Technology in terms you understand. Sign up for the Confident Computing newsletter for weekly solutions to make your life easier. Click here and get The Ask Leo! Guide to Staying Safe on the Internet — FREE Edition as my thank you for subscribing!

Does getting a BluRay drive for my computer require a hardware upgrade?

Question:

I want to install a BluRay disc on my computer. Windows XP Pro, SP3 with a
Pentium 4 CPU at 2.8 GHZ and about (gosh, I can’t tell from the question here
but it looks like one gig of RAM, it could be more). Do I need to upgrade my
computer or buy a new one? I was considering a buy of a PowerDVD12.

In this excerpt from
Answercast #80
, I look at the possibilities of adding a BluRay drive to an
older computer.

]]>

Hardware upgrade for BluRay

So, ultimately, playing BluRay discs on that computer will probably work just fine.

The actual limiting factors are two-fold. One is the drive (which is what you’re looking at). The other would be your video card.

Remember that high definition is 1980 x 1200. If your display is not able to display that resolution or if your display can’t keep up with full motion video at that resolution, that tells you then that yes, your CPU may be underpowered – and your graphics card may be underpowered. That’s the time when you might be looking at a new computer.

But by and large, it should “in theory” work.

Certainly, if you’re doing data from something like a BluRay disc, data should be fine since there’s not nearly as much of a speed expectation, a continuous-type speed expectation from the drive.

But personally, based on what you’ve described here, I would be tempted to give it a try. And if it doesn’t work, then take the drive that you purchased out and install it the replacement computer that you may end up buying.

(Transcript lightly edited for readability.)

Do this

Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week.

I'll see you there!

1 thought on “Does getting a BluRay drive for my computer require a hardware upgrade?”

Leave a reply:

Before commenting please:

  • Read the article.
  • Comment on the article.
  • No personal information.
  • No spam.

Comments violating those rules will be removed. Comments that don't add value will be removed, including off-topic or content-free comments, or comments that look even a little bit like spam. All comments containing links and certain keywords will be moderated before publication.

I want comments to be valuable for everyone, including those who come later and take the time to read.