Is it worth it?
#1
Hello everyone

I need your opinion guys, I have an old pc, P4 3Ghz,DDR 512mb 400mhz ram, Nvidia 7600GS 128mb and a 80gb hard disk via esata. I have installed ubuntu and xbmc with a purpose to use it as a streaming device in my living room and maybe for a little web browsing. Streaming is ok but it has some issues when streaming or playing directly from hard disk 720p and 1080p mkv files. My question is: Is it worth it to buy a better display card with 512mb and install another 512mb for ram or should I buy a new streaming device?
Thanks for your time.
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#2
get a new video card and that machine will do just fine.
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#3
spiff Wrote:get a new video card and that machine will do just fine.
I'm thinking of this one, what do think?thanks for your time
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#4
if you gonna do linux i'd go with nvidia - amd + linux = issues.
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#5
spiff Wrote:if you gonna do linux i'd go with nvidia - amd + linux = issues.

Thanks for your advice, I will look for a nvidia card and hopefully find one
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#6
Hi, as someone who has recycled an old office P4 machine into a linux-based xbmc monster, I can recommend the PCI version of 8400gs by PNY. It's just man enough to vdpau your content, should be plenty cheap enough (got mine for a few quid on ebay)

At the time I bought it, I don't think nvidia produced an AGP card that did vdpau (could be wrong on that) and my machine doesn't have PCI express, just plain old regular PCI.

This is the one here:

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/9556293/PN...oduct.html

One gotcha to look out for is that there's an older version of this card that has crapper vdpau capabilities (so watch out for that if you get one from ebay - it doesn't have a G98 I think?) and also plenty of sites say they have the pci version, but it really the pci-express when you read the small print.... finally it only has dvi-out or vga out. So you'll either need a vga in on your telly or a dvi-to-hdmi hook up lead. I can confirm it works either way.

I can report with this card, dirty regions enabled, dds fanart enabled, vdpau enabled then I get a super smooth interface and 1080p playback.....

...not bad for the old girl that the office was going to junk anyway!

Jimmer

edit - the older version of the 8400gs has a core clock speed of 450 instead of 567 and has a g86 instead of a g98. That's the easy way to tell what a vendor is selling.... knew it would come back to me!
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#7
Jimmer Wrote:Hi, as someone who has recycled an old office P4 machine into a linux-based xbmc monster, I can recommend the PCI version of 8400gs by PNY. It's just man enough to vdpau your content, should be plenty cheap enough (got mine for a few quid on ebay)

At the time I bought it, I don't think nvidia produced an AGP card that did vdpau (could be wrong on that) and my machine doesn't have PCI express, just plain old regular PCI.

This is the one here:

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/9556293/PN...oduct.html

One gotcha to look out for is that there's an older version of this card that has crapper vdpau capabilities (so watch out for that if you get one from ebay - it doesn't have a G98 I think?) and also plenty of sites say they have the pci version, but it really the pci-express when you read the small print.... finally it only has dvi-out or vga out. So you'll either need a vga in on your telly or a dvi-to-hdmi hook up lead. I can confirm it works either way.

I can report with this card, dirty regions enabled, dds fanart enabled, vdpau enabled then I get a super smooth interface and 1080p playback.....

...not bad for the old girl that the office was going to junk anyway!

Jimmer

edit - the older version of the 8400gs has a core clock speed of 450 instead of 567 and has a g86 instead of a g98. That's the easy way to tell what a vendor is selling.... knew it would come back to me!

Thanks a lot for your answer, I had my hopes down because finding a proper Nvidia agp card is quite difficult. Fortunately my tv has a vga port but maybe i will be lucky finding a card with hdmi port as well.
Thanks again
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#8
nmiklas21 Wrote:Thanks a lot for your answer, I had my hopes down because finding a proper Nvidia agp card is quite difficult. Fortunately my tv has a vga port but maybe i will be lucky finding a card with hdmi port as well.
Thanks again

Forget AGP - there aren't any out there.

Also, you don't need HDMI. You can get a 1M DVI -> HDMI cable for less than $10USD.

Here's a PNY 8400GS at Newegg (in the US) for around $55 shipped:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814133364

On eBay you can get them around $25 shipped:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/370555726691

Good luck Smile

-Wes
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#9
Thanks for the answer, the problem is that I'm in Greece and none of them ships here. I have found this one


Forget AGP - there aren't any out there.

Also, you don't need HDMI. You can get a 1M DVI -> HDMI cable for less than $10USD.

Here's a PNY 8400GS at Newegg (in the US) for around $55 shipped:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6814133364

On eBay you can get them around $25 shipped:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/370555726691

Good luck Smile

-Wes[/quote]
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#10
that should work...
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#11
do a ram upgrade which will help but truly you need a robust video card and it will solve those issues you are having
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