GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

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Marlon
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GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by Marlon » Sat Oct 05, 2019 5:33 am

Hi all,

I recently purchased a passively cooled 1030 for my HTPC, was from amazon warehouse with 20% discount so not a huge outlay, but never the less, I am pretty disappointed with the performance.

I don't game on it, I only watch youtube and kodi, however using firefox and youtube:

4K@25 = 70 ~ 75% GPU
4K@30 = 80 ~ 90% GPU
720p@60 = 100% GPU (very very mild stutter)
1080p@60 = 100% GPU (more pronounced stutter)

Hell, even some 1080p@30 streams push it to 100%

Unfortunately I cant find a tool that can capture the FPS output of firefox in full screen mode, but judging from the stutter, the 1030 just isn't coping. I switched to chrome to double check, and while their VP9 hardware decoding is more efficient, it still regularly pins at 100% GPU.

Ironically, it replaced a 1050TI that had a fan die on it, making a horrific noise. But I suspect this was due to it being a low profile card and so having very very cheap 50mm fans.

This post is just me venting, as I did not confirm a 1030 would be suitable for my needs before purchasing, I thought how hard can video decoding be...

I'm running the system inside a Silverstone ML03 chassis, so if I stick with it I'm restricted to low profile GPUs, I'm reluctant to get another 1050TI LP so I'm tempted to move the system into a Silverstone GD05 meaning I can have a standard height GPU.

Then its deciding between a 1050TI or a 1650. I've read through both review threads here, and note with the 1050TI I need to find one that uses a 4 pin fan, does anyone know if the 1650 has more 4 pin fan cards available. Unfortunately most reviews don't go into that much detail.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by CA_Steve » Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:06 am

Welcome to SPCR.

What's your CPU? If it's fairly recent it might be able to handle your 4K browser needs via the mobo HDMI connector. (I'll be the first to say Win10+4k/60Hz is a mess).

It shouldn't take much horsepower to play the video as there's a standalone block in the gfx card to handle it (just like in modern CPUs) - it's not a 3D task.

Marlon
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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by Marlon » Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:23 am

Just updated the system to a Ryzen 3600 so unfortunately no on board video.

The cpu probably has enough power to do software video decode, but something feels wrong having to disable hardware decode.

It's connecting to a 4K Samsung TV at 60hz

Curiously, the GPU monitor in windows is saying a 100% 3D load on the GPU, and 0% video decode - but I suspect that's just windows reporting the load incorrectly.
Last edited by Marlon on Sat Oct 05, 2019 12:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

teodoro
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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by teodoro » Sat Oct 05, 2019 10:24 am

I haven’t seen any performance benchmarks explicitly for video decoding, but nvidia did pull some shadiness with the gtx 1030. The card launched with 2GB of gddr5 memory, and people generally regarded it as a decent gpu for the price (think 1080p/60hz/low quality settings). Then about 10 months later, nvidia pushes out another gtx 1030 (same name!) but uses ddr4 memory instead. That version has basically half the performance in games and was widely panned as both a bad product in its own right but especially nefarious due to using the same name as the gddr5 version.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by CA_Steve » Sat Oct 05, 2019 11:57 am

Techpowerup's GPU-Z app will tell you which version of the GT 1030 you have. Maaaybe it's due to DDR4..but I still think there's something else going on. If you do opt for a different video card, go for the GTX 1650 rather than the 1050 Ti. Newer gen card should hopefully have better 4k/60Hz support.

Most "gaming" level cards have 4-pin pwm fans.

Marlon
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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by Marlon » Sat Oct 05, 2019 12:10 pm

I knew about the ddr4 version so I made sure to get the version with gddr5, just checked GPU-Z to confirm though and it's correct.

Running a 4K output seems to be consuming 1.5gb of video ram by itself, is that normal?

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by CA_Steve » Sat Oct 05, 2019 5:34 pm

via GPU-Z: My 4k desktop with some background apps is 690MB of VRAM. I ran this 4k/60 HDR video on Firefox https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXb3EKWsInQ
and VRAM using went up to 1186MB, GPU load was between 50-56% and video engine load averaged 25% with some peaks at 50%.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by flyingsherpa » Mon Oct 07, 2019 7:53 am

Could you post some links to video examples? I've never had an issue with my 2400g (integrated Vega 11), which is often compared to the 1030 in performance, so I'm curious if I see the same issues on the same videos.

