GeForce 8400 GS Problems with online videos

The problem that I am having is that when I watch videos on YouTube they "lag" and freeze for just a second at a time but it happens every time. Even if I go to ufc.com or nba.com the videos do the same thing. If I am watching a movie on my desktop that I have already downloaded onto my computer the movie will play fine. I have no issues watching videos offline. Soon as I watch something on IE 9 or Google chrome it starts lagging and skipping/freezing. Sorry for the terminology but I don't know a better way of explaining it. My PC is a desktop HP Pavilion a1620n running windows 7 ultimate. It is kind of old from 2006 but it works great besides this problem I am having. The graphics card is a GeForce 8400 GS. Specs are below. Thank you for any help and advice you might have. I do have the latest drivers installed.

GeForce 8400 GS

GPU Engine Specs:
Texture Fill Rate (billion/sec) 3.6

Memory Specs:
Memory Interface Width 64-bit
Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec) 6.4 GB/sec

Feature Support:
OpenGL 2.1
Certified for Windows 7 Yes

Hi,

the problem could be your internet connection... How much fast is it?
I had a simililar problem with my old AGP system, which had an HD 3450 AGP, which is comparable with your 8400 GS in terms of performance...
I had a fast internet connection, but online videos always lag... Offline they play perfectly...

Have you considered to upgrade your graphics card? a cheap modern low-end one will be long way better than your 8400GS... Like the GT 610, maybe GT 620...

Check also if your internet connection is fine.

My internet connection is really good. The problem started when I installed this graphics card. It's a long story but I will make it short. My PC came with windows XP. I installed windows 7 ultimate about a month ago. After the install I noticed that all videos online or offline were really blurry and had all different sizes of pixels in dark areas of the video. However the videos would never skip or lag ever since I had this PC. So I did some research and it said my original graphics card wasn't compatible with windows 7. So I found this geforce 8400 gs on amazon and it said it was compatible with windows 7. I installed this graphics card and the videos were back to full hd with no pixels. But the problem I got with this graphics card is that the online videos skip/lag. I know I said I was going to make it short and I didn't. Sorry. Long story short the lag/skipping problem with online videos happened after I installed this graphics card. And I can't use my original because it is not compatible with windows 7. My curiosity is that why is it only online videos and not offline? It has to be something with the graphics card right? Does it not have enough memory or something for online videos? By the way I forgot to mention it is only HD online videos. 480p and lower dont skip/lag

The 8400 GS is a really bad card to play HD videos. To play HD videos online, you need a better graphics card I think... With a weak graphics card, you need a fast processor to play HD videos...

How much RAM do you have got? What processor have you got?

When you play an HD video on youtube, does the loading bar at the bottom of the video loads?

Important question, what browser are you using, and have you tried multiple browsers to see if the issue persists on all?

NikDorado, I have 1GB of RAM and my processor is Intel Pentium D CPU 3.00GHz. On YouTube the loading bar is really fast so its not buffering it just skips and lags during the video. I can return the graphics card and get a better one if this is isn't fast up to the task. I don't know much about graphics cards so what would you suggest would be a good one to watch hd videos online and not have an issue. This card works great for HD videos offline though. I was watching Ironman in HD last night and it didn't skip once.

Erick Aguilar, I am using Google chrome and IE9. Those are the only browsers I use and never had a problem before I installed this graphics card. I'm just puzzled about why it only does it with online HD videos but not offline.

SwunMurrieta said:

NikDorado, I have 1GB of RAM and my processor is Intel Pentium D CPU 3.00GHz. On YouTube the loading bar is really fast so its not buffering it just skips and lags during the video. I can return the graphics card and get a better one if this is isn't fast up to the task. I don't know much about graphics cards so what would you suggest would be a good one to watch hd videos online and not have an issue. This card works great for HD videos offline though. I was watching Ironman in HD last night and it didn't skip once.

Click to expand...

