Video Playback Performance

We used Media Player Classic Home Cinema - a free video playback software that enables DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA), which makes use of the hardware acceleration in our graphics chipsets.

We used the x64 version of the software, and had to disable FFDshow in the MPC-HC options to get DXVA working on the Intel and AMD machines. The Nvidia system, however, worked right out from the get-go.

These are the options within the program that you might need to check if you are trying it yourself:


You can check DXVA support by running this DXVA checker program, and checking for these options to see if H.264 is supported on your hardware:



Unlike last time around, AMD has fixed its driver, and H.264 content ran properly on the Radeon HD 4250 IGP in MPC-HC without corruption.

Unfortunately for AMD, the performance results aren't great, with a heavy CPU use that's double that of the other systems. That said, at 25 per cent load, the CPU can still be downclocked (and undervolted) considerably and the 1080p HD content will still play smoothly. This also means that you can comfortably pair an 880G motherboard with the cheapest CPU you can find and still watch HD movies on it. Alternatively, you can opt for low power chips such as the Athlon II X2 240e, and its 45W TDP.