Which graphics card for 3D & HD 1080 video playback?

patrickkingshot

Standard Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2012
Messages
17
Reaction score
0
Points
8
Hi, I currently have an onboard graphics card so it struggles to play HD videos as it makes them very jittery. I am looking for a graphics card which can play HD smoothly and also 3D video too. Budget is a maximum of £100 but I'd much rather be spending closer to £50 but its value for money and a little bit of future-proofing I'm after.

Suggestions welcome :smashin:

Regards Patrick
 
(VLC is free and does the same as that advert...)

Generally you can pick up any nVidia or Ati based card from Amazon and get quite a jump from your on-board graphics. I assume the PC isn't ancient, so you are looking at a PCI Express graphics card.

Before you start - make sure you open up the PC case and check there is a slot available. (If you don't know what a PCI Express slot looks like, I can find you an image. It should be at the top of the stack of extra slots and look slightly longer and thinner)

Next we need to know if you have normal sized case or a slimline one.

As you want to watch video it make sense to get a lower end card with passive cooling (no noisy fans). Pointless spending out on a mad gaming card when all you need is HD.


As a random example of price ranges, here are some nVidia options as an example:
Amazon.co.uk: nvidia graphics PCI Express Graphics Cards

As you will notice, there are plenty in your price range. There is no point in a monster card for just video playback. You will see that the cards have names like 210, 640, 520, 440. The different generation of cards are signified by the first number in the hundreds column. So an 200 series card is the oldest tech, with 600 being much newer tech (and therefore more expensive). The second digit shows you how far up the range the card is - so a 440 is posher than a 420 while being based on the same generation of tech.

So it would be pointless for you to buy a 690 when a basic 420 would do the job. All you really need to do is check for that HDMI connector.

If I was just to grab something, I'd probably pick up this one: Asus Nvidia GeForce GT 520 Silent Graphics Card (1GB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, 700MHz/1333MHz, Low Profile, Nvidia PureHD Support): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories
 
Last edited by a moderator:
— As an Amazon Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases —
(VLC is free and does the same as that advert...)

thanks barry, its so nice to be nice isnt it.......i use corecodec and it works for me on my older laptop
 
Last edited by a moderator:
(VLC is free and does the same as that advert...)

thanks barry, its so nice to be nice isnt it.......i use corecodec and it works for me on my older laptop
I tried a PM, but no reply. I was not trying to insult you. I apologise if you read it like that. I wanted to send a PM to apologise personally instead of dragging this thread OT.


There is no point in paying for software to fix this issue. VLC or Media Player Classic will do what that coreavc program will do for free. The main features being paid for in coreavc is the nVidia cuda and Ati hardware acceleration. As the OP says he has onboard video at the moment, this is most likely to be an Intel based solution and therefore no advantage to be gained from the coreavc.

Personally I use the "k-lite mega codec pack" and "Media Player Classic" and it works well for me. Using an ancient P4 2.8Ghz PC and GeForce 5200 graphics card I can stream 720p from across my network and then display on a Panasonic Plasma via an Onkyo amp. Plays fine (including the DTS audio).

I don't have any 1080p files around to check with (I've only just upgraded to a 1080p screen)


The OP asked about replacing his graphics card. A fairly simple task and there will be a noticeable advantage to him when he does so. Graphics cards are so cheap now it is hard to go wrong. And whatever is selected will be a noticeable improvement over onboard video.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom