Hardware too dated for smooth streaming video?

Hello everyone,

I have an old desktop computer that i have been mainly using for email, web browsing, and watching DVDs. I would like to use it for streaming video from Hulu and Netflix but when I do the video tends to be very jerky. The computer is running an AMD Athlon XP CPU at something like 1.6 Ghz with 512 Mb RAM and an ATI Radeon 9600 series video card with 128 Mb video memory.

My question is: Will a simple RAM upgrade be sufficient to allow this computer to stream videos smoothly? Or does this sound like the problem could lie elsewhere?

Thanks in advance
-Tim

 

Could it be internet connection issues. Your system is similar (actually slightly better) than mine (see My System ) and I have no problems streaming live Video and Audio here in the UK

 

Well, my internet isn't the quickest so I do have to let it buffer. I have noticed that streaming video, say from Hulu for example, will stream better if the buffer hasn't built up too much and it will be very jerky when the buffer is full. Does this sound like it could be a RAM issue or more like an inadequate video card?

 

I'd guess no unless you're pushing your machine anyway. I'm on a 10Mb/s connection here generally with ~160Mb free and processor running around 5-10%

When streaming that changes to 50 Mb and 50-60% CPU usage with peaks at times in the mid 90's

By the way I'm not talking hi definition here but normal quality full screen is fine to watch with no glitches.

Edit: As Steve says though more ram never hurts (unless you hit that 3-4Gb barrier )

You could also try later graphics drivers if available.