movie, on a TV connected via HDMI 2.0 cable, and transfering 5.1 surround sound via another HDMI cable to AVR (the cable could be connected dirrectlly or via an adapter, as only sound is going through it it doesn't matter).

 

as a matter of fact the PC itself will probably be just a makeshift of garbage components (DDR2 RAM, with some low end CPU on a motherboard that has PCIe x16 for GPU) - all  I am tring to accomplish is to simplify my home cinema system and get rid of 6m distance betwwen my PC and TV (the HDMI repeater is connecting two 3m cables together right now to make things work)

 

also concerning the overall economy - I would be getting a chepest card (probably used too) that can do mentioned stuff, again no gaming just video playback, so all I care about is 4K HDR capability.

 

any suggestions would be appreciated

Best Regards

Honestly, you won't need much for 4k playback...A gtx 1050 or rx 560 should be more than enough

[aisle9]

1 hour ago, kiki4431 said:

as a matter of fact the PC itself will probably be just a makeshift of garbage components (DDR2 RAM, with some low end CPU on a motherboard that has PCIe x16 for GPU)

This is potentially an issue in and of itself. You can drop an RTX 3090 on the board, but if the CPU can't keep up, it can't keep up. Not to mention that at this point, something like a Core 2 Duo will struggle with Windows 10 or later, the maximum of 8GB of RAM on a DDR2 board could create problems for you (although not right away), and that lots of motherboards from the DDR2 era are well past EOL and buying one is a gamble. Do you lose much money if a capacitor goes snap, crackle and pop? No, probably not, but it is a pain in the ass to take the PC apart to swap the board, and the savings vs. something like a Sandy Bridge Optiplex won't be great at this point.

 

As for the card itself, a GTX 960 would be my first target. If you want something with no need for supplemental power, probably an RX 460, 550, 560, GTX 1050 or 1050 Ti, depending on cost. Workstation GPUs are also an option, but I'm not as familiar with those and their pricing.

[kiki4431]

Ok thank you all for suggestions.

 

the sound has to pretty much go through HDMI, I could try SPDIF but if I find the motherboard that supports it, I could also try TOSLINK but I already tried connecting my TV and AVR with such cable, and sound was terrible (maybe the cable had a factory defect as it was new, or I set up someting wrong, I don't know but I mainly connect AVR to other devices via HDMI)

 

I didn't really think the CPU can create a bottleneck on video playback, I just say the DDR2 as I have a bunch of those sticks and motherboards on hand already, which just collect dust on my attic - maybe putting a few of them to some use, so I wont be buying those components, just a GPU.

 

I would probably go nvidia, as now I have an RTX 3070 ti working on my proimary PC, that is also doing video playback, before that I had RX 560, and HDR playback looks slightlly better on 3070 ti, so I think nvidia has somewhat better HDR output than AMD card.