Looking for CPU recommendations
#1
Hello,

I'm planning to build a new box to run kodi (under linux) and wanted to know how well it will perform with a G6900T (UHD Graphics 710) with 8GB ram.
What would be the limitations (if any) of using this CPU's iGPU with Kodi and if there would be any benefit of using a GT1030 I already own instead of using the iGPU for watching movies ?
And what if I want to use IAGL / retroarch ? Would the G6900T be sufficient ? Should I move to a i3-12100T ? Should I use the GT1030 instead of the iGPU in this case ?

Thank you in advance for your help / experience / opinions !

Regards,

K.
Reply
#2
A new CPU (with internal gpu) is one thing, but a (cheapish) motherboard can also have its limitations. You may want to look into that.

If choosing, I would go for the normal i3-12100 and not the 'T' version. It's about 60 euros cheaper and the power draw advantage will be minimal IMO when mainly using the GPU. There is also the UHD730-750-770... You may want to go into more detail what you really want from your GPU.

A GT1030 is basically fine when running Windows, but it's also another 30-50 Watts the PC draws from the electric socket. Also, Nvidia under Linux has not had a good record for the last 6-7 years (no 10bit support with VAAPI).

I have no on-hand experience with AMD Ryzen apu's under Linux, but they seem to do fine AFAICT according to other reports.
Reply
#3
Thank you for your answer.

A few more words about my current setup. I have a 1U server running proxmox which is located 3m away from the TV. I've put a GT 1030 in passthrough in it, created a VM with an allocation of 2 CPUs / 2 cores and 8GB ram. As is Kodi is running perfectly for my current needs for 2 years now. As the VM is mostly idling in a 24/7 running server the "power usage overhead" is "negligible".

Unfortunately I have to move the server far away from the TV in 1 month and need to find a replacement solution for the Kodi player which will be placed next to the TV. I want the device to run on Linux as I have deployment / configuration ansible tasks ready and maintainance scripts available.
Regarding expected usage: the device will have one main purpose: play movies. Retro gaming via IAGL is a "plus" I would like to be able to have (children grow up, it would be nice to show them some old titles).

I would like the setup to have a small footprint and providing a good compromise between power usage and performance (note: tried a raspberry 4, the UI is laggy compared to my current setup). I also would like the device to be "easy to sell" or "easy to reuse for simple desktop tasks" later if needed.
I'm thinking about buying a thin-mini-itx case and motherboard with a low TDP cpu. (which means getting rid of the GT 1030)
The components I'm targetting about are a G6900T (UHD 710 iGPU) or i3-12100T (UHD 730 iGPU) with an ASUS MB PRO H610T-CSM motherboard (H610 chipset) in a Silverstone P13 case with 8GB ram. Audio will be carried over HDMI.

My questions are:
  • what would be the "limitations to be expected" with this setup if any (for instance: "you can play seemlessly videos up to XXX resolution but be aware that you won't be able of  YYY" or "forget about using IAGL emulator ZZZ" or "forget about resolutions/HDR/<younameit>") ?
  • are there any benefits of using a UHD 730 over UHD 710 iGPU "for the type of planned usage" (i.e. watching movies, some retrogaming)
  • as you are speaking about the motherboard: feature-wise what would be the "reasons" for selecting a mini-itx MB instead of a thin-mini-itx one ? (there are few available thin-mini-itx boards, and even fewer with at an affordable price)
Note about the difference price between the "T" and "non-T" CPU versions : I can get the G6900T 10 € cheaper than the G6900, and the i3-12100T for about the same price as the i3-12100. As such I prefer focusing on the "T" version of these CPUs.

Thank you in advance !
Reply
#4
I tested LibreELEC on G6900 for a few days. UHD 710 is fine as long as you don't use high quality upscaling methods (Bicubic/Lanczos/Spline36) to a 4K resolution (SD to 4K or 1080p to 4K). UHD 710 with it's only 16 enabled EUs is just too weak for that.
I also tested on i5-12400. UHD 730 can do HQ upscaling without dropped frames.
Also, I recommend using 2 sticks of RAM in dual channel. You will lose a lot of GPU performance if only 1 stick of RAM is used.

You may want to consider a box with a mobile/laptop Intel SoC (Tiger Lake-U or Alder Lake-P) rather than a socketed CPU/board. Like this one for example. I have a Celeron 6305 version of Acer EN2580 as my main LibreELEC box. It is smaller than any Mini-ITX case, use less power and has a much more capable iGPU (48 EUs).
Reply
#5
Thank you for your answer and for sharing your experience.
Indeed upscaling may be an issue.
I had a look at 6305 boxes, but next to none are available where I live at a reasonable price and produced by a company known to have hardware which is supported under linux.
After some digging, I found that Asus produces a series of devices in their industrial line which seem to be interesting: PL64. There is a Celeron 7305 version.
Asrock Industrial also has some devices in their catalogue (iBox) with various CPUs. I would be interested by the i3-1215U version but untortunately it is not available in Switzerland.
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
Looking for CPU recommendations0