• AnyStream is having some DRM issues currently, Netflix is not available in HD for the time being.
    Situations like this will always happen with AnyStream: streaming providers are continuously improving their countermeasures while we try to catch up, it's an ongoing cat-and-mouse game. Please be patient and don't flood our support or forum with requests, we are working on it 24/7 to get it resolved. Thank you.

What is the min CPU and GPU that HD can play on

Mr_RIP

Member
Thread Starter
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Messages
20
Likes
0
I searched on requirements and I was surprised to not find much on this.

I have an AMD 3000XP with an ATI 1650Pro with HDMI and 2 gig of memory.

Do you think that can handle HD. I will have to play the files over the network because my Shuttle box only has IDE and the BluRay drive I have is sata.

Thanks.
 
That depends on the efficiency of the software you try to use to do the playback. So there may be some set of CPU and GPU recommendations for PowerDVD but they do not necessarily apply to WinDVD, for example.

That said, CyberLink has an 'HD Advisor' that will tell you what they think of your current system.

There are, BTW, PATA to SATA adaptors that plug into the mother board PATA port and allow you to connect a SATA device.
 
I checked that out and my video card meets the requirements but the cpu does not. But what they don't tell you is that if the video card offloads some of the work then a slwoer cpu should be able to be used.

I guess I'll try playing one over the network and see or copying one of the ts\ms files to the local drive and ee if it can handle it.

Thanks.

I am hoping some people might of experimented and will post their setups here.
 
if u talking about requirements, I suggest you check out the player web site such as PDVD or TMT, as they have different requirements for different setup, OS and sometime GC too.

I have ATI 2600HD Pro, P4, Intel 945 MB, LG BD drive, 3.5G RAM... I used to have XP up to last week and I think it is a good minimum set up to play BD movies. Since Monday I did a clean installed and I have Vista now. I definitely noticed a bit slower now but the integration, UI... are far better.

With the rapid BD technology, who knows what they're going to introduce tomorrow and some of the BD files needs a lot of power to play therefore I don't recommend building the minimum they require today since it might not going to work tomorrow.
 
pretty much any CPU with an ATI 2400 or better graphics card.
 
Well in my case I tried it with a system with a AMD 3000+ 1.81 Ghz and it failed to keep up then upgraded to a 4000+ 2.41 Ghz and it couldn't keep up even overclocking it didn't help, with a Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT, I also had 2 GB of Ram
and was using Power DVD as playback software, in my case my CPU was a 939 pin 64 bit FX single core, running XP SP2 with bare minimal applications running,
I ended up buying a new system running a AMD 6000+ Dual Core running at 3.0 ghz with 2 GB of ram with a 8500 GT nvidia with HDMI out Same Card I had in the previous setup that failed to keep up, witch has XP Sp 2 on it now and I can play Blu-Ray and HDD-DVDs on it and use other applications on it at the same time and no shutters or bad performance, can barely use 6 % of my system CPU when playing a blu ray,

so in short from my experience 4000+ AMD Single Core Back to Slow
6000+ AMD dual Core Over Kill with 8500 GT Nvidia Geforce

Also in both cases the Video Card Was PCI Express 16 X and the Hard Drive and BD drive Sata 2
 
pretty much any CPU with an ATI 2400 or better graphics card.
I would have to agree with this except for the CPU. A dual-core CPU of at least 2GHz is the accepted norm these days. For a graphics card I would choose either an ATi 3400 or nVIDIA 8500 series card as a starting point and go up from there. I have an 8600GT in my HTPC and it works quite well, even for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD playback. You should be able to pick one up for under $100.
 
I wanted to keep my 939 socket to save myself some work and stuck the fastest dual core still available @ $69. I also have 1651 integrated graphics on this machine and it now plays HD content just fine as long as I'm not multitasking too much. My HTPC is a totally different rig.
 
I also have a socket 939 but it's an Athlon 64 X2 4600+, which is about the fastest 939 dual core processor available IIRC. It's overkill for my setup since a 3600+ or better should suffice.

PAPutzback -

Check out the Home Theater Computer section at the AVS Forums. There's a guide to building an HTPC in one of the sticky threads. You'll find the minimum recommended requirements for building an HTPC on both AMD and Intel platforms along with the most extensive list of recommended componments compiled anywhere. I consider it absolute required reading for anyone building an HTPC, especially if it's your first time.
 
