Video Card Upgrade

[StoneHunter]

Guy's I need advice on which "Budget" Video card to buy.I upgraded a couple of years ago to a ATI Radeon X1300 (Best Buy Closeout) this card can not handle
running DVD movies on my ASUS 22" Widescreen.Any suggestions for PCIe x 16 cards that won't break the bank? Thanks

 

[Tedster]

go to tomshardwareguide.com and read their tables for your budget to determine what you need. There's a card for every budget out there. Their tables show performance and price ranges.

 

[SNGX1275]

That doesn't sound like it should be happening... Something else is wrong, I could play DVDs on a 19" CRT back in the day with a Pentium 2 300 and an ATi Rage Fury Pro video card (~1998).

Now I could understand if you said Bluray or HDDVD, but there is nothing inherent in the card or your other hardware that would prevent dvd playback. Don't buy a new card, your problem lies elsewhere.

What software are you playing the DVDs with and what are the symptoms of your problems?

 

[Tedster]

right - sngx1275 - didn't even think of that.

Perhaps he needs a better video player or good codecs.

Download VLC player or DIVX player. Both are free and both can play movies.

 

[StoneHunter]

Thanks Guy's, I will try DIVX Player. Download.com should have it. I am still thinking of a better card though, ATI Radeon: Sapphire or ASUS for around $40.So many choices...Thanks again

 

[StoneHunter]

sngx1275, I am using WMP11 and Windows Media Center to play Commercial DVD's. DIVX is for DIVX as I understand.DVD Movies will play but they are slow and seem to drag along...I still think it's the Video card. I even reduced the resolution to 1024x768 and the playback was still slow.Web pages and photo's look good though at my full resolution. Any suggestions for a good relacement card (under $60)?

 

[SNGX1275]

Upgrade your graphics drivers, and make sure there aren't any conflicting codecs. Like I said above there is no reason your hardware isn't good enough as is. Here is a good utility for checking the codec issue: http://thegreenbutton.com/files/15/utilities/entry147495.aspx

You may also want to get VLC and see if you can play DVDs fine with it. It should use its own codec, outside of what Windows is using.

 

[StoneHunter]

sngx1275, Thanks for the link. I registered & downloaded the utility...everything checks out Ok.

 

[StoneHunter]

Tedster, Thanks for the info I will check-it-out!