MP user statistics (2 Viewers)

[Inker]

Very cool. Its very interesting. But seriously, maybe you should have talked to high or inf about getting a (anonymized) dump of the profile data that you could import instead of collecting by hand

Kudos to you, I would never be able to go through 700 profiles.

Perhaps you could make available your dataset (excel/acces?) after your done presenting your results (perhaps team internal only if needed) so other ppl could refer to that data and create other stats.

 

[pbb]

Ok, here we go again. Now it is time for The Ultimate Question. The answer that everybody wants to know. The question that wars have been fought over and countless nights of sleep have been lost for...

CPUs

So, without further ado, here are the numbers:

• AMD: 60%
• Intel: 40%

That was all. Only the big two, no VIA processor users that I could find...

Okay, so that was a little boring. Let's look at some more detail numbers. First for AMD:

• Athlon 64 X2: 32%
• Athlon 64: 28%
• Athlon: 23%
• Sempron: 14%

And then for Intel:

• Pentium 4: 33%
• Core 2: 32%
• Celeron: 12%
• Pentium D: 12%

Wow... That is quite some power for HTPC systems!

And another way to compare CPU's is by processor bittype:

• 64-bit: 77%
• 32-bit: 23%

Looks like AMD was right just dropping the "64" indicator from their newest processors, 64-bit is clearly standard, at least in processors. Now if only 64-bit software would become a bit more mainstream...

Coming up: RAM and harddisk drives. Anyone wants to make a prediction about the average amounts that are used?

Read further at #14...

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

That was all. Only the big two, no VIA processor users that I could find

We have had some asking for support, but i do not think there CPU\GPU were powerful enough to run MP.

Prediction = Ram 1gb + 320gb HDD for single seat (no server)

I love this.

 

[pbb]

RAM

Very close on the memory, DM! The average amount of installed RAM is actually 1.18 GB, but 1GB is by far the most popular:

• 1 GB: 52%
• 2 GB: 23%
• 0.5 GB: 19%

Memory speed:

• DDR: 47%
• DDR2: 53%

Ok, I guess this is the point where I have to teach you how unreliable statistics really are. If you look back at the motherboard-statistics, you will see I said only 41% supports DDR2. So how did 53% manage to install DDR2 in their computer?
Here is the explanation. I have to build my statistics based on the users who explicitly mentioned they use either DDR1 or DD2, or the ones who mentioned detailed product numbers of their memory so I could look it up myself. But in contrast to motherboards, hardly anybody knows or feels it necessary to mention their memory product number. And since DDR1 memory is still the most popular (and as it has the number "one", it is considered the "default"), most people with DDR1 memory do not mention the fact that it is DDR1. While most people with DDR2, will (proudly) mention they use DDR2. Therefor, DDR2 is over-represented in this statistic, the number from the motherboards is much more reliable.
And we can introduce another statistic: users with DDR2 are (47/(100-41))/(53/41) = 60% more likely to mention their memory type than DDR1-users.

Now, let's look into the most popular memory speeds a bit more:

• DDR-400 / PC-3200: 36%
• DDR2-667 / PC2-5300: 25%
• DDR2-800 / PC2-6400: 21%
• DDR2-533 / PC2-4200: 9%
• DDR-333 / PC-2700: 7%

This is peculiar -- using the totals of the more detailed speed specifications, I end up at about the same amounts as before (56% DDR2). So apparently DDR2 users are also 60% more likely to mention their memory speed details...

A last list of memory numbers, the brands:

• Kingston: 34%
• Corsair: 26%
• Infineon: 11%
• GEIL: 11%

Be aware however, these numbers are from the ones that mentioned their memory brand, and 74% did not do that. Therefor, more common and "no-name" brands are under-represented.

Coming up, we will be talking about harddisks... Will PD be close with his prediction, or will he be miles off? What is your prediction for the average HDD size? Be sure to tune in next time, for the next exciting episode of this ongoing saga!

 

[pbb]

Harddisks

Ok, let's continue on with the harddisks. The average size is actually quite a bit over the predicted 320 GB, namely 462 GB, on an average of 1.6 installed disks.

Following is the distribution of the size of installed harddisks:

• Below 200 GB: 22%
• 200 - 300 GB: 27%
• 300 - 400 GB: 13%
• 400 - 700 GB: 19%
• Over 700 GB:19%

By brand:

• Samsung: 59%
• Seagate: 29%
• Western Digital: 16%
• Maxtor: 9%

Even though Samsung is clearly used by the majority, not enough of them supplied details to show you a breakdown of which models are popular.

