Old school setup, looking to run 1080p

[Soul Coughing]

Hey Guys,

I have a 2.6 800 FSB @3.1 and 2gig @234 with a 9800 Pro. I have been out of the computer scene since college and am slowly getting back into it. I have recently purchased a 1920x1200 screen and am looking to be able to play 1080p movies i have downloaded off the internet. My current setup can barely play 1080i, with almost 100% CPU utilization.

My question is this. I don't have the funds to build a new system right now, so i am looking at possibilities to throw some life back into my current system. I have read that newer GPU's can use their processing power to run movies. What GPU's do you guys recommend i get if i am looking to play some older games and play 1080p movies with ease.

Thanks in advance

 

[MrGuvernment]

single core processor, ya, good luck, unless you got a new video card either an ATI 4 series (any would do) or NVIDIA i beleive 800GT or GTS series or any 9 series or higher, it will offload the work to the video card.

Not sure if any of those come in AGP format.

 

[Majinhoju]

the best agp card you can get is an ati HD 3850 512meg.
it won't compare much to an 8800gt or higher, but it will be a big boost over your 9800 pro. it should offload the video processing, but your cpu might bottleneck you with hd vids.

 

[Dangman]

For just watching HD content, the HD3650 is your best bet. It can be had for $75 to $80. Though for your old system, I recommend going the open box route to save money. The 3650 is faster than the 9800 Pro so it should be able to play older games (anything from 2005, maybe 2006) well at 1920x1080.

Though if you want high settings in games, the HD3850 is your best bet. It can had for around $115 to $125. Though for your old system, I recommend going the open box route to save money.

Your CPU will be more than likely be a bottle neck for either video card. So that means that the HD3650 is the far better choice since you really won't see an increase in FPS with the HD3850, just a higher amount of AA.