Generally speaking I don’t think it’s the best approach to think in terms of minimum component configurations for this type of task but if you must then jbrisbin’s reference to the specific software manufacture’s minimum spec is likely ideal.

For AMD / ATI on PowerDVD Ultra 7 it was something like ~Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 2.0 GHz and ATI Radeon X1600 series.

And for Intel / nVidiaon on PowerDVD Ultra 7 I believe it was a Pentium 4 541 3.2 Ghz and a 6600GT but that was changed to a 7600 GT. I think Sony had some HDCP capable 6600 cards that shipped with systems that had PowerDVD Ultra 7 OEM preinstalled but I’m not 100% sure.

My Wife’s telecommuting PC has an Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (2.0 GHz no OC) and an All-In-Wonder X1900 (no OC) + 1GB RAM. I suspect that it would play many BD / HD DVD titles well enough but I haven‘t tested it. My general purpose PC has an Athlon 64 X2 4800+, 8800GTS 320GB and 2GB RAM which runs BD / HD DVD titles fine. Our dedicated HP M1070n Media Center Edition 2005 PC has an Intel 520 2.8GHz HTT, ATI X1300 Pro and 1GB RAM which I suspect wont do very well with BD / HD DVD titles without an upgrade to both.

My quasi new transitional system has an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, 8800GT 512MB and 3GB of DDR2 800 RAM. Its done quite well with BD / HD DVD titles.

For what its worth I believe that anandtech did several investigations in to both CPU and GPU requirements of BD / HD DVD:
 
I also have a socket 939 but it's an Athlon 64 X2 4600+, which is about the fastest 939 dual core processor available IIRC. It's overkill for my setup since a 3600+ or better should suffice.

PAPutzback -

Check out the Home Theater Computer section at the AVS Forums. There's a guide to building an HTPC in one of the sticky threads. You'll find the minimum recommended requirements for building an HTPC on both AMD and Intel platforms along with the most extensive list of recommended componments compiled anywhere. I consider it absolute required reading for anyone building an HTPC, especially if it's your first time.


The fastest 939 pin cpu is a Opteron 185, or an FX-60 if you can find 1, & will work on most 939 pin mobo's

butcher

peace
 
Last edited:
Here is a list to help you or I hope it helps. I don't think the Opteron is listed though.

CPU (Processor)

cpuspecskx0.png


System Memory (RAM)

1 GB is ok but 2+ gigs is recommended

By RAM we mean to be able to use DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) at the very minimum.

How do I know my optical drive is compatible for Blu-Ray?

Below is a small set of drives that continues to grow. More drives will hit the market soon enough

BenQ BW1000

LG GBW-H10N

Sony BWU-100A

Panasonic SW-5582

Samsung SH-BO22

Lite-On LX-2B1S

Plextor BD writer PXB900a

Pioneer BDR-202

Pioneer BDC-S02


What graphics card do I need to play Blu-ray Disc titles on my computer?


It is recommended that you have one of the graphics cards with the following graphics processor unit (GPU) installed on your computer in order to play Blu-ray Disc:
  • Intel 965G, G33 graphics
  • nVidia (minumum requirements): GeForce 7900 GX2, GeForce 7900 GTX, GeForce 7950 GX2, GeForce 8400 series,
  • nVidia (recommended requirements) : GeForce 8500 series, GeForce 8600 series, GeForce 8800 series
  • ATI (minumum requirements): ATI Radeon X1600 series, X1800 series,
    X1900 series
  • ATI (recommended requirements): ATI Radeon HD 2400, 2600, 2900,
    3400, 3600, 3800 series

Also if you want true HD quality you'll need a card and a monitor capable to, so I have provided a pic of a card that contains the HDMI connection on it as a example and you'll need a following monitor to be able to use that connection too without degrading to a no HDCP monitor. Notice the word HDMI This is what you want. Also a card and Monitor must be able to put out a 1920×1080 pixels or higher, this is a 1080p quality picture as well as long as you use a HDMI connection or a DVI connection ( no VGA's as VGA's are analog ). I highly suggest to stay completely away from integrated graphics!