I really suggest you to upgrade your RAM at least to 2GB. 1GB is really a little for a pc today. Keep in mind that Windows 7, after turning on the pc, consumes no less than 600-700 MB of RAM. Having only 300 MB free to use could be not enough in a lot of situations.

Also if you can return the 8400 GS and get a better one, like an AMD Radeon HD 5450 or 5750, AMD Radeon HD 6450, a GeForce GT 610, a GeForce GT 620... These are all low end cards.
If you want you can get a low-mid end card like the HD 5570 or the GT 630, which are more powerful.
Note that a modern low-end cheap card is long way better than a 8400 GS, which is 6 years old technology.

If you tell me your budget/how much do you want to spend, i can help you to pick up the best graphics card for the money you want to spend.

Well I don't know too much about RAM but do you think that could be the cause of only online HD videos lagging and not offline videos? And my budget is probably around $70.00 and I am going to order off of amazon.com. I didn't know that the 8400GS was that old. Thats as old as my computer. Thank you so much for your help I really appreciate it.

Also what size graphics card should I get? 1024mb or 2048mb?

SwunMurrieta said:

Well I don't know too much about RAM but do you think that could be the cause of only online HD videos lagging and not offline videos? And my budget is probably around $70.00 and I am going to order off of amazon.com. I didn't know that the 8400GS was that old. Thats as old as my computer. Thank you so much for your help I really appreciate it.

Click to expand...

1GB is really a little, i higly reccomend you to have 2 or 3 GB of RAM...
You're welcome

SwunMurrieta said:

Also what size graphics card should I get? 1024mb or 2048mb?

Click to expand...

If you aren't going to use 3D applications at extreme resolutions, 1GB is more than enough.
If you can, get a card with GDDR5 memory. GDDR5 is a lot faster than DDR3/GDDR3.
These are 2 examples:

this is a GT 630 1GB GDDR5: $64.99 Amazon.com: EVGA GeForce GT 630 1024MB GDDR5, DVI, VGA and HDMI Graphics Card 01G-P3-2632-KR: Computers & Accessories (low-mid end)

this is a Radeon HD 6670 1GB DDR3: $69.24 Amazon.com: GIGABYTE GV-R667D3-1GI Radeon HD 6670 1GB DDR3 DVI-D / D-Sub / HDMI CrossFire Ready Graphics Card: Electronics (low-mid end)

If you are going to run some games on your pc, with a few more dollars you can find a good mid end GPU.

I think I am going to order the GT 630 and return the 8400 GS. I will look into the RAM on amazon and see if they have anything cheap. How much does 2 GB RAM usually cost? I won't be playing any games on my PC I own and Xbox 360 and haven't really been playing lately. I used to play halo 4 a lot but I just haven't been into since I have no one to play with.

I hate to be a pest but do you think this will work to upgrade the RAM? It seems like the price is great so that's why I'm concerned.

Amazon.com: PNY Optima MD2048SD2-800 2GB DDR2 800 MHz CL 5-5-5-15 PC2-6400 Desktop DIMM Memory Module: Electronics

Or would this be better because on crucial it says that 2gb at 1gb x 2 is compatible so I am thinking that maybe the other one wouldn't work. Im not so good with this stuff so thanks for the advice.

RAM UPGRADE:

Amazon.com: Crucial 2GB Kit (1GBx2) DDR2 667MHz (PC2-5300) CL5 Unbuffered UDIMM 240-Pin Desktop Memory Modules CT2KIT12864AA667: Electronics

Crucial PC information page:

Computer memory upgrades for HP - Compaq Pavilion a1620n Desktop/PC from Crucial.com

SwunMurrieta said:

I think I am going to order the GT 630 and return the 8400 GS. I will look into the RAM on amazon and see if they have anything cheap. How much does 2 GB RAM usually cost? I won't be playing any games on my PC I own and Xbox 360 and haven't really been playing lately. I used to play halo 4 a lot but I just haven't been into since I have no one to play with.

