Help me to be able to play >480p

Cookeh

Cookeh

Cookeh

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Joined
21 Jan 2010
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Hello,

My current POS (specs below) cannot play anything higher than 480p, whether this be DVDs, ripped movies, or youtube. Is there anyway of being able to do so, short of a new PC?

Specs:

Intel P4 @3.2
Asus P4C 800E Deluxe
1GB Crucial DDR 400Mhz RAM
Sapphire HD3850 512mb

I used to have more RAM (developed a ton of errors - I'll never buy cheap again) but still couldn't play it.

I tried overclocking (couldn't get far on current ram) and managed 3.5Ghz - had no effect.

Overclocking the GPU also had no effect.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Cookeh
 
Youtube and web video is CPU limited in all likelihood. Flash is very inefficient.

For local media playback the GPU should accelerate most video formats - I was using a 2.6GHz P4 with an ATI 2600 as an HTPC for a while. Properly encoded 720p MKV files and HD-DVD's played back fine at around 40% CPU, with the graphics card doing the heavy lifting.

A dual core CPU would help the most. The P4 is a power hungry beast.
 
MagicBoy said:
Youtube and web video is CPU limited in all likelihood. Flash is very inefficient.

For local media playback the GPU should accelerate most video formats - I was using a 2.6GHz P4 with an ATI 2600 as an HTPC for a while. Properly encoded 720p MKV files and HD-DVD's played back fine at around 40% CPU, with the graphics card doing the heavy lifting.

A dual core CPU would help the most. The P4 is a power hungry beast.
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I have managed to get DVD's playing - albeit it at a jerky 19fps. But I have no sound on Windows Media Centre, or Windows Media Player - I have the use an alternative, like VLC :confused:

So is there no hope for 720p or even 1080p?
 
Si105 said:
Isn't 1080p worse than 720p for power requirements :s

So you probably need a C2D or better :)
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Yes it is, and as stated I -can't- get a new PC as there is "no need" so really looking for any method of speeding this POS up xD
 
What sort of loading are you getting on the graphics card when playing video? Your graphics card really should be helping out the CPU.

I was able to play 720p/1080p on my Athlon 64 3000 (at stock) with a passive 3650 AGP card although I didn't check the frame rate (it can't have been bad though). I could play DVDs on my old Athlon 1800+ 512MB RAM machine without issues, possibly even on my old P3 533Mhz machine although I can't actually remember now.
 
Tealc said:
What sort of loading are you getting on the graphics card when playing video? Your graphics card really should be helping out the CPU.

I was able to play 720p/1080p on my Athlon 64 3000 (at stock) with a passive 3650 AGP card although I didn't check the frame rate (it can't have been bad though). I could play DVDs on my old Athlon 1800+ 512MB RAM machine without issues, possibly even on my old P3 533Mhz machine although I can't actually remember now.
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>10% apparently.
 
Cookeh said:
Yes it is, and as stated I -can't- get a new PC as there is "no need" so really looking for any method of speeding this POS up xD
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drop that POS of a cliff mate..it will gain plenty of speed on the way down

seriously though why not drop £400 in to a new build and be done with it?

many would have done it way before now....
 
+1 to the above to be honest by the time you have messed around with it you probs could have bought a new machine and have it up and running.
 
+1

If the system isn't doing what you want it to do, then you DO need an upgrade

Look through the MM if it comes to it, usually a couple of full systems in there - if you can pick up a LGA775 system for a bargain you'll be sorted :)
 
If you go down the AMD route, an Athlon II X2, a cheap AM3 motherboard, and 2GB of DDR3 should come in under £150. Reuse all the other bits and you're good to go.
 
If you have used VLC and everything plays fine, but you only get issues in other players, then i'd have thought the main problem is probably the codec's you have installed.

Try installing the CCCP - Combined Community Codec Pack thats what i have installed on a single core P4 3Ghz and don't get any playback issues on anything that i've tried.
 
ms2010 said:
If you have used VLC and everything plays fine, but you only get issues in other players, then i'd have thought the main problem is probably the codec's you have installed.

Try installing the CCCP - Combined Community Codec Pack thats what i have installed on a single core P4 3Ghz and don't get any playback issues on anything that i've tried.
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cccp is good as is ffdshow install both
make sure to install the directx full package and make sure microsoft framework is up to date (im using 4) once these are in you could put a sausage in your drive and a movie would play....:D
 
I have the money to buy a new PC. I WANT a new PC.

I do not however, have permission for a new PC - hence cannot get one.

I will give the CCCP a go, and see if I can find Hardware acceleration.
 
Blue160 said:
If you go down the AMD route, an Athlon II X2, a cheap AM3 motherboard, and 2GB of DDR3 should come in under £150. Reuse all the other bits and you're good to go.
Click to expand...

Althon II X3 445
MSI 880GM-E41
4Gb XMS3 PC-12800

The above weighs in at £150 :p

THat was what I was going to get, along with either a GTX460 or something similarly priced from the MM
 
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