HD Video with AGP graphics card

[nigel346]

Hello,

My HD video playback is unwatchably jerky. My system is getting quite old now, but I thought the new graphics card I brought would enable me to watch HD video (e.g from BBC Iplayer or Youtube) as it says "1080p Full HD" on the box. Here is my system setup

Graphics card : HIS Radeon HD 4670 IceQ Native HDMI 1 GB DDR3 AGP Graphics Card (H467QS1GHA)
Processor : AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2000+ 1.66 GHz
RAM : 1.25 GB DDR
OS : Win XP

All the driver software that came with the graphics card seemed to install properly, I installed all the default options (avivo codecs, catalyst control centre, driver etc) I have tried changing the settings in the catalyst control centre software that came with the card but that doesn't seem to make any difference. When I watch HD videos I notice my processer goes up to 100%. If they advertised 1080p on the box and it doesn't deliver, should I be entitled to a refund ? I thought the card would do the work with the HD video, not the processor

 

[mister g]

Unfortunately the newest Flash Player doesn't completely offload the graphics work into the GPU, some of it still has to be done on the CPU, which in your case is slowing down everything. May I suggest a CPU upgrade? Look under the video requirements tab Adobe recommends an Athlon 64 X2 4200 to watch HD videos. http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/systemreqs/#video

 

[nigel346]

The box says "1080p Full HD" on the front. In the Uk this may be classed as misleading advertising. I think the best CPU I could upgrade to would be an Athlon XP 3200+. I have doubts in my mind as to whether even this processor could do the job. If the card cannot handle the job, I think I am entitled to a refund.

 

[mister g]

i think the box was meaning that it would be able to decode a Blu-Ray disc and output it in full 1080p HD. However Flash come over the internet and if the internet connection or the CPU is slow than it really isn't HIS's fault. Tell me what computer you have and include the motherboard model I might be able to tell you how high of a CPU you can get. Most AMD motherboards (except those pre-built ones which have dropped out of active support) let you upgrade to the latest processors because physically the pins are all the same and you need only to flash the motherboard BIOS to enable the board to accept the new CPU (AM2, AM2+, and AM3 all can accept AM3 processors, like the latest Phenom 2's).

 

[mavroxur]

i think the box was meaning that it would be able to decode a Blu-Ray disc and output it in full 1080p HD. However Flash come over the internet and if the internet connection or the CPU is slow than it really isn't HIS's fault. Tell me what computer you have and include the motherboard model I might be able to tell you how high of a CPU you can get. Most AMD motherboards (except those pre-built ones which have dropped out of active support) let you upgrade to the latest processors because physically the pins are all the same and you need only to flash the motherboard BIOS to enable the board to accept the new CPU (AM2, AM2+, and AM3 all can accept AM3 processors, like the latest Phenom 2's).

The original post mentioned he has an Athlon XP 2000+, which was a Socket 462 processor. The fastest processor they released in a socket 462 was the Barton core Athlon XP 3200+. His old chip was a 133FSB, and the barton would be a 200FSB. It would depend on his motherboard if he could upgrade the CPU. Full HD would still tax even that CPU probably.



*EDIT* Actually, the barton 3200+ came in a 166FSB and a 200FSB version. My appologies.

 

[mister g]

I would still recommend the OP get the new CPU as it comes with almost twice the L2-cache, and a faster FSB. Adobe Flash Player 10.1 supports the radeon 4 series so it can process flash video and take some of the stress off of the Athlon. If he wants he can also put in a Sempron 3300+, but it's just a lower TDP version of the 3200 with the same specs.