Do I need GPU to watch 4k movies

[tombraiderfanatic]

I have an MSI mobo that supports 4k @ 24fps via HDMI. I have 16Gb RAM and an i5 4690K. I do not have a graphics card as I have so far not needed it.
However I have now bought a 4k monitor and tried playing some 4k moves with WMP and Media Player Classic and the CPU goes up to 98% and the playback is not smooth.

Is this a software issue or is the hardware not up to it without a GPU?

 

[burtman88]

i mean it could be it's not powerful enough, Could always buy a crappy 40 dollars gpu to do wk

 

[Ali Tauseef]

It's definitely the GPU, you're going to need a decent GPU to run them.

 

[boosted1g]

Hardware issue. Integrated graphics on haswell CPU is going to be struggling.

If you want smooth playback and proper 60hz support then you need a GTX 1050.

 

[tombraiderfanatic]

Thanks I had a feeling people would say that
Do I need to go for a 2GB or 4Gb graphics card?

 

[boosted1g]

For movie playback 2GB should be just fine.

 

[Ali Tauseef]

Thanks I had a feeling people would say that
Do I need to go for a 2GB or 4Gb graphics card?

2 GB should do, get an RX 460 or a GTX 1050.