Minimum RAM and processor 31 January 2013 at 12:56PM in Techie Stuff 11 replies 591 views

Juzza12

Hi all, in need of a new laptop but would like some advice on the above.

Main use will be browsing followed by streaming TV and film vis HDMI to my TV. Last but not least is streaming sports, it's a £100 subscription so is important. Listen to music now and again.

Will not be used for any gaming or work, perhaps other than the odd work document.

I don't want to over spend and end up with a machine that's more powerful than necessary. Thanks

System

what is the sports streaming subscription you have? do they not have any minimum requirements?

InsideInsurance

Any current or last year model of laptop would be able to do what you ask unless you are looking at 4K resolution streaming rather than 1080p

Have to remember most smartphones can no stream 1080p resolution to TVs let alone laptops

closed

is your existing laptop no good?

Juzza12

the_r_sole wrote: »

what is the sports streaming subscription you have? do they not have any minimum requirements?

It's NFL Gamepass minimum requirements:

Intel Pentium 4 2.33GHz or higher or equivalent AMD processor with a minimum of 512MB of memory and 64MB of video RAM.
One of the following operating systems: Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows Media Center Edition.
Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Mozilla Firefox:
- IE: http://www.microsoft.com/ie
- Firefox: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox
Macromedia Flash Player 10.1: http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/about/
Video adapter and monitor: Super VGA (1024x768) or higher.

Current laptop was above that when I checked CPU benchmark but had problems with streaming, You Tube etc at times.

closed wrote: »

is your existing laptop no good?

Quality was poor with sports streaming, sluggish etc yet when we watched on iPad through the app it was fine. Although i've been streaming TV and films fine lately I'm pretty sure the HDD is on the way out and the laptop is about 4 years old now and has been used a lot.

InsideInsurance

If it works on the iPad you could simply buy an AppleTV v3 (a new version also to be badged as V3) for under £100 and then stream from the iPad to the TV. If you're happy with 720p resolution then an AppleTV v2 would do and you can pick them up second hand for peanuts

Juzza12

InsideInsurance wrote: »

If it works on the iPad you could simply buy an AppleTV v3 (a new version also to be badged as V3) for under £100 and then stream from the iPad to the TV. If you're happy with 720p resolution then an AppleTV v2 would do and you can pick them up second hand for peanuts

Did consider that or getting a cable but seeing as the laptop is on it's way out will just get a new one.

closed

machines (and disks) usually either work, or don't, way out or dying scenario is usually software related http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2436849

Juzza12

closed wrote: »

machines (and disks) usually either work, or don't, way out or dying scenario is usually software related http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2436849

Thanks, did a complete re set a few months ago because of streaming issues.

I'm getting a blue screen error when turning it on which says along the lines of "Windows shut down to protect itself"

Then when it comes on I get "Checking file system on C:" plus a load of other stuff. Followed some instructions online by going to Devices>Properties>Tools>Error Checking on both the C and D drive, D was fine and C just went through the Checking File system again when I turned it off and on again.

Getting the blue screen error and Checking file system c: once a day now and saw online that if it keeps happening it's likely to be the HDD about to die.

closed

if a blue screen happens, and the system doesn't shutdown properly, windows will attempt a chkdsk to make sure it hasn't corrupted the disk, that doesn't automatically point to an imminent disk failure. if it continues to bsod after a fresh reinstall, then it could point to hardware, but nearly all bsod's are software related.

Juzza12

closed wrote: »

if a blue screen happens, and the system doesn't shutdown properly, windows will attempt a chkdsk to make sure it hasn't corrupted the disk, that doesn't automatically point to an imminent disk failure. if it continues to bsod after a fresh reinstall, then it could point to hardware, but nearly all bsod's are software related.

Ok thanks, i'll give it a fresh install later then.