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[GaryWW]

This is my first attempt at using an SACD .iso. I am testing with Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. The 2ch version of the songs play fine but the 5.1ch version stops about every 13 seconds to re-buffer. My first test was with the .iso on my NAS so I copied it to the local HD thinking it might be a network issue but that didn't help. From the NAS, it may not have played as long before re-buffering but I don't know that for sure. Any suggestions?

[Matt]

You need a fast computer to do 5.1 SACD (DST decompression + resampling down from 352 kHz).

A JRMark of less than 2000 (Help > Benchmark) will probably not work (without occasional pauses for buffering) for these files.

[GaryWW]

My HTPC has an AMD Phenom II P960 Quad-core processor, running at 1800 MHz, in it. The JRMark is 1132 so maybe the cpu isn't strong enough.

[GaryWW]

Would I be correct in assuming that the CPU has the greatest impact on the JRMark score? What about the motherboard? Has anyone compiled a list of JRMark scores by CPU?

Upgrading my HTPC to get a score of at least 2000 will require a new CPU, motherboard, and memory. I can't afford to make that kind of change without being assured that the hardware I get will serve the purpose. I don't want to spend apprecably more than I need to. For example, is an Intel Core i7-3770 overkill where maybe an Intel i5-3570K still isn't quite up-to-the-mark.

[JimH]

Would I be correct in assuming that the CPU has the greatest impact on the JRMark score? What about the motherboard? Has anyone compiled a list of JRMark scores by CPU?

You could find some information on this here:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=54396.0

[Matt]

Before you go buy a new computer, you might want to try this change coming to v18:
Faster: DST decompression (used by SACD and DFF files) uses 4 threads for decoding instead of running single-threaded.

[GaryWW]

Before you go buy a new computer, you might want to try this change coming to v18:
Faster: DST decompression (used by SACD and DFF files) uses 4 threads for decoding instead of running single-threaded.

Thanks for the heads-up Matt. Is that in the current V18 beta? Any big reasons not to try the beta on my primary HTPC?

[GaryWW]

You could find some information on this here:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=54396.0

Thanks Jim. Pretty much what I was looking for. 

[Matt]

The SACD change will be coming in about a week.

v18 is still less stable than v17, but pretty safe at this point.

[GaryWW]

The SACD change will be coming in about a week.

v18 is still less stable than v17, but pretty safe at this point.

OK. I'll keep an eye on the v18 release thread.

[GaryWW]

I just tried 18.0.73 and that did not fix the rebuffering problem. The time between rebuffering may have increased a little but it still happens. The cores seem to be running around 50% or so whether the music is playing or rebuffering.

Do you think a BIOSTAR A780L3B 760G Motherboard with an AMD Phenom II X4 945 Quad Core Processor and a GeForce GT430 video adapter will cut the mustard?  I ask about this configuration because I can pick one up for about $150 cdn (using my own video adapter) - which is a pretty good price.

According to CPUBenchmark.net, this CPU has a PassMark of 3818 (http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+X4+945&id=7) while my existing CPU has a PassMark of 2201 (http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+II+P960+Quad-Core&id=328).

[Matt]

Do you think a BIOSTAR A780L3B 760G Motherboard with an AMD Phenom II X4 945 Quad Core Processor and a GeForce GT430 video adapter will cut the mustard?

Sorry, but I don't know.

It's a little strange that it's running at 50% now.  If the bottle neck was DST decoding, I'd expect both cores to be swamped.

Have you tried different sample rates?  It's possible the down-sampling is the issue.

[GaryWW]

Sorry, but I don't know.

It's a little strange that it's running at 50% now.  If the bottle neck was DST decoding, I'd expect both cores to be swamped.

Have you tried different sample rates?  It's possible the down-sampling is the issue.

In further testing, I noticed that the 4 cores would peak in the 90's (%) but they were not pegged there. They probably didn't drop below the low 50's either. As is, the rebuffering occurs about every 20 seconds (vs every 10). It was down-sampling to 96kHz and I tried higher (192) and lower (down to 44.1) but that didn't change anything.

I am resigned to having to upgrade my equipment. As a point of reference, what have you gotten this to work on?

[Matt]

I am resigned to having to upgrade my equipment. As a point of reference, what have you gotten this to work on?

I'm a little spoiled by fast computers.

But as a frame of reference, an i7 2600k (with a mild overclock) uses around 7% CPU usage when:
Reading a SACD ISO from a network drive
Decoding 5 channel SACD with DST compression
Downsampling to 48 kHz
JRSS mixing
Encoding as AC3 for S/PDIF output

[GaryWW]

But as a frame of reference, an i7 2600k (with a mild overclock) uses around 7% CPU

So I should be pretty well off if I pick up an i7 3770. Sweet.

[Matt]

So I should be pretty well off if I pick up an i7 3770. Sweet.

My guess is that even a dual core Ivy Bridge would be fine.

For sure any quad core Ivy Bridge will work.  Microcenter sells the i5 3450 for $140 here in the US.