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Decklink PCI Express v PCI-X
We’re currently using a Decklink Extreme card on a G5 (Dual 2 Ghz) system, however with several HDCAM projects coming up, we need to switch to one of the Decklink HD options.
With future-proofing in mind, is it worth opting for the Multibridge Extreme/Studio or should we just run with the Decklink HD pro card?
From a technical point of view, in terms of raw editing performance, what will PCI Express offer me that PCI-X won’t? Can we expect a significant performance increase when using Decklink PCI Express cards or are we as well sticking with PCI-X?
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Many thanks
Scott
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6 Replies
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I thought PCI-X was short for PCI Express. Maybe I’m wrong.
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Pci Express out performs PCIX pure and simple in so many ways.
Just have to find a decent board with an X4 slot, if ya go Pentium D route there are only 2 boards and one sucks, I’m about to try the other, the nice dual Xeon board is a Supermicro, it’s a cost issue as to which you go for.
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Thanks for the feedback
I do understand that PCI Express is faster than PCI-X, however I’m just curious to find out how this extra performance will affect what can be done using the Decklink HD card with FCP i.e. will this allow us to work with more streams of HD in realtime?
It also appears, just to add even further confusion, that PCI-X is being upgraded to version 2.0 which should offer speeds in excess of 500 Mhz.
I guess this is a question that only the team at Blackmagic Design can truly answer as I’m sure they are carrying out these tests as we speak.
Care to comment guys?
Best wishes
Scott
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Hi Scott,
The biggest difference with PCI E is how commands are sent over the bus. PCIE replaces the parallel multidrop bus architecture of PCI and PCI-X with a serial, point-to-point connection bus architecture.
PCIE works with a point to point connection known as “lanes” Each lane has 2 differential signal pairs carrying 2.5 Gbps of traffic in opposite directions. One pair is used for transmitting, and the other pair is used for receiving. To make this even faster further pairs can be put in parallel such as x4, x8 and x16 slots.
This makes consumer motherboards such as the Asus P5WD2 Premium and Asus A8N-E a perfect low cost solution for uncompressed SD work. We are still testing how these low cost boards go for HD uncompressed.
The DeckLink Extreme PCIE version is a x1 PCIE card. The Multibridge Extreme is a x4 PCIE interface.
As to your direct question about FCP, the G5’s that are available do not have PCI E slots so it is impossible for us to give you an answer on something that is not available.
If you are planning to use your current G5 for you HD work, I would advise just using the PCIX DeckLink HD series. They start at just $595US, so quite a small investment to get your first HD jobs out the door.
I hope this helps explain things.
Cheers,
Regards,
Matt
Blackmagic Design -
I use a Supermicro PDSGE dual core board with a D840. I’m switching the Decklink from the 32-bit PCI slot to the PCI-X slot and replacing the LSI PCI-X 133Mhz Megaraid card with a PCI-e version. It is only 1x though, but I don’t except the bandwidth to drop off.
Peter Corbett
Powerhouse Productions
Australia
http://www.php.com.au -
Matt
Many thanks for your feedback and clarification on the Decklink PCI Express situation.
Rumours abound about the launch of a G5 with PCI Express / Dual Core processors and lots of other goodies, however I guess until rumour becomes reality, I’ll run with the Decklink HD Pro.
Best wishes
Scott
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