Video Card

80922916if0.png


Monitor connection Notice the HDMI again

aaph9.png


Graphic Card Memory:

We recommend having at least 256 MB of video memory to ensure the smooth playback of Blu-ray Disc titles 512 or above of course is better.

Video RAM

256 MB graphics card memory or above


Note: If you want to use digital output during Blu-ray Disc playback (through DVI or HDMI connection), make sure the graphics card is HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) compatible. If your graphics card is not HDCP-compliant but with a DVI connector, you can use a DVI-to-VGA converter (or cable) to output the video in analog format. To determine whether your graphics card is HDCP-compliant, please visit the hardware manufacturer's Web site.


Display Devices

  • HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) compliant display (DVI, HDMI connections) for digital output
  • TV (composite, component, S-Video) or computer monitor (VGA) for analog output

Sound Card

(minumum requirements) A high-quality 5.1 surround, on board sound may pull more resources from the CPU and RAM compared to the PCI connection sounds cards.

(recommended requirements) A high-quality 7.1 surround optical out would be best.

To get the best out of the sound on Blu-Ray you'll want and optical out connection, coaxial may work but not sure. The better the card the better the TrueHD sound.

Operating Systems

Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed or Vista

Software to play on the PC

PowerDVD BD version. Note: An easy way to determine whether your version of PowerDVD supports Blu-ray Disc is to look for the Blu-ray Disc logo on the main screen of PowerDVD. If you don't see either of those logos, it is likely your version of PowerDVD doesn't support Blu-ray Disc title playback. CyberLink PowerDVD Ultra Purchase.

Or ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre™

ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre™ (VidaBox edition) [SOFT-ARCSOFT-HDBD] : $99.99 : Media Center & Home Theater PC / HTPC Systems - VidaBox - Home Entertainment Made Simple

Side Notes

Even though the minimum specs can play back there can or will be playback issues.

With XP there isn't much to really offer in assistance to add more to it as the more installed applications require that you use more RAM etc.... Same applies with Blu-Ray DVD's too. So XP users need two things 1) More RAM around 4 gigs and 2) the UDF File System which I have no idea where to get that.


With Vista this means that you will need more RAM. If you bought a PC with vista installed most likely there isn't enough RAM there just enough to run the OS alone. This is normal for PC manufacturers.
 
Here is a list to help you or I hope it helps. I don't think the Opteron is listed though.

CPU (Processor)

cpuspecskx0.png


System Memory (RAM)

1 GB is ok but 2+ gigs is recommended

By RAM we mean to be able to use DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) at the very minimum.

How do I know my optical drive is compatible for Blu-Ray?

Below is a small set of drives that continues to grow. More drives will hit the market soon enough

BenQ BW1000

LG GBW-H10N

Sony BWU-100A

Panasonic SW-5582

Samsung SH-BO22

Lite-On LX-2B1S

Plextor BD writer PXB900a

Pioneer BDR-202

Pioneer BDC-S02


What graphics card do I need to play Blu-ray Disc titles on my computer?


It is recommended that you have one of the graphics cards with the following graphics processor unit (GPU) installed on your computer in order to play Blu-ray Disc:
  • Intel 965G, G33 graphics
  • nVidia (minumum requirements): GeForce 7900 GX2, GeForce 7900 GTX, GeForce 7950 GX2, GeForce 8400 series,
  • nVidia (recommended requirements) : GeForce 8500 series, GeForce 8600 series, GeForce 8800 series
  • ATI (minumum requirements): ATI Radeon X1600 series, X1800 series,
    X1900 series
  • ATI (recommended requirements): ATI Radeon HD 2400, 2600, 2900,
    3400, 3600, 3800 series

Also if you want true HD quality you'll need a card and a monitor capable to, so I have provided a pic of a card that contains the HDMI connection on it as a example and you'll need a following monitor to be able to use that connection too without degrading to a no HDCP monitor. Notice the word HDMI This is what you want. Also a card and Monitor must be able to put out a 1920×1080 pixels or higher, this is a 1080p quality picture as well as long as you use a HDMI connection or a DVI connection ( no VGA's as VGA's are analog ). I highly suggest to stay completely away from integrated graphics!

