• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

how well can a Pentium 4 play HD AVI and MP4 videos?

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

kaitlin4599

Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2013
ok so i have the chance to snag an old Pentium 4 laptop for about 10 dollars heres the specs

3.2-GHz desktop Pentium 4,
1,024MB DDR RAM,
250GB 7,200-rpm hard drive,
128MB ATI Radeon 9700,
Dell TrueMobile 802.11g wireless,
DVD+RW drive;
four USB 2.0 ports,
one FireWire port,
15.4-inch LCD WUXGA, Windows XP Home Edition

now i know this is an old laptop but i like to repurpose older tech and im wondering how well this laptop will play AVI & MP4 video files was thinking of using this laptop to watch AVI and MP4 video files off the hard drive while laying in bed i have bad eyes so watching movies on my desktop is not an option

edit not sure if the videos are in HD format i.e. 720p or 1080p but consider the videos in HD just incase will they still play on this old laptop?
 
They should play... *okay*. You might see stuttering @ full screen during lots of action, but it should still be tolerable as long as you arent expecting miracles. $10 is fair for what you are getting (IMO). You would be doing yourself a favor to add as much RAM as you can afford/as much as the system will hold. It will make a difference in how quickly the OS/programs work
 
Is the P4 hyperthreading? If it is, you might be okay. This will be right at the edge of the bare minimum needed for playing back high def compressed videos.

XP is security swiss cheese, so I wouldn't do much internet browsing with it. Frankly, someone would have to pay me to take this off their hands. We throw out/recycle more powerful computers and laptops than this at work.
 
Back