Could you just rig a new fan on the 1050ti, or did the card die?

Marlon
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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by Marlon » Mon Oct 07, 2019 2:06 pm

This one pushes it regularly to 100% on various parts of the video at 4K, sometimes there are stutters at even 1080p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVWLD3064Ng

I think there might be a compositing issue going on as well, as if I move the mouse a bit so the cursor is visible on the full screen video, the stutter is far far more pronounced.

I didn't notice these issues with my 1050TI, but it did have double the video memory and double-ish the shader count.

The 1050TI is fine it's just the cooler, but I'm going to ebay it for someone else to fix, I can't really be arsed with finding a cooler that will fit and spending the time repairing it. Depending on what I get for it, and the little I'll get for the 1030, a 1650 upgrade won't be a significant cost.

Marlon
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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by Marlon » Mon Oct 07, 2019 2:57 pm

Interestingly the RX5500 has just been announced so I may wait until that comes out to see what it offers in terms of price, it's pitted against the 1650 so it may cause those to be price adjusted as well.

The stutter I'm experiencing isn't unbearable so I don't mind waiting a month or two.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by mingv7v » Mon Oct 07, 2019 3:00 pm

Marlon wrote:This one pushes it regularly to 100% on various parts of the video at 4K, sometimes there are stutters at even 1080p
Quick Google on the 1030 specs shows that playback should not be a problem:

https://developer.nvidia.com/video-enco ... ort-matrix

https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=318937

Check if H.264 hardware acceleration is working correctly: for Chrome it's chrome://gpu/, for Firefox there's a setting in about:config that'll force hw acceleration, Windows also has it's own settings. Could it be some how transcoding?

I have a Silverstone GD06 and the fanless Radeon ran hot >80C until I put a fan over it. Works better now with integrated graphics.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by flyingsherpa » Wed Oct 09, 2019 5:04 am

Marlon wrote:This one pushes it regularly to 100% on various parts of the video at 4K, sometimes there are stutters at even 1080p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVWLD3064Ng

I think there might be a compositing issue going on as well, as if I move the mouse a bit so the cursor is visible on the full screen video, the stutter is far far more pronounced.

I didn't notice these issues with my 1050TI, but it did have double the video memory and double-ish the shader count.

The 1050TI is fine it's just the cooler, but I'm going to ebay it for someone else to fix, I can't really be arsed with finding a cooler that will fit and spending the time repairing it. Depending on what I get for it, and the little I'll get for the 1030, a 1650 upgrade won't be a significant cost.
That video played fine on my 2400g, with Task Manager showing maybe a few percent GPU and CPU usage. I suspect you have a driver or config issue somewhere... that 1030 should be just fine, it's way stronger than intel's iGPUs and they can play youtube just fine on my work and personal laptops.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by Abula » Wed Oct 09, 2019 9:20 am

Did you do a fresh install when you moved to your 3600? are you running B450 with the latest bios? usually AMD is not that friendly when other gpu drivers are installed, the GT1030 should be more than fine to handle youtube with firefox.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by CA_Steve » Wed Oct 09, 2019 11:09 am

And there's Guru3D's Display Driver Uninstaller to remove lingering bits of the "other guys" reg files, etc.
https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/di ... nload.html

mingv7v
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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by mingv7v » Wed Oct 09, 2019 12:59 pm

Do you have problem playing local contents using same codec and resolution as online streams? Check that first, if local contents play OK, fault is somewhere along the online stream.

Marlon
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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by Marlon » Fri Oct 11, 2019 12:43 pm

No Kodi is generally fine, I haven't seen any stutter or framerate dips. On the other hand I don't have any 4k vp9 videos that I play on kodi, most of it is still x264.