I do have some number on the connection type, but I guess there are not many surprises here:

• SATA: 71%
• PATA: 20%
• Firewire: 4%
• USB: 3%

Still to come: graphic cards, soundcards, TV cards, and lots more!

 

[pbb]

Time for a new episode! Today, I'll be talking about...

Videocards

Let's start off with the most interesting aspect, the chipset creator:

• nVidia: 63%
• ATI: 34%
• Intel: 6%

Wow, that is quite a big lead for nVidia! I had expected the top two to be a bit closer to eachother...

Both nVidia and ATI have lots of different chipset models, and their usage is quite evenly distributed, making it very difficult to show a list of the most popular models. For more meaningful numbers I would have to analyse at least twice as many users, but I can show the top series for the biggest two brands:

• nVidia: GeForce FX 5200 series and GeForce 7600 series with 17% each
• ATI: Radeon 9600 series with 16%

I am not a graphics cards expert, so I can't really say if these numbers are surprising or would be expected.

Now, by card manufacturer:

• nVidia: 29%
• ATI: 22%
• ASUS: 11%
• Gigabyte: 8%
• MSI: 7%

No real surprises here...

And finally by interface type:

• onboard: 20%
• AGP: 36%
• PCI-Express: 44%

Still a quite high percentage of AGP users. Looking at the mothorboard specs of today, I think the amount of onboard graphics users will rise a lot in the time coming, as the current generation has no problems displaying an HTPC interface, and even support HD DVD over HDMI.

So what will be next? Any predictions or special whishes?

 

[Inker]

As always, very interesting pbb. I too am surprised ATI is that far "behind".

How about TVs, types and sizes would be interesting. I would estimate some skewed results here again though, as the better your tv the more likely you are to put it in your profile.

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

Wow, that is quite a big lead for nVidia! I had expected the top two to be a bit closer to eachother

I'm not surprised about the lead, most of the manufacturers selling in the uk, install Nvidia cards by default, if you go to computer fairs, then for every ATI card there are 6 different Nvidia ones alongside them, PC World also mainly stock Nvidia's as well.

For me to choose which one to buy was easy because ATI where having major problems with there drivers playing a certain game i wanted for my first pc build , so i chose Nvidia and have stuck with them since, even now i would say Nvidia drivers although not perfect, tend to be a bit less hit and miss than the equivalent ATI releases.

I would estimate some skewed results here again though, as the better your tv the more likely you are to put it in your profile.

Is'nt that a Samsung I see.

 

[pbb]

Back again! So by special request, I will now present the numbers for...

Televisions

Actually, I should label this chapter Display Devices, because not everybody is using a TV for MediaPortal. These are the devices used to view MP:

• LCD/TFT: 52%
• CRT: 24%
• Plasma: 11%
• Projector: 9%
• Rear-projection TV: 5%

And still, those LCD's and CRT's are not always TV's! There is actually quite a few people using a computer monitor to use MP. Taking only the LCD's and CRT's (I am assuming nobody of you is using a plasma or rear-projection computer monitor?):

• Monitor (without tuner): 12%
• TV (with tuner):88%

Leaving out the projectors, these are the display sizes used:

• 32": 37%
• 42": 11%
• 27": 9%

That #1 is not really a surprise; it almost seems impossible to buy a TV smaller than 32" nowadays...

Some time ago somebody already posted a question in the forums about how many people use a widescreen display for MP. Here are the numbers again:

• 4:3/SDTV: 12%
• Widescreen: 88%

So, how skewed are these numbers? I think it is actually not that bad; 79% of all people who provided some information about their setup, also said something about their TV (sorry, Display Device). And 95% of those people, actually mentioned the brand! However, beyond that the details were a bit more difficult to come by. Few write down the product number, while others wrote down the size, and some only mentioned the display format (LCD, CRT, etc).

So as the final list of this chapter, the most popular brand names. And who is number 1, Paranoid?

• Samsung: 17%
• Sony: 12%
• LG: 10%
• Philips: 9%
• Panasonic: 6%

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

So as the final list of this chapter, the most popular brand names. And who is number 1, Paranoid?
Samsung: 17%
Sony: 12%
LG: 10%
Philips: 9%
Panasonic: 6%

No surprise there then LOL