HD playback, improved by vid card?

[Spike]

I have a HTPC hooked up to my 720p 32" lcd (specs below, Opteron 165 system). Currently I'm using a 7800GT but plan on getting a better vid card with HDMI for Christmas when I get an LG Blu-ray/HD drive. At this point I have downloaded and tried some 1080p content out (I know my lcd can't display it) and noticed my pc can sometimes drag a little even though the cpu is not at 100%.

So my question is will a better gpu, like a 3850/3870 w/hdmi out, help that out? Or will I need additional ram? I only have 2GB in right now and have not upgraded due to the cost of regular, old DDR ram these days. I don't notice the dragging with a 720p content, just 1080p. I don't want to spend too much $ because if I do I might as well switch it out with my E6550 setup and lose my second gaming pc.

Anyway, thanks for any help!

 

[myocardia]

1080P requires either some serious CPU power, or a video card that can accelerate it, so the CPU doesn't have to work very hard. And yeah, any nVidia G92 or better, and all ATI 3xx0's or better will accelerate it, so the CPU won't have to.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Agree the 7800 doesn't have what is needed to really play HD video. You'll really want a good card that is able to handle that.

 

[tcsenter]

Could also be your decoder application and its codec.

 

[zephyrprime]

Only a few players and codecs can even use the hardware acceleration features of even older cards like the 7800. You've pretty much gotta use windows media player or powerdvd and the only codecs supports are Windows' codecs for wmv files, dvd video, and blue-ray/hd-dvd.

 

[Spike]

At this point I'm playing mkv and wmv files through WMP and MPC and seeing the lagging though again, this is only on 1080p. If what your saying is correct I won't be able to play it smoothly even with a new gpu as the players don't take advantage of the hardware accelerator? Or only a few decoders will be able to take advantage of new hardware?

I really wanted to look at a 3850/3870 due to the price and it sounds like that would work but if the software is a huge issue then I may have to wait.

Thanks for all the help so far.

EDIT*

For video card choices would a passive 3450 work for HD? If yes how would it compare gaming wise to my 7800GT? I would like a card that is at least equal to the 7800GT in gaming performance so I can do some light gaming on this pc as well. How well would this card game? I like the passive...

If I was going to spend as much as need for a 3850/3870 I might as well consider a 4850 as it's only a few $ more. Then the issue becomes cooling since it would run so much hotter. I would probably pick up an after market cooler (passive?) so cost starts ramping up...

 

[Foxery]

3450 is a budget card, which is useful for the HD decoding but not much else - the 3650 you linked should be more comparable in gaming performance to what you're used to. You can find 3850s (with 512MB RAM) as low as $90 these days, and they have twice the horsepower. Up to you whether you want more power, or more cash in your pocket.

 

[coolpurplefan]

I'm a little surprised a dual core Opteron will still lag at 1080p.

I have one machine with an X1650XT and socket 939 Athlon 4000+ single core at stock speed (2.4 GHz) and 2GB OCZ Platinum RAM. And I have another machine with a Geforce 6600 (non-GT) and an Athlon 3700+ sinlge core at stock speed (2.4 GHz) with 1GB Kingston HyperX RAM. Both machines can play 720p but can lag at 1080p.

I just ordered an Asus M3A78-EM and AMD 5400+. That Asus motherboard has an integrated HD 3200. Asus' web site says the motherboard will play 1080p. If it does work, I'll let you know about it.

But, I was just wondering out of sheer curiosity if anyone has tried various setups to see what makes a bigger difference. Let's suppose there is STILL some lag at 1080p using that Asus M3A78-EM and 5400+. Which should I upgrade? Would it be an upgrade to a Phenom 9950 or an upgrade to an HD 4870?

Does anyone know any details about the next generation of ATI video cards?