Dell Dimension 5150 graphics card upgrade.

*j*

I've just changed from ADSL broadband (1.3 Mbps) to fibre (25 Mbps).

Now I can stream HD TV and video, but the picture "stutters" and I suspect this might be the ten year old onboard graphics that is unable to cope.

Would a new graphics card be likely to solve this problem, and if so are there any cost-effective recommendations please?

It's a Dell Dimension 5150, Pentium 4 2.8 GHz, 3.0 GB Ram, Windows 7 Pro.

Thanks.

NiftyDigits

Service Tag?

If it's a normal size tower, perhaps this

Don't know your budget.

*j*

Thanks for the reply, Nifty.

Tag is 7FCBW1J.

If that Radeon 5450 will fit and work I'll use that. I guess it will certainly be an improvement on the onboard graphics from ten years ago, and would be quite sufficient for my needs.

There's no budget, but I don't want to spend more than I have to!

Cycrow

what software do you use to play the video ?

video decoding can be done either by the gpu or the cpu. If the software is only doing it from the cpu, then changing the gpu wont make a difference.
GPU's are usually better at it, but not all software makes use of them

*j*

Hi Cycrow.

What software do I use? Not quite sure what you mean. If you tell me how to find out I'll let you know!

It's pretty much a standard Dell 5150 with the OS changed from XP to Windows 7, and I'm watching TV online.

gjchester

*j* wrote: »

I've just changed from ADSL broadband (1.3 Mbps) to fibre (25 Mbps).

Now I can stream HD TV and video, but the picture "stutters" and I suspect this might be the ten year old onboard graphics that is unable to cope.

We have a 50mb Virgin connection, iPlayer in the TV and xbox still stutters and buffers from time to time, usually worse at peak times (mainly early evening 7 to 10pm) .

Before you spend anything try the same program ad different times of the day to see if its likely to be hardware, or just the network connection when everyone's using the internet (ie evenings)

*j*

Thanks for that gjchester.

I think the lag is within the computer, as it still occurs when I wait for some of the video to download before playing it, so I don't think it can be due to any downloading restrictions.

I'm thinking a 2.8 GHz processor, even at 10m years old should cope with an HD video. That's why I suspect the bottleneck is the onboard graphics.

I'm hoping a dedicated video card would help, and just want to make sure I buy one that will work with the Dell 5150.

CCleaner tells me it's a Pentium Dual CPU T2390 1.86 GHz, "GB ram (though I'm sure it has 3GB) Intel 965 Express Chipset.

That means the hardware info I gave in the first post wasn't quite correct!

Cycrow

As you are using Windows 7, i assume you are just using the built in windows media player ?
its usually only the older software that may not work with hardware acceleration.

so a new gpu should help. It doesn't even need to be that good, even a budget gpu is far better than a cpu at video decoding. Your only isue would be finding one that will fit your computer, most now are PCI Expresses, which you probably dont have on your PC, so you would need an old pci one (which may be difficult to find)

your cpu will probably struggle. I have an atom that i used for a media center, and when running under software, it cant handle HD videos at all (the cpu is about comparable to yours). I have to use the GPU for HD videos.

*j*

Thanks for the reply, Cycrow.

Yes, I've checked and I do seem to be using Windows Media Player.

My owner's manual says I have 4 card slots: 2 PCI, one PCI Express X16 and one PCI Express X1.

I think the MSI ATI Radeon 5450 HD PCI Express 2.1 mentioned in post 2 by NiftyDigits is what I'm going to have a try with. At £21 delivered it's worth a shot.

A you say, any card is likely to be better than the onboard one.

Cycrow

as you have PCI Express, then any card will do the job. That one will certainly be fine

gjchester

*j* wrote: »

Thanks for that gjchester.

I think the lag is within the computer, as it still occurs when I wait for some of the video to download before playing it, so I don't think it can be due to any downloading restrictions.

I'm thinking a 2.8 GHz processor, even at 10m years old should cope with an HD video. That's why I suspect the bottleneck is the onboard graphics.

Probably is, Just trying to rule out options before you spend money.

Do you see stuttering when playing HD files that are stored on the hard drive, if you do its the graphics system related, if files off the hard drive play fine its probably related to your connection.

There's nothing wrong with the onboard graphics for basic video use, but its all down to what else may be running on the PC at the same time.