We also did some quick testing of the AMD 790GX's video processing engine as it is implemented on the Gigabyte MA790GP-DS4H, in terms of both image quality and CPU utilization with some HQV and H.264 playback tests.
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Video Playback Performance: SD and HD |
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HQV and H.264 | |
HQV is comprised of a sampling of SD video clips and test patterns that have been specifically designed to evaluate a variety of interlaced video signal processing tasks, including decoding, de-interlacing, motion correction, noise reduction, film cadence detection, and detail enhancement. As each clip is played, the viewer is required to "score" the image based on a predetermined set of criteria. The numbers listed below are the sum of the scores for each section. We played the HQV DVD using the latest version of Cyberlink's PowerDVD Ultra, with hardware acceleration for NVIDIA PureVideo, ATI UVD, and Intel video acceleration extensions enabled.
The AMD 790GX performed very well in the HQV benchmark, besting the Intel and NVIDIA solutions by a small margin. Had some graphical anomalies not cropped up in the Horizontal and Vertical scroll tests, the 790GX would have performed much like ATI's discreet graphics solutions, which is to say it was quite good.
Next we conducted a test using an H.264 encoded movie clip which is available for download from NASA's HD showcase website. The CPU utilization data gathered during this tests was taken from Windows Vista's built-in Performance Monitor. The graphs show the CPU utilization for the 790GX's IGP while playing back the 1080i QuickTime clip. As you can see, utilization was quite low. HD video playback shouldn't be a problem for this chipset.