This video seems to stutter really bad, and its only 1080p @ 24 so there must be something else going on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOGTFFUUbYM

Windows task manager shows 100% 3D gpu load with no video decode load.

mingv7v
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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by mingv7v » Sat Oct 12, 2019 12:59 pm

There should be 4K samples that you can download and use as test, Kodi has a page with samples in its Wiki. If a 4K HEVC/H.265 clip plays without problem then your HW decoder is working.

The 1030 has HW decode but no HW ENcode, if HW decode is working on local 4K media and a 1080 an online video stutters with full GPU load, my guess is it's transcoding from 1080 to something else.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by nagi » Sun Oct 13, 2019 1:36 am

Marlon wrote:No Kodi is generally fine, I haven't seen any stutter or framerate dips. On the other hand I don't have any 4k vp9 videos that I play on kodi, most of it is still x264.

This video seems to stutter really bad, and its only 1080p @ 24 so there must be something else going on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOGTFFUUbYM

Windows task manager shows 100% 3D gpu load with no video decode load.
Hmm, that video seems to be rather bad, as in: probably the shutter angle is crap, and thus makes it seem like your system is stuttering, whereas the video stream itself has the stutters built-in. They had too much light and no ND filter, so they had probably something like 1/100 shutter speed, which causes issues like this. Plus, AFAIK Youtube has problems with non-30/50/60 fps video.

Note: I have a [email protected] and this 1030: https://www.msi.com/Graphics-card/GeFor ... LP-OC.html. It has GDDR5. I tried the OP7Pro videó (4K, 50% gpu usage, 20-30% CPU) and this too (30-40%).

Incidentally, while I did not see or hear of any fake 1030 cards, I'd be extremely vary of Amazon Warehouse Deals. Too many stories of fakes. Did you install the driver from a disc that was bundled, or from nvidia?

edit: I'd also add that I did all testing with chrome. I've had problems with using firefox for youtube due to google's tactics.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by flyingsherpa » Sun Oct 13, 2019 9:17 am

Marlon wrote:No Kodi is generally fine, I haven't seen any stutter or framerate dips. On the other hand I don't have any 4k vp9 videos that I play on kodi, most of it is still x264.

This video seems to stutter really bad, and its only 1080p @ 24 so there must be something else going on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOGTFFUUbYM

Windows task manager shows 100% 3D gpu load with no video decode load.
Again, my 2400g plays that fine at 1080p, with about 9% gpu 3D load (no video decode or other gpu load) and 5-10% cpu load. Tried in chrome and firefox with similar results. Hope you figure it out, sounds frustrating, but your hardware should be plenty powerful.

Marlon
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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by Marlon » Sun Oct 20, 2019 10:10 am

Hi all,

Bit of an update, after a number of windows updates, the issue has got better, but not completely gone.

There seems to be a GPU memory leak within firefox, and when it fills up to a certain point, videos start to pin the gpu, and I assume that's because the GPU is trying to manage resources between its memory and system memory.

Idling in windows 10 with 2 tabs open in firefox appears to use ~1gb of ram, and with firefox's new web renderer engine, opening a new tab to say amazon, uses 100mb of additional GPU memory which isn't released when you close that tab.

So I'll keep the 1030 for now, but I will upgrade in the future to either a 1650 or a RX5500 so the system has a bit more headroom, and hopefully Mozilla can fix these memory issues.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by Abula » Sun Oct 20, 2019 3:32 pm

I still think you have something wrong with your OS, i own a GT1030 and i have never had issues playing youtube, even at 4k or 2k or 1080p60. Even with intel 605 i have no issues.

Have you tried other browsers? sometimes some builds don't play well with certain acceleration.

You might be able to fix it with a beefier card that has more resources, but i would first reformat / clean install, and install the latest drivers and the latest windows 1903.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by CA_Steve » Sun Oct 20, 2019 5:14 pm

Yeah, it's more likely to be a s/w issue on your PC than a Mozilla development problem. When was your last clean OS install? Sometimes things just go south..

One easier thing you could try - backup your bookmarks and do a clean Firefox install.

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Re: GTX 1030 Video Decode Disapointment

Post by CA_Steve » Mon Oct 21, 2019 4:21 am

Also, if you have extensions on Firefox (Ad blockers, etc), you could try toggling them all off and see if the memory leak goes away.

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