Computer performance for video streaming and Youtube movies (1 Viewer)

Mike375

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I am about to buy another laptop and I am wondering if you have good internet will a lower grade laptop be OK. My internet connection averages 14.5 Mbps to 15.5 Mbps.

It's a Toshiba as follows:

Key Features:

  • 15.6" HD Widescreen with LED Backlit Display
  • Intel® Pentium® Processor (2.16GHz)
  • 4GB RAM
  • 750GB HDD
  • Intel® HD Graphics
  • Windows® 8.1
Other Features:

  • DVD-SuperMulti
  • RGB/HDMI
  • USB3.0x1 USB2.0x2
  • Premium Black Matt Black
  • Intel 11bgn+BT-M.2(1x1)
  • 150Mbps 10/100Mbps LAN
  • Bridge Media Slot
  • Skullcandy Speakers
 

Minkey

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Another laptop? So quick question how does your current laptop perform?

Simple answer yes

Complex answer depends

Without going into major details about compression, codec's, bitrates etc. are only wanting to view streamed content? If so it really depends mainly on bandwidth and the platform streaming the data (and the quality of said data) rather than the overall power of your computer. (Software/ codecs not withstanding).

Example I have only 8meg down but I can view 1080 video fine if I wait a little while for the video to partially buffer however a 720 will be fine to watch without buffering – depending on the platform:

YouTube for me – 720 yep fine 1080 it freaks out (due to the way it buffers).

Vimeo – any resolution fine but the higher (typically anything over 720) needs time to buffer, the higher the resolution the longer the time.

As with downloading a file, size and compression reflects how long it will take depending on bandwidth available.

But.....you mentioned streaming as well as YouTube videos – do you want to stream or create content yourself? If so that has other considerations as well as similar ones.

However *buying a new laptop/ computer standard response*

I always say buy the most powerful laptop/ computer for your budget, it will 'last' longer and be more flexible so you use it for more powerful applications but if you want something only for a specific task you can budget down so to speak.

Mind you, you didn't specify which Pentium processor the laptop came with :p
 

Mike375

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Thanks for the response.

I ended up getting a Toshiba a bit further up the scale with

Processor: Intel Core i3-4005U

It is working perfectly on youtube and the video streaming.
 

moradisndat

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I agree with Minkey. When buying any new pc/laptop or hardware always push to get the better option--even if it's a bit outside of what you were wanting to spend. If you settle for something less, you'll probably regret it later on down the road.

One thing I'd add is to make sure you are getting good graphics memory. GPU ram is more important than CPU ram when it's for multimedia, streaming or gaming.
 

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