Graphics card for watching 720p movies on an old Dell Optiplex 755 (Q35 onboard graphics at present)

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randomprecision

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Sep 14, 2017
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As you've probably gathered from the thread title I'm pretty clueless when it comes to PC's...

My problem is this, I've recently started watching a lot of 720p/50fps movies (Mostly on H.264 format) usling VLC or PotPlayer on my old Dell machine, and whilst it does play them, the playback is jerky/chopppy lots of times and pixilates occasionally too, almost like frames are being dropped quite often. I'm assuming an upgrade from the onboard Intel Q35 graphics to a dedicated card would help matters?

System:
Dell Optiplex 755
Intel Core Duo 3.00 ghz
4G DDR2 RAM
160G SATTA HD (121G free)
Intel Q35 graphics
300W power supply
Running Windows 10 64bit.

My main questions are...

1. Will a dedicated card help movies play more smoothly, or am I barking up the wrong tree?

2. If the answer to the above question is yes, then what low cost cards would be suitable and compatible with my set up and Windows 10? FWIW I've been looking at the Radeon HD6450 which seem to be avaialble used for around £30.... Anything else I should be looking at?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/support on this chaps :)
 
Solution
azaran
First, I'd try updating your intel graphic drivers before throwing any cash at an older system. Chances are, given the age, you're on the most up to date driver but give it a whirl just in case. https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/81513/Graphics-Drivers-for-Intel-Q35-Express-Chipset

Depending on the codec you could be running in to a GPU or CPU processing issue. Putting a dedicated GPU in to the system and turning on hardware acceleration may offset the processing and give you better play back. The 755 isn't going to have a PSU that'll provide enough power for anything heavy duty, and honestly you don't need anything big for what you're doing, so a '30s series card should work fine. Dell BIOS can be a bit twitchy with add on...
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randomprecision

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Sep 14, 2017
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Please guys, pretty desperated for some advice on this...

Did I fail to format my post correctly? Is my query deemed too simple to respond to?

I'm really keen not to chuck money at a card to see no improvement :( As mentioned any advice/nudges in the right direction would be VERY gratefully recieved.
 
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azaran

azaran

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Feb 17, 2010
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First, I'd try updating your intel graphic drivers before throwing any cash at an older system. Chances are, given the age, you're on the most up to date driver but give it a whirl just in case. https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/81513/Graphics-Drivers-for-Intel-Q35-Express-Chipset

Depending on the codec you could be running in to a GPU or CPU processing issue. Putting a dedicated GPU in to the system and turning on hardware acceleration may offset the processing and give you better play back. The 755 isn't going to have a PSU that'll provide enough power for anything heavy duty, and honestly you don't need anything big for what you're doing, so a '30s series card should work fine. Dell BIOS can be a bit twitchy with add on cards, but many people have upgraded the 755 to use modern low power cards so it "should" work. But you may want to see if you're running the latest BIOS update to your system. You mileage may vary, so I'd recommend buying from a place with a good return policy.

Do you know what model 755 you have? It'll determine if you need a low profile card or not. This pictures shows the different types of 755s.
http://en.community.dell.com/cfs-file/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/3514/4111.101.bmp

This is the card I personally use for my HTPC and have installed in clients who want to do what your doing. I like it because it can do full height or low profile since it ships with low profile bracket that can be installed. The only downside is it's pretty thick so it might take up two slots.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NN97MMY/?tag=pcpapi-20

 
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randomprecision

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Sep 14, 2017
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First things first, thanks for the replys :)

@ azaran: Yes, the drivers are up to date.

RE which model, mine is the largest one (Far left on the picture you posted) so I'm assuming space shouldn't be an issue... RE cards, I've been looking at the ASUS GeForce GT 710, which as you recommended is available locally at a decent price and therefore returnable if any issues occur.

The card mentioned offers 'PureVideo', ie "H.264, WMV/VC-1, and MPEG-4 Hardware Acceleration
NVIDIA PureVideo provides ultra-smooth playback of H.264, WMV/VC-1 and MPEG-4 HD and SD videos with minimal CPU usage."

The GT 730 card you linked looks great, but it sounds like the 710 would do the business for me, right?

Here's a link to the one I'm looking at... http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/components-and-upgrades/graphics-cards/asus-geforce-gt-710-graphics-card-10143815-pdt.html

@ The Paladin: Again, thanks for your chiming in on this :) The NVidia cards jumped out at me as the way to go, although as mentioned the 710 comes in at around £40 in the UK, any thoughts on this or whether I should be looking at the other cards mentioned?

Also, will these cards be compatible with my PC (300w power supply etc)?


 
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dontlistentome

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Sep 5, 2016
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I used an HD 5450 512mb card for this purpose and it worked well enough. The 6450 was a bit more powerful. However the 6450 is no longer supported in drivers which would cause me to pass on it. The GT 710 is a newer card that's suitable for this purpose. It'll be compatible with your motherboard and it uses very little power.
 
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randomprecision

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Sep 14, 2017
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Right, time to update this topic.

Last night I installed the GT710 (Albeit from PC World on the basis it would be easy to return if it didn't work for whatever reason)

I'm happy to confirm that the card has COMPLETELY resolved my issues :) Thanks to everyone who chimed in on this.
 
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