Optiplex 745 Graphics Card?????

[natter58]

HI, i have a dell optiplex 745 that i am trying to use to watch my movies but i get glitchy adio and video.

http://www.almashhed.com/imgcache/4011.imgcache.jpg

I have the tower second the right and i want a good graphics card to watch hi-res movies and not have any problems.
I can give you more information on my specific tower, just let me know what you need to know.

????????

Thanks

 

[COLGeek]

If i play a 1 Gb (720p) movie/TV Show it will play fine , But a larger video will glitch out and is unwatchable.

This is, unfortunately, caused by an underpowered CPU. Essentially, it is bottlenecking the GPU because it can't send data to it fast enough. Either upgrade your CPU or play lower resolution videos.

Ensuring your video players are using hardware acceleration will help as well (VLC, Flash, etc).

 

[Kisianik]

Last ditch attempt
You can increase your Windows performance a bit, it will make everything looks different, but it is worth trying prior to even considering any drastic upgrades.
Go to start and right click Computer tab, click Properties. You can get there alternatively by opening Control Panel and choose System icon. Once there, go to the Advanced system settings on the left, under Advanced, go to Performance click settings, under first tab Visual effects select Adjust for best performance, apply and check your videos now.
If this is not going to solve your problem, well as it was advised above and by me previously only CPU upgrade can really help.

Report back please.

 

[COLGeek]

Last ditch attempt
You can increase your Windows performance a bit, it will make everything looks different, but it is worth trying prior to even considering any drastic upgrades.
Go to start and right click Computer tab, click Properties. You can get there alternatively by opening Control Panel and choose System icon. Once there, go to the Advanced system settings on the left, under Advanced, go to Performance click settings, under first tab Visual effects select Adjust for best performance, apply and check your videos now.
If this is not going to solve your problem, well as it was advised above and by me previously only CPU upgrade can really help.

Report back please.

This will help, albeit marginally, but ever little bit matters. Good recommendation!

 

[Kisianik]

Just tried it myself to see what I am offering, well it is faster, but a lot of functionality is missing, I tried to play Battlefield 3, but Origin did not start.
So if only basic functions required from this PC - it is OK to follow my recommendations.

 

[natter58]

If i play a 1 Gb (720p) movie/TV Show it will play fine , But a larger video will glitch out and is unwatchable.

This is, unfortunately, caused by an underpowered CPU. Essentially, it is bottlenecking the GPU because it can't send data to it fast enough. Either upgrade your CPU or play lower resolution videos.

Ensuring your video players are using hardware acceleration will help as well (VLC, Flash, etc).

If i were to upgrade my cpu, what would you suggest?

 

[COLGeek]

If you could find a cheap (free would be better) Q6600, you would be much better off performance-wise.

 

[Kisianik]

I cannot open your old picture about the form factor, it is simply gone, so fro processor upgrade please choose again your form factor from below, this picture will stay.

The strongest processor supported by 745 is Q6600, make sure that you have the latest BIOS, prior upgrading
Dell OptiPlex System BIOS, 2.6.4

This is Max Payne 3 on Optiplex 745 with Q6600 and GT8800 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlE3_mYfAbI
And this just another confirmation http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/view/18788

In any case cooling upgrade will be required.

P.S. I actually just found confirmation of even Q6700 working http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench2/1448459, but Q6600 is much cheaper.