Click to expand...

with 3 GB of RAM and a GT 630 your pc will become a good media center The GT 630 is also capable of a nice 3D acceleration... remember to search for the GDDR5 version...

SwunMurrieta said:

I hate to be a pest but do you think this will work to upgrade the RAM? It seems like the price is great so that's why I'm concerned.

Amazon.com: PNY Optima MD2048SD2-800 2GB DDR2 800 MHz CL 5-5-5-15 PC2-6400 Desktop DIMM Memory Module: Electronics

Click to expand...

SwunMurrieta said:

Or would this be better because on crucial it says that 2gb at 1gb x 2 is compatible so I am thinking that maybe the other one wouldn't work. Im not so good with this stuff so thanks for the advice.

RAM UPGRADE:

Amazon.com: Crucial 2GB Kit (1GBx2) DDR2 667MHz (PC2-5300) CL5 Unbuffered UDIMM 240-Pin Desktop Memory Modules CT2KIT12864AA667: Electronics

Crucial PC information page:

Computer memory upgrades for HP - Compaq Pavilion a1620n Desktop/PC from Crucial.com

Click to expand...

take this: Amazon.com: Crucial 2GB Kit (1GBx2) DDR2 667MHz (PC2-5300) CL5 Unbuffered UDIMM 240-Pin Desktop Memory Modules CT2KIT12864AA667: Electronics

on your pc you should have 2 sticks of 512MB in slot 2 and 4, running at 667 MHz. If you take another 2 sticks of RAM running at 667MHz, you will put them in slot 1 and 3, making the RAM running in dual channel mode. Dual channel provides extra performance

A single 2 GB stick running at 800 MHz will be a waste: it wouldn't run in dual channel mode, it would run only at 667 MHz because of the other sticks and could be not compatible with your motherboard.
Go for the 2x1 GB kit

Ok I ordered the 1GB x 2 RAM and the GT630 GDDR5 graphics card. It's already shipped too. Once I get it and install it I will give you an update. It should be here in a few days.

SwunMurrieta said:

Ok I ordered the 1GB x 2 RAM and the GT630 GDDR5 graphics card. It's already shipped too. Once I get it and install it I will give you an update. It should be here in a few days.

Click to expand...

Ok, keep me updated

if ur using chrome, uninstall java and flash from your computer, as there is no reason to have them installed because flash is built into chrome. if its still lagging/ choppy, go on the video, right click on it and click settings, then uncheck "force hardware acceleration" and you should be good to go.

this always happened to me on IE too, so i just uninstalled flash and installed Chrome. also check for an update in Chrome.

Quadrider10 said:

if ur using chrome, uninstall java and flash from your computer, as there is no reason to have them installed because flash is built into chrome. if its still lagging/ choppy, go on the video, right click on it and click settings, then uncheck "force hardware acceleration" and you should be good to go.

this always happened to me on IE too, so i just uninstalled flash and installed Chrome. also check for an update in Chrome.

Click to expand...

If he use IE too, uninstalling Java and Flash Player will no longer keep IE running correctly. Also flash player (and sometimes java) are used by a lot of other applications, so I really recommend to keep at least flash player installed.

If he disable hardware acceleration, the graphics card will not run the video and the CPU will do all the work.
A pentium D could be not enough to run 1080p online videos, especially with only 1GB of RAM...

You can try this before ordering the GT 630, but anyway i suggest to get a new GPU. It will improve drammatically your Windows experience and it will speed up everything on your pc, without needing to disable hardware acceleration or using tricks and tweaks because your old 8400 GS is bad supported by new Nvidia drivers.

Also I higly reccomend a RAM update for the reasons I described.

Yeah I already ordered everything yesterday so I am just going to install the RAM and the graphics card to keep it running the right way. Thanks for the advice quadrider10 but I really don't want to uninstall flash and java. Amazon is fast, I already received the 2 gb of RAM and I just ordered yesterday when I posted 23 hours ago. I will install this today and it says the graphics card should be here tomorrow. I'm pretty excited to see how this turns out.