Graphics card upgrade

[Mark Fuller]

I have a HP d4000e with a new blue ray player installed but the nVidia 6200se video card will not support the blue ray player, can anyone recommend an agp video card to replace it and where do I get it.

 

[Captain828]

In order to play Blu-ray content you'll need (besides the Blu-ray player ofc):

1. A HDCP-capable software media player (you should have received one with the player);
2. A HDCP-capable video card (all modern video cards from 2007 and onwards);
3. And a HDCP-capable display (if it has a HDMI input, then it should also have HDCP).

What's HDCP?
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, a form of copy protection that basically lets you play only on devices that have this feature.
Check this link if you want to learn more about it.

Back to your question, if you can find one in your area, HIS makes an AGP version of the ATi Radeon HD 4350 which is excellent for Blu-ray playback and is also pretty cheap.
The full name for it should be HIS Radeon HD4350 iFan 512MB DDR3 64-bit AGP.
Sapphire also makes an AGP HD 4650: Sapphire Radeon HD4650 1GB DDR2 128-bit AGP. This is a bit more expensive than the other, but is also more suitable for gaming (if you care).
If you tell me in which country you live, I could also give you some suggestions where to buy one.

PS: Both cards are HDCP-compliant.

 

[dmill89]

The bigger question is whether that system has the specs necessary to play HD video at all. Most Blu-Ray drives require at least a Pentium-D or Athlon 64X2 and 1GB ram minimum. According to what I can find the specs for the top end HP d4000e are 2.4-GHz Athlon 64 4000+ processor, 1GB of DDR400 SDRAM, NVidia GeForce 6800. Since your system only has a GeForce 6200 it is obviously not the top spec. model. Even if it was that CPU is borderline and below the recommended requirements for HD video. Also all the d4000s I could find have a PCI-Express X16 slot which would greatly expand your video card choices. So are you sure it has a AGP slot?

Here's a link to the specs. I found:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00361528&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=471693


The full specs of your system would be extremely helpful since that system came in many possible configurations.

While relatively high-end in 2005 when that system was new, it is somewhat limited by today's standards.

 

[Captain828]

Also, here are up-to-date hardware requirements for Blu-ray playback.