DVD help

[Warthog]

Please read all questions before replying because they're all related. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

1. Do DVD movies run super smooth on the computer?

2. What is a good video card to get for games and DVDs to make them run smooth?

3. I'm buying a new comp soon from Dell and was wondering if I should get the 32mb NVIDIA geFORCE Plus 4x AGP (the second most expensive card they have) or the new 64mb DDR NVIDIA geFORCE Plus AGP video card? Oh yeah...I'll have a 19in monitor.

4. Should I skimp a little on the processor (from say 800mhz down to 733mhz - both with 128RDRAM) in favor of buying the 64mb graphics card?

I know these are a lot of questions but your opinions are GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Thanks! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

Warthog

[chipbgt]

1. Depends on how you plan to decode them. If you plan on using a decoder card (Hollywood) or a good video card (personal fave is ATI) with decoder abilities, then it will be seamless....but if your going to use software decoding, I believe most suggest going with at least a 300-450 mhz proccessor. But since we are in the 733-800 range that shouldnt be a problem....I have a 6x dvd drive, an ati rage fury, SBlive with digital out, p3 450, and a 19 inch monitor...no complaints.

2. My only experience has been with ATI cards and have never had a problem with dvd's, and the games run fine by me.

3. I dont know of any games yet that require 64mb of video ram..but then again if you are planning on keeping this for awhile its always nice to have it now....

4. I think that, in the future, youll see more improvement with a 733 and a 64mb card over a 800 with a 32mb card, just because theres not much of a dif between the 733 and the 800 (dont forget overclocking) But right now, I dont think you woudl notice much difference between the two setups for basic computer use (someone prove me wrong if I am)
BTW, you can always use more than 128mb of ram http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif


This wasnt very technical but it was my personal experiences....computers at the moment or slightly more advanced than any programs most users will use so you should be fine for dvd's and things like that. good luck.

[Warthog]

Hey, thanks for taking time to respond to my many questions! This will help me out A LOT in deciding how to configure my next computer!

Thanks again! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

Warthog

[beller6]

Hi
Been using an 2 1/2 year old Creative Labs Encore DXR-2. Origianly ran on a Celeron 266 now in my P3 system. It plays all the movies as smooth as glass.
It is now standard (or so it seems) on systems.
Don't think about it do it, you won't b sorry

[beller6]

Forget a few things. My old system it ran flawlessly it was a 266 celery with 8 mg Matrox Mystique, 128mg ram.
My new system is a P3 450 Matrox g400 32mg vid card it also runs smooth in this as well.