Minimum HD Video Requirements

Here's what I'm doing. I'm thinking about building a new machine (a beast of a machine) which I'm sure it will do just fine with HD and beyond. The concern is that I will be using my current video card in the new machine (a nVidia GTS250) and replacing it with an older nVidia 7300. From my previous reading, hardware video decoding is supported on video card on the 8000 series and later cards. My question is will the CPU step in and take care of this issue, if not I can go buy an 8400 cheapie to work around this potiential issue. So this would be the hardware config for my "old" machine with a big video bottleneck...

CPU: Intel C2 Extreme QX9650 @ 3 GHz
4 GB DDR2 RAM
nVidia 7300LE (i think it has 512 MB not sure)
WD 150 GB Raptor

everything else "good" will go into my new machine (to save money)

I wont be playing blue ray discs, however I do have several BD rips that are in various formats varying in sizes from 4 GB all the way to 20 GB in size. In my mind despite the video card I think the CPU should be able to compensate even at 1080P, your thoughts?

However while we're at it and this is just to throw it out there my new machine will have...

Core i7 Sandy Bridge 3.4 GHz
16 GB DDR3 1866
mushkin SSD 120 GB MLC drive (lots of good reviews and supports TRIM)
and a 750 watt PSU

not that I need insight on the new machine but suggestions are welcomed...

 

An 8400 series? 2005 just called - it wants its video card technology back. roflmao

All kidding aside, if you're looking for a relatively inexpensive video card that will do decent HD I'd look at a minimum of a 210 or 240 series - if you keep an eye on Newegg, TigerDirect and Fry's you should be able to find a decent brand (such as EVGA) for as low as $30 after rebate - about the same as what you'd pay for an 8400.

Another option is to leave the GTS250 in the "old" PC and look at a 430 series or above for the new PC. The 430 series will run DirectX 11; my understanding is that the 2xx series is limited to DirectX 10.

(Wow...it goes all the way to 11. Do I see a "Spinal Tap" connection here? :guitar :-D )

A 430 series shouldn't break the bank. I recently purchased an EVGA 430 (1GB DDR3) at Fry's for $75.99 ($55.99 after rebate).

Good luck on your new build. Let us know how it turns out.

 

P.S. I'm assuming you have additional internal and/or external hard drives for storing video, music etc. on the old PC. If not, I'd add a minimum 1TB storage/editing drive. If you do a lot of video ripping, editing and playback spend an extra $50 or so for a "RAID" or "enterprise" grade drive. They have a much higher heat tolerance (designed for 24/7 server use) and are more reliable over time.

 

I figured keeping the GTS250 since I don't do a whole lot of gaming, as for the 8400, yeah those are pretty dated. Although I would be curious is this old 7300 would still be able to push the HD with the big fat Core 2 Extreme behind it.

Otherwise I may look at the 210 stuff...and I will keep the new video card in mind if I ever get into a game that needs it, not that the GTS250 did a bad job...

thanks for the info

Also, I'm a storage junkie...I've got 5 TB total storage and eventually will increase, now I just have a need for speed...

been looking at these mushkin SSD's, they're getting really good reviews among other things...

 

If you are going for true (720/1080) HDMI and want to hook up to an HDMI port on the TV, the 7300 is iffy. Unless the card has a built-in HDMI output you'll have to use both a video adapter ("cheater plug") and hook up your audio with seperate cables. My understanding is the round (S-Video) output on the card will only send out a max. of 480 lines, even if a composite (Y/R/B) adapter is hooked up to it.

If you go the HDMI route, don't get ripped off on a HDMI cable: Fry's sells generic 10-foot ones for $4.99 (I have three, they work great) or you can usually find them on Newegg, Amazon, etc. for under ten bucks.

 

I don't think it will play 1080p HD video,my 6800GT wouldn't and it was much more powerful than the 7300.

6800GT

GeForce 7300 LE

 

That's pretty much what I needed to know...can't fill a cup thats already full

I'll probably get a GT210 or something cheap that will push it...

I'll probably end up using VGA which isn't the best quality but still be able to push HD resolutions...

Yeah this 7300 only has DVI and VGA...and it was out of date when i bought it lol

I will still be curious to see what happens with the 7300 since I will be getting the GT210 later on...got to recover from spending $1400 today :eek

 

If your running an I7 though you shouldn't have any problems decoding H264 or HD MKV files with that,a core 2 duo will decode those fine so an I7 will have no problems.

So to your original question I'm not sure:-D Let me know what happens.

 

I guess no one (except me) has paired a Core 2 Extreme QX9650 with a old 7300LE in the same machine LOL

I will definitely post back with the results

 

Here's the verdict...

The video card i referenced the 7300LE is actually a 7100GS!

However it does appear I can do 1080P HD with VLC (I assume software decoding on the CPU), CPU usage around 25%...and no dropped frames...

Obviously I'm not playing games with this...maybe peggle or pac man...or perhaps solitare