Looking to Buy Video Card (NOT TV Card) (1 Viewer)

[pkkid]

I tried installing this on my current PC which I thought had pretty decent hardware spec with a GForce3 32MB Ram, this thing taught me a thing or two.

Why are the system requirments so high?

I wanted to install this on my second machine running 1.6GHz, with 500 MB Ram. If I buy a decent video card for this PC, will it still run slow? What video card would you recomend?

 

[Callifo]

You need a DX9 video card (while it would run on a DX8.1 card, DX9 cards arent that expensive) so a Nvidia 5200 and higher will do or an ATI 9500 or higher. If you want good connectivity then Nvidia 6200s come with about all the connections you could want.

A 1.6Ghz should be fine but again it depends what you want to do. HDTV is still very cpu hungry; my 2600+ has can do HD mpeg2 but HD quicktime, it stands no chance (neither does my 2.8Ghz P4 though).

That cpu should be sufficient for 2 tv cards if you want to do that.

 

[pkkid]

All I am really looking to do with it at this point is setup my movie collection, games, and have ability for shoutcast (if thats available). So I will not be recording TV or anything.

I just found that my current system can't even render the menu system very well, it scared me a bit.

 

[Callifo]

Thats because of the video card. The UI is rendered using DX9 and a GF3 only does DX7. CPU usage would be sky high. MP idle in the homescreen on my system below is between 0-3%.

 

[NLS]

This might be a fine system for Linux (without GUI though), but not for something heavier.

You definately need to upgrade your Gfx card. I wonder what kind of games you plan to install on such a machine. You mean old games?

I'd say it's only ok for Office (and related stuff) and that thanks to your 512MB not the rest of the system.

Sorry to say the forbitten work "upgrade", but that is what an 1.6GHz system with a DV7 card "yells" to me.

Also I hope you have WinXP on it.