Video Card

80922916if0.png


Monitor connection Notice the HDMI again

aaph9.png


Graphic Card Memory:

We recommend having at least 256 MB of video memory to ensure the smooth playback of Blu-ray Disc titles 512 or above of course is better.

Video RAM

256 MB graphics card memory or above


Note: If you want to use digital output during Blu-ray Disc playback (through DVI or HDMI connection), make sure the graphics card is HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) compatible. If your graphics card is not HDCP-compliant but with a DVI connector, you can use a DVI-to-VGA converter (or cable) to output the video in analog format. To determine whether your graphics card is HDCP-compliant, please visit the hardware manufacturer's Web site.


Display Devices

  • HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) compliant display (DVI, HDMI connections) for digital output
  • TV (composite, component, S-Video) or computer monitor (VGA) for analog output

Sound Card

(minumum requirements) A high-quality 5.1 surround, on board sound may pull more resources from the CPU and RAM compared to the PCI connection sounds cards.

(recommended requirements) A high-quality 7.1 surround optical out would be best.

To get the best out of the sound on Blu-Ray you'll want and optical out connection, coaxial may work but not sure. The better the card the better the TrueHD sound.

Operating Systems

Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed or Vista

Software to play on the PC

PowerDVD BD version. Note: An easy way to determine whether your version of PowerDVD supports Blu-ray Disc is to look for the Blu-ray Disc logo on the main screen of PowerDVD. If you don't see either of those logos, it is likely your version of PowerDVD doesn't support Blu-ray Disc title playback. CyberLink PowerDVD Ultra Purchase.

Or ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre™

ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre™ (VidaBox edition) [SOFT-ARCSOFT-HDBD] : $99.99 : Media Center & Home Theater PC / HTPC Systems - VidaBox - Home Entertainment Made Simple

Side Notes

Even though the minimum specs can play back there can or will be playback issues.

With XP there isn't much to really offer in assistance to add more to it as the more installed applications require that you use more RAM etc.... Same applies with Blu-Ray DVD's too. So XP users need two things 1) More RAM around 4 gigs and 2) the UDF File System which I have no idea where to get that.


With Vista this means that you will need more RAM. If you bought a PC with vista installed most likely there isn't enough RAM there just enough to run the OS alone. This is normal for PC manufacturers.

100 series dual core Opteron cpu's are basically the same as the other 939 pin x2 cpu's except they have double the L2 cache, you need only make sure your mobo's BIOS supports it

Opteron's are a bit more expensive, but some ppl use them to extend the life of their socket 939 systems (cheaper than buying all new cpu, ram, & mobo), they are marketed @ the server community, & are known to have a lil' higher overhead, & OC potentual

Note: The FX-70, & the Opteron 185 have EXACTLY the same specs, & are thought to be the same cpu, just marketed differently
(2.6 Ghz dual core, & 2MB L2 cache), & is roughly comparable to 5600+ (@ 200Mhz less clock speed), or could be looked @ as a 5000+ w/ double the L2 cache

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...+50001028+40000343+1051707439&name=Socket+939

The Opteron 185 smokes any other 939 pin cpu imho, I have been tempted to buy 1 for my back up system for a while now

btw, I use the coaxial digital output from my SB Audigy2 Platinum for 5.1 DD (12ft. Monster cable, & 1/8" adaptor), & it works fine, I don't think optical, or coaxial makes any difference, it's just 1's, & 0's)

ocgw

peace
 
Last edited:
Cyber worked OK till I saw all these red dots. My computer is fine, they just need to put a little more effort into their scanner. For instance it was telling me that my graphics driver did not support BD/HD. I have ATI Catalyst Control Center driver 8.xxx and it told me I needed to update to 7.xxx. No bug deal though just click on info and go to their site and read req's. So, I am good to go except for a small little problem, I have not been able to find any working BD/HD burner/players for under 50 bucks. Oh well, guess I'll just keep watching my neighbors HD movies with my binoculars thru her bedroom window, I guess it's a movie I'm watching.
Thanks for the link!
 
I had an AthlonXP 4000+ with a nVidia 7600GS. Playback of "lower quality" blue ray discs was marginal to OK, but the highest quality discs (Spiderman3, Apolacypto, etc) was terrible.

