Re: CPU Utilization - Xbox 360 Extender Vista Media Center

Todd,

Does this also apply to my scenario? Everyone is 100Mbps - all PCs, all
network hardware. I see the spikes Dan mentioned but I don't see any
degradation on my 360's video. I'll check the flow control stuff tonight...

Dana Cline - MCE MVP

"Todd Bowra [MSFT]" <toddbow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ehiAMT6XHHA.2268@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It sounds like your PC's NIC is overwhelming the buffer in your switch
(which can happen to switches with small buffers when running Gbit into
one end of the switch and 100 Mbit out the other end). Info on how to
address this is located here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929707

--
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights.

"Ed" <Ed @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:91D36A54-3901-4C26-A014-387D9DC1C0FC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As a datapoint I'm seeing EXACTLY the same sort of thing as Dan with the
CPU
spikes. I also was a happy user of Windows MCE 2005 and could stream to
my
two xboxes high def content perfectly ... now I can't get one of them to
display high def content without pixelation, choppiness, etc. The Vista
computer goes over gig-e into a switch that connects it to the xboxes,
obviously they only go at 100 mbps but network bandwith isn't an issue -
when
measured on the xbox mediacenter "network tuner" it's at the top of the
chart
with no exceptions.

I use an Athlon X2 4400+, 2 Gig mem, Nvidia GS7600, an internal 150gb
system
drive (raptor) and a 500 gb media content drive, and the Hauppage (vista
certified) ASTC/NTSC combo card. It's almost identical to my MCE 2005
setup
which has no trouble sending high def content to several xboxes
simultaneously.


"Dan H" wrote:

Thanks for noticing this potential discrepancy.

This system runs on DDR memory which are in pairs. The system supports
2
pair on the motherboard.

The first pair is 2 x 512MB DDR PC3200 = 1GB
The second pair is 2 x 256MB DDR PC2700 = .5GB

Both are matched pairs

Thus the system is running at PC2700 speed, 320MHz.

Thanks for pointing this out. I will try to remove the PC2700 RAM and
test
again. This RAM was installed temporarily due to various Vista
performance
problems I was experiencing. Now that I have resolved most of those
problems, I can try 1GB again. I doubt it is related to my Xbox 360
problem, though.

Dan



"xiowan" <xiowan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:EBA354F7-2F5A-4690-BC97-D4520C70F948@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Dan H:
I don't know if it will solve your problem but I noticed in your
list
of
hardware that you have 1.5 GB RAM. I'm guessing you either have (3)
512
MB
memory modules or (1) 512 GB & (1) 1 GB memory module. If you are
using
DDR2
memory, I think you need to install the modules in equal pairs on the
motherboard in order for the memory to run at the "double-data rate".
There
is a considerable increase in memory thru-put when used that way.
(Double).
You should check and see if you have the memory modules installed in
pairs
if
it is DDR2......not a pair and a single or else all memory will
operate in
single channel mode.

xiowan..........in tucson

"Dan H" wrote:

My PC has been upgraded to Vista Ultimate and I was able to connect
my
Xbox
360 (hard-wired) without a problem..

But, when I playback HDTV on the Xbox, CPU utilization is not low and
smooth
as it was under MCE2005, but very spikey. The ehshell.exe process
runs
anywhere from 0 to 70% CPU utilization. Playback on the Media Center
iteself is smooth. Network throughput is also smooth!
Interestingly,
there
is no or lowered spiking if I am watching Live TV rather than
pre-recorded
or time-shifted even a second.

I have investigated and ruled out the network card (replaced it with
a
3Com
card...no difference), changed network switch, examined hard drive
bandwidth
(changed drives and verified plenty of throughput using HD Tach),
tried
PowerDVD 7 (I know this should not make a difference).

Normaly this would not be a problem, but if I am watching TV on the
Xbox
while also recording, the high CPU utilization causes choppy
recordings.

At this point, I am completely stumped and am looking for a solution!

Other things I have done to boost performance:
1.. Disabled User Access Control
2.. Set the Windows Color Scheme to "Vista Basic". This disables
the
Aero
interface and dwm.exe stops using CPU.
3.. Set Power Options to "High Performance".
4.. Disabled auto defrag settings so that it does not automatcially
defrag. Defragging while recording is a definite problem...even if
defragging on a seperate disk from the recording disk. Also removed
McAfee
auto-defrag settings.
5.. Turned off Orb. Every time a recording starts, the CPU spikes
while
Orb does someting...I assume it is categorizing and building a
thumbnail.
6.. I am still trying to figure out what ehvid.exe does. It also
spikes
while recording.
My PC:
HP Media Center m376n w/upgrades
Upgraded from MCE 2004 to 2005 to Vista Ultimate
Pentium 4 2.6 w/HT
1.5GB RAM
nVidia 6200 graphics card, currently running Beta drivers 100.64 (not
the
most current...I hope to try those later)
Microsoft decoder...open to other options if there is one that
works...I
really need hardware acceleration!
Internal 250GB HD (not used for recording)
External 400GB USB2 HD (Used for Recording)
2GB Flash drive used for ReadyBoost
eMuzed Maui-class NTSC tuner
ATI HDTV Wonder ATSC tuner
Vbox External USB2 ATSC tuner
2 Xbox 360s used as Media Center Extenders (both hard-wired)
McAfee VirusScan

If you wish to contact me directly, please do so at
danhvos@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (remove the "nospam.")










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