GE Force2 MX or DXR3 for MPEG Decoding ???

[airfoil]

Hi,
The following is my system configuration:
P3 866 on an Asus CUSL2-C
GE Force2 MX AGP
Soundblaster Live Platinum 5.1
Creative 12X DVD with DXR3 decoder
Cambridge Sound Works DTT 2500
My question is, do I really need the DXR3 card for MPEG2 decoding, since decoding is supposed to be done by the MX? Power DVD 3.0 shows that decoding is being done by the MX, with no mention of the DXR3 being used. I would like to free up an IRQ by removing this device, if it's unnecessary. Currently, I have SB Emulation disabled, but IRQ 11 is being used by 3 devices, the MX, the Live! card & the DXR3, per Sandra 2001!! Not surprisingly, I am experiencing frequent system hangs, which are only resolved by hitting reset.
I'd like to know what you folks have to say before I make any changes. Thanks!

 

[Biggs]

Is the DXR3 a hardware-based decoder? If yes, then you'd be better off using it.

 

[airfoil]

Biggs,
Yes, the DXR3 IS a hardware based decoder, (based on, I believe the RealMagic Hollywood card, but so is the MX isnt it? The MX AGP card is decoding the MPEG streams first. I use a pass through cable and the monitor gets its signals from the DXR3.
Is there any benefit of using 2 decoders? (one on the MX & the other on the DXR3)

 

[airfoil]

Gotta bump this up!

 

[airfoil]

Is there no one else who can help me further?

 

[Smbu]

You should get rid of the hardware decoder. A P3 866 is easily good enough to handle software decoding. I've had no problems watching DVD's on my P3 700@1ghz and Geforce 2 GTS card, when using it at 700mhz, or 1ghz.

 

[Svet]

I had a DXR3 and I have a Hercules GeForce 2 GTS/64MB. I got rid of the DXR3. In my Tbird there is no reason to have it. Even when I was running it at 700MHZ before I overclocked it I didn't need it. Even my celery 500 w/ Riva 128 does ok without it. The days of needing an extra card for hardware decoding are over.

 

[Rendus]

Ditch the Dxr3. I have one, and the passthrough makes the rest of your display (the MPEG is output by the DVD decoder, bypassing the passthrough) look like mud. Your system will easily handle DVD playback.

 

[cavingjan]

Keep it if you use it to watch DVDs on your tv. The decoding done on the MX card is weak but your processor is fast enough that it shouldn't need any help from a hardware decoder.
Try taking it out and see if your problems go away. (I wouldn't remove the drivers quite yet but once your happen, nuke them)
Where the DXR3 would come in handy is if you like to use your computer for 5 other cpu intensive things while watching a movie. If not, even my old K6-2 450 was capable of playing a movie.