Video offloading + Win XP

[smitbret]

My PC is pretty dated (first gen/socket 939 dual core AMD with an nVidia 7900GS video card). I don't need/want to upgrade the entire PC, but I wish it were a little more HD playback friendly. It stutters a bit when playing back 720p and is unable to playback 1080p sources.

I was thinking of dropping $100 and getting a new video card that offloads the playback from the CPU but a quick glance at nVidia's PureVideo description gives me the impression that video off-loading is only available with Vista and Win 7. Didn't know if this was the case with all cards now or if that was an out dated write-up.

Also, are their any cards that offload the transcoding process from the CPU while using Handbrake in just a basic home user set up? I'm not brand loyal to any cards or GPUs, just want to know what's the best card for less than $100 that would/could accomplish this task, or if it is even worth my time.

 

[nonameo]

I don't think you really need to spend 100$ to get what you're looking for.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I see a Geforce GT210 in your future.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261047

$35, free shipping

 

[smitbret]

I see a Geforce GT210 in your future.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814261047

$35, free shipping

......and you would probably be right.

My only question is whether or not this or any other sub-$100 card would help with transcoding/encoding times and CPU usage with Handbrake.

 

[Bill Brasky]

From what I understand, handbrake doesn't support any form of gpu offloading. You would need to have an 8000 nvidia gpu or higher and a program that supports the hardware, like the nvidia supported badaboom. However, video quality is poor and on the fly transcoding is still only handled by the cpu. Here is a review of badaboom from Anand. http://www.anandtech.com/show/2554

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2586

In short, you'll have to upgrade your cpu for better HD playback and transcoding performance.

 

[smitbret]

From what I understand, handbrake doesn't support any form of gpu offloading. You would need to have an 8000 nvidia gpu or higher and a program that supports the hardware, like the nvidia supported badaboom. However, video quality is poor and on the fly transcoding is still only handled by the cpu. Here is a review of badaboom from Anand. http://www.anandtech.com/show/2554

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2586

In short, you'll have to upgrade your cpu for better HD playback and transcoding performance.

That's what I thought. GT 210 it is. Thanks for the help, everyone.