2011-11-27, 20:53
You don't NEED a high power machine to run them at all, just something that wasn't dated 4+ years ago. I tested a 720p 10bit file on an X2 3800+, one of the oldest and slowest dual core chips on the market *released 2005* and it worked fine. The other week I bought a £70 CPU/Mobo/Cooler kit new from a large sales chain (so that should tell you something about how dated the parts were) as a quick upgrade present for a family member, this also handles 10bit 1080p absolutely fine; the vast majority of anything anywhere near modern should be able to play 10bit ok.
Your Asrock will struggle, simple because its coupled with a CPU that was never, ever aimed at any semi-demanding work at all, it was simply designed to be a low power, netbook/portable chip. Atom's aren't very good at decoding standard 8bit h264 video either, it's just a case they were lucky enough hardware came along they could bolt on to do the job.
It's not like 8bit has gone away either, there's usually someone doing a release or a reencode.
Your Asrock will struggle, simple because its coupled with a CPU that was never, ever aimed at any semi-demanding work at all, it was simply designed to be a low power, netbook/portable chip. Atom's aren't very good at decoding standard 8bit h264 video either, it's just a case they were lucky enough hardware came along they could bolt on to do the job.
It's not like 8bit has gone away either, there's usually someone doing a release or a reencode.