what is limiting my computer?

[HiME]

i'm wondering if my computer is cpu,gpu, bandwidth or memory limited

running

P3 450Mhz

Geforce4 mx 440 128MB

AGP 2X

pc 100, 192MB

i used to watch high quality videos, such as rmvb/ avi/ mkv
while i'm watching them cpu usage easily goes 100% with rmvb files. when there's action or big animation, video lags. avi and mkv are better because they're not compressed as much as rmvb.

is there anyway i can check my gpu usage and shift the cpu load to the gpu?

 

[Bobthelost]

Not really no.

 

[narutofan36]

what about the taskmanager?



u need a better processor if u want to do more

 

[Praxis1452]

well that's really old... even older than mine which is like 3-4 years? maybe more lol

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

everything.

 

[Maxspeed996]

OMG

 

[grimlykindo]

Sorry, but that build it pretty friggen old...

We have retired computers at work that put it to shame :Q

I would suggest a fresh build from scratch

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: grimlykindo
Sorry, but that build it pretty friggen old...

We have retired computers at work that put it to shame :Q

I would suggest a fresh build from scratch

it's not your video card, i don't think. i have that in a 2.8GHz p4 with 512mb ram and i never get movie lag. it could be your motherboard cause isn't the card agp 4x? i think mine is. or it's your cpu cause that's pretty slow for movies nowadays. if you have $300+ to spend, you can get a fairly decent budget build

 

[AzNPinkTuv]

o wow... my comp from 97... literally

 

[Bobthelost]

4x AGP is enough to get by with. For pretty much everything, it's not the bandwidth that's the problem.

The entire system is too old/slow for current codecs.

 

[supastar1568]

i wouldnt change anything.

you could probably play FEAR with settings on high, might have to settle for 2XAA though.

 

[Lasthitlarry]

You need a new computer.

3200+

939 + PCIe mobo

PCIe 128MB ATI Radeon X800GTO

1GB PC3200 RAM

 

[grimlykindo]

Originally posted by: Lasthitlarry
You need a new computer.

3200+

939 + PCIe mobo

PCIe 128MB ATI Radeon X800GTO

1GB PC3200 RAM

boom - there you go

Now get ordering!

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: Lasthitlarry
You need a new computer.

3200+

939 + PCIe mobo

PCIe 128MB ATI Radeon X800GTO

1GB PC3200 RAM

:thumbsup:

Sorry but your comp is limited by EVERYTHING

 

[bamacre]

Now, guys

Actually, my grandparents have a better rig.

 

[DrMrLordX]

I got my lady an old P3-700mhz lappie with 256 megs of RAM from FS/FT for around $200. It plays everything we've thrown at it, and it's portable. Yay.

 

[M16Grenadier]

I used to watch Divx movies on the following specs no problem:

P3 500 Katmai

320 MB Ram

TNT2 AGP

i440bx w/ 2x AGP slot

 

[blackrain]

I used to have a video pc with the following specs:

Pentium 2 (400 mhz)
192 mb ram
ATI Rage II 3D
HD (2mb cache) at 7200rpm

Never had any problems or lag with those formats. Your system is a little better. Not sure where your problem is. But with that video card and processor you should be fine. Look around for an old but faster cpu if your mobo supports it. You can find old P3's for under $20.

 

[Bryanhoop]

I don't know if any of you read my other post, but I'm planning on bringing a 233 MHz, 64MB Ram, 2 Gig HD laptop with me as I travel Europe. That is going to be a project. This guy's computer trumps mine.

 

[sniperruff]

TBH i think it might be too many background processes.

 

[HiME]

i'll be upgrading my system once i enter university, which means i'll have to wait for 1 year and a half, i already got a new lcd monitor, new HD, new power supply, keyboard/mouse and optical drives for this computer already.

so will i need a labtop once i get into university?

how come there aren't any tool for checking GPU usage as there're so many gamers here?

 

[shoRunner]

Originally posted by: djmihow
everything.

but mainly your processor and memory