I replaced the 4000+ with an AthlonX2 4400+ and that helped a LOT.

I have a nVidia 9500GT in the mail now and will post later how much that improves on the current setup.
 
copying a bit of advertising blurb for the spec to play Blu-Ray is totally pointless, they are just perpetrating the same mis-information that all the other "official" sources spout. (if by some chance you wrote it yourself you should be thoroughly ashamed)
The amount of RAM your PC contains is totally irrelevant, that post even suggests you need DDR2 memory which is often slower than DDR1 memory.
(the move of manufacturers from DDR to DDR2 memory was nothing to do with performance NOW, but to provide future benefits)
The graphics card memory is totally irrelevant, 64MB is enough to display high definition, most memory in graphics cards is only ever used by games (texture mapping)
They don't even seem to understand that the Optical outputs from a PC severely limit the output quality of the sound from your PC, currently analogue output is the way to go for best quality.
XP and Vista 32 can't use 4GBs of RAM, you need Vista 64 for that much

You need a Graphics card that can handle the decoding (ati 2400 or better)
or
You need a high spec processor (core2duo clocked at 2.2GHz or better)

you don't need both
 
Last edited:
The least expensive way I've found is to use a G35 chipset motherboard with a Core 2 Duo Processor faster than 2.0 Ghz. Assuming you already have some DDR2 RAM, the total cost is around 250 USD. You have to enable hardware acceleration under the video tab in the PowerDVD Ultra configuration settings. It does not work with Nero Showtime. I haven't tried TotalMedia Theater.
 
Cyber worked OK till I saw all these red dots. My computer is fine, they just need to put a little more effort into their scanner. For instance it was telling me that my graphics driver did not support BD/HD. I have ATI Catalyst Control Center driver 8.xxx and it told me I needed to update to 7.xxx. No bug deal though just click on info and go to their site and read req's. So, I am good to go except for a small little problem, I have not been able to find any working BD/HD burner/players for under 50 bucks. Oh well, guess I'll just keep watching my neighbors HD movies with my binoculars thru her bedroom window, I guess it's a movie I'm watching.
Thanks for the link!

The cheapest Blu-Ray ROM drive I have seen was a LiteON going for about ~$129.99. The cheapest Blu-Ray Burner I have seen was probably about ~$279.99 for the LG GGW-H20L which also reads HD DVD:

The absolute rock bottom price I have seen that can get many a foot in the door isn’t for a Blu-Ray drive but rather for the Microsoft Xbox 360 HD DVD drive which is a scant ~$49.99:

Microsoft Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player Add-On $49.99

At this time its just not very realistic to expect to be able to buy even a Blu-Ray ROM drive for under ~$50 USD,… 3x that is more realistic.
 
copying a bit of advertising blurb for the spec to play Blu-Ray is totally pointless, they are just perpetrating the same mis-information that all the other "official" sources spout. (if by some chance you wrote it yourself you should be thoroughly ashamed)
The amount of RAM your PC contains is totally irrelevant, that post even suggests you need DDR2 memory which is often slower than DDR1 memory.
(the move of manufacturers from DDR to DDR2 memory was nothing to do with performance NOW, but to provide future benefits)
The graphics card memory is totally irrelevant, 64MB is enough to display high definition, most memory in graphics cards is only ever used by games (texture mapping)
They don't even seem to understand that the Optical outputs from a PC severely limit the output quality of the sound from your PC, currently analogue output is the way to go for best quality.
XP and Vista 32 can't use 4GBs of RAM, you need Vista 64 for that much

You need a Graphics card that can handle the decoding (ati 2400 or better)
or
You need a high spec processor (core2duo clocked at 2.2GHz or better)

you don't need both

I agree w/ everything you said, except for 1 point.

How exactly does using the optical digital output on your PC "severely limit the output quality of the sound from your PC"?

Imho the quality of your sound when using either of your PC's digital outputs is dependent solely on the quality of the sound system you have it connected to, & between the 2 types of digital output I prefer optical, in a perfect world there should be no difference, but it isn't, the shielding on an electrical cable is connected to ground, & is a possible source of ground loop feed back hum, the PC is a very noisy radio frequency enviroment full of unshielded components which can introduce analog noise

ocgw

peace
 
Last edited:
Back
Top