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Author Topic: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030  (Read 2850 times)

curiousMonkey

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Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« on: February 07, 2021, 05:10:41 pm »

I have been using the NVidia 1030 for about 4 months now. It works well but some noise is introduced to the subwoofer channel when JRiver is playing back a movie or is in Theater mode.

What other low profile low power card can I use as an alternative?  Will  the Nvidio 710 be sufficient? Is there an AMD card comparable to the 1030? I am only interested in playing back 1080P resolution with JRiver. I watch all my 4k content from disc or with streaming from my Bluray player.

Video cards seem to be in short supply at the moment and I can seem to find any source for reliable information.

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tij

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2021, 08:18:07 pm »

You can try iGPU on your CPU ... see if thats enough

Personally i would go for 4gb 1650 (though its hard to find one now for some reason) for ability to use NGU upscalingin in MadVR ... its truly amazing ... plus it leaves option open if you decide to play 4K (HDR tone mapping in MadVR is amazing too) ... unless you using Lumagen or MadVR envy already
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rec head

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2021, 07:20:48 am »

Not sure if this will help but recently I transferred my old HTPC into a smaller case and moved it to a new location. Unfortunately this introduced noise into my system. Just moving the whole PC a little solved the problem.
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curiousMonkey

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2021, 09:34:22 pm »

I tried an MSI 710 GT and the results were interesting.

The subwoofer noise was almost completely eliminated, a definite improvement.
Unfortunately I am now seeing a lot of dropped frames from DVD files and broadcast HDTV. I assume this is related to the higher frame rate (60 Hz) required for those formats. Bluray files at 24Hz play perfectly.

I compared the JRiver benchmark scores for the 1030 and 710 and there was less of a performance hit than I expected, about 10%.

I may end up going back to the 1030 and play around with the hardware configuration a little bit. Perhaps a different slot will introduce less noise. Not sure that is a reasonable expectation since the video connector is part  of the GPU.
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wer

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2021, 10:01:41 pm »

I've been watching this thread with some curiosity.  I'd suggest trying an AMD card, or the integrated graphics as tij suggests.

I've never seen this issue on an AMD card.  If the graphics card is injecting low frequency noise (power supply hum perhaps) into an HDMI connection that speaks to an inexcusably bad design. Hopefully it's something restricted to a small number of reference designs that are being copied.

Have you tried isolating your equipment to ensure you don't have some kind of ground loop at the receiver or subwoofer?  That would be more ordinary and much less shocking than the actual HDMI data being modified, and would be consistent with a "low frequency hum".
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curiousMonkey

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2021, 07:19:51 am »

I restored the 1030 GPU and this resolved the issues with lost frames, as expected.
However, I noticed that the noise remains even when the HDMI cable is disconnected from the video card.
The only way to eliminate the noise is to exit JRiver's full screen mode (Theater View or when watching a movie).
As soon as I go back to application view (Esc + enter from Theater View) the noise vanishes.

I would consider going back to the integrated Intel GPU but I had issues it displaying a full screen image on my projector. I discussed that problem last year and only resolved it by upgrading to the 1030 GPU.

I suppose the next step is to take a closer look at the isolation of the various components in my audio chain. The subwoofer output from my Marantz preamp goes to a miniDSP which fans out to three subwoofers. The noise is audible in all my subwoofers but one of them is definitely noisier than the others.
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Awesome Donkey

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2021, 08:25:06 am »

However, I noticed that the noise remains even when the HDMI cable is disconnected from the video card.

This might be a dumb response on my behalf (so forgive me if it is) but have you tried switching HDMI cables to another one? Maybe test a few different ones (from different brands if possible)?
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curiousMonkey

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #7 on: February 10, 2021, 08:37:53 am »

I did switch from a 1 meter cable to a 1/2 meter cable but there was no change.
Since the 710 did not exhibit the problem I am curious about trying a different 1030 card.
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tij

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #8 on: February 10, 2021, 09:21:05 am »

However, I noticed that the noise remains even when the HDMI cable is disconnected from the video card.
The only way to eliminate the noise is to exit JRiver's full screen mode (Theater View or when watching a movie).

I dont get this part ... if you disconnect HDMI cable from from 1030, then what connection remains from PC to your AV equipment for MC to be able to cause the noise?

Can you describe how your PC is connected to your AV equipment (are therd amy other cabke beside HDMI that you connect to AV equipment?)
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TheShoe

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #9 on: February 10, 2021, 09:49:29 am »

Do you have some kind of ground loop going on?

For me, some of my video equipment causes “hum”.  I have a few hum-ex devices on the video equipment (my TV, HTPC, PS4 Pro) which eliminated all hum from my system.

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curiousMonkey

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2021, 12:45:51 pm »

It is not a ground loop hum, more of a buzzing noise.
I only hear it with the 1030 GPU when JRiver is in theater view.
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wer

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2021, 01:59:23 pm »

It is not a ground loop hum, more of a buzzing noise.
I only hear it with the 1030 GPU when JRiver is in theater view.

Hear it WHERE, exactly? And not the 5-feet-away answer, the ear-pressed-up-against-it answer.

You said before it was coming from your subwoofer. Be exact.  Because now you are saying you still here it even when the HDMI cable is disconnected, but you also say it only occurs when MC is in theater view.

So if the PC is not connected to your receiver, then the hum is NOT being transmitted over the HDMI cable. Does the hum occur if you disconnect the cable going into the sub? This is crucial!

These are the only possibilities that remain if the PC is provoking the sound even when not connected:
1. You are mistaken about the source of the sound. Hopefully not.

2. The PC is leaking noise into the electrical circuit that is being picked up and reproduced by the receiver or sub or minidsp. If it is the sub, the noise will continue when cable to the sub is disconnected. This indicates bad electrical design of the component, which might be mitigated by a power filter.

3. The PC is leaking EMF radiation that is being picked up and converted to a hum by the receiver or sub or minidsp. This would mean the pc or component exceeds FCC limits and should not be used. You could build a Faraday cage around it to block this.

Please do some more test isolation of your equipment by strategically disconnecting cables.
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curiousMonkey

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #12 on: February 11, 2021, 08:48:12 pm »

I was able to noticeably reduce the buzzing by disconnecting the USB cable from the PC to the miniDSP. This is a reasonable solution since I rarely need to reprogram the miniDSP.
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wer

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Re: Best low cost alternative to GTX 1030
« Reply #13 on: February 11, 2021, 08:54:00 pm »

Interesting. I wonder if there's an electrical design problem with the Minidsp then. Googling for "minidsp buzz" comes up with a frighteningly large number of hits, with people complaining about similar things.
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