FPS drops when playing HD movies 720p/1080p

[zachn]

Hi Guys,

I need some help with this issue, first of all, here is my complete PC setup:

CPU: Q9550 Rev E0 @ 3.8 GHz [450*8.5]
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P [Rev 1.0] ~ BIOS: F10
Memory: 2x2GB G.Skill TT PI DDR2 PC2-8500 (1066MHz) PI Edition @5-5-5-15 2.1V
GPU: Gigabyte Radeon HD6950@70
HDD 1: Hitachi Desktar 7200RPM 500GB
HDD 2: WD Greenpower 7200RPM 500GB
Cooling: Zalman CNPS10X Extreme
PSU: Seasonic X-650 80+ Gold
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Monitor: LG 42LE5300 42" LED FHDTV [1080p @ 60Hz]

As you can see my CPU has been overclocked to 3.8GHz (15 hours stable Prime95 and 20 passes on LinX) and my GPU has been unlocked to a 6970 using the BIOS flash tool.

My PC was recently formatted and I have the Catalyst 11.6 drivers installed (I just saw that 11.8 was released, not installed yet)

MY problem is, when playing HD movies using WMP or VLC, every few minutes my FPS drops, the image slows down and looks very framey for a few moments and then returns to normal.

I tried to stream the same files using the PS3 media server and I found no issues, hence, it's not an issue with the TV.

I checked the Task Manager for any spikes in CPU or Memory usage and I couldn't find anything irregular when playing movies, it all seems normal.

I thought of trying the following things:

1. Remove the Overclock and see if that helps
2. Switch the BIOS switch on the GPU to the original BIOS and see if the problem is solved.

I'm at work now so I haven't done these yet.

Additionally, I don't have any performance issues when playing games, it only occurs when playing movies.

I have K-Lite Codec Pack installed and my TV supports a 60Hz refresh rate which uses a frame doubler to produce a 120Hz.

I would really appreciate it if you guys can give me tips on what to check in order to try and resolve this problem since I think my system is more than powerful enough to run HD contents.

Thanks, Zach

 

[zachn]

Thanks Werner, I'll be sure to try that.

Is it reasonable that Playback issues could occur due to unlocking the GPU? I've heard of many people who did it and it seems to work fine for them...

 

[zachn]

Hi,

My 6950 was automatically overclocked to the 6970 levels at the moment I flashed the BIOS, it is now at 880/1375 and with 1536 shaders

Anyway, I tried switching the BIOS to the original one and that did not help the issue so I'm thinking it might be related to the overclock.

I'll try removing the overclock to see if that helps

 

[leon2006]

Playing HD movies is a very light task for CPU and GPU. Most of the task is handled by the GPU.

It is most likely software that you use to play HD movies.

To rid my setup w/ all of weird scenarios i simplify it.

I only use one player for playing HD movies.. Cyberlink Power DVD. I remove other 3rd party software and codec. I use it to play Blue Ray, and HD movies from my drive.

 

[zachn]

Yeah, did that, I uninstalled K Lite and tried both VLC and GOM player, GOM produces better results but I still have the issue sometimes.

I'm starting to think maybe it's related to the Hard Drive RPM speed, haven't tried canceling the Overclock yet.