Will a video card upgrade affect my computer speed?

[GaryDZ]

I have read some conflicting reports... and figured I'd ask here. I am using a 3rd Gen i5 HP computer for my HTPC. I do not have a dedicated Video Card... and have no complaints about Video Quality.

Over the past few months, it seems my Menus have slowed down... not horrible, but enough to notice. My question: If I get an Affordable ---Recent (new) dedicated video card would it help off load some of the CPU load and allow the computer (menus) to run faster? I am happy with the quality of the video as is.


Question 2--- Would the number of saved Movies and/or Music effect the speed of the menus? The hard drive is no where near full. I would not think it would effect the menus once they were indexed... but I am guessing.

Anyone know for sure? I am willing to get a Good (Cheap) video card if it will help, but do not see spending the money if it will not make any difference.

Thanks...

GaryDZ

[staknhalo]

The only thing a GPU would do for you then is free up some RAM. Depending on how much you have, this could or could not make a difference. Caching/indexing/guide updates/OS updates are a possible cause of your problem. Excessive heat could be a cause as well. If it's heat, a video card would only add to the problem. Check temps and whats running when the issue is occurring and report back.

[foxwood]

There's no obvious mechanism by which a video card would help improve the performance of a 3rd gen i5 in a HTPC.

Run Task Manager in the background while using Media Center - it will show you whether your CPU is busy while you're navigating Media Center.

And put new batteries in your remote.

[barnabas1969]

It would help a lot if you posted the model of your current video adapter, the amount of RAM, the number of extenders you're running simultaneously, and the type, number, and size of your hard drive(s).

My guess, without any of the above information, is that installing an SSD will help you. But, without more info... it's just a guess.

[GaryDZ]

thanks everyone... I have plenty of memory 12-gig. I wasn't sure if the CPU was being bogged down with encoding multiple HD shows while also decoding them to watch. I thought if some of the encoding/decoding was shifted to a card it would help.

Thanks for the info... saved me some cash and time.

[NWW]

Spare the money, and go SSD. Only upgrade worth it, by miles!

[barnabas1969]

Spare the money, and go SSD. Only upgrade worth it, by miles!

Agreed. Everyone who has tried Media Center without an SSD, and then subsequently upgraded to an SSD was extremely pleased with how much it sped up the Media Center menus, Guide, and thumbnails.

[foxwood]

I must have done something wrong so. I can't honestly say I saw much improvement (though I never had much of a problem to begin with).

[barnabas1969]

I must have done something wrong so. I can't honestly say I saw much improvement (though I never had much of a problem to begin with).

As the size of your Media Center database grows, and you build a large collection of cached thumbnails, etc., an SSD will make more and more difference compared to an HDD. If you don't have many recordings, movies, scheduled recordings, and such... it won't make as much of a difference. Also, as a Windows installation ages, it gets slower... but not as much with an SSD. I'm sure everyone has seen how much faster a PC runs right after a fresh re-install.

[newfiend]

Agree as well .. Love my SSD's best $ I ever spent on drive(s).

Sent from my RM-820_nam_att_100 using Board Express

[barnabas1969]

I learned something over the last two days. My son wanted a new PC. He wanted it for gaming purposes, so I ordered components with performance in mind. The CPU and chipset are AMD-based. Before I installed Windows 7, I setup BIOS to use AHCI for the disc drives. It was one of the slowest-booting PC's I've seen in years. Every time I tried to load the chipset drivers, it would crash on the next boot.

I finally discovered that I needed to install the AMD AHCI drivers (before loading the chipset drivers)... and now it screams! Smoking machine. He'll be a happy gamer now!

So, maybe foxwood did something wrong.