Stream Movies From Computer To TV?

[Kool Aid Man]

My desktop in the basement is connected to the internet by cable and the router is a Linksys E2000. How would I stream movies from websites ------ via WiFi to a TV upstairs. I heard Chromecast requires a i3 or i5 processor to stream media but my computer uses AMD Athlon 64. Any suggestions?

[MaslowK]

Judging from this system requirements page here, it looks like you just need a processor equivalent to an i3 (for "standard" quality video) or i5 (for "high" quality video). If you have a relatively new computer (from the past couple of years or so) you should be fine, otherwise you'll probably want to figure out exactly which model processor you have (there are many different Athlons) as well as how fast it is. Easiest way to check is by downloading and running CPU-Z, which can be found here. You'll see the model of your processor under "Name" and its speed under "Core speed".

On the system requirements page it also says "2Ghz+" for the CPU under "high quality", which leads me to believe that as long as the "Core speed" section on CPU-Z lists 2000MHz (2GHz) or more then you should be able to stream video from whatever websites to your TV.

[IndorilNerevar]

I guess you need AMD Phenom II X4 or an X6...It's equivalent to i3 or i5

[Kool Aid Man]

Thanks for the replies. My processor is Athlon 64 X2 4400+ with a core speed of 1GHz. Any other devices besides Chromecast that can stream media based on my setup?

[Inferno.]

Thanks for the replies. My processor is Athlon 64 X2 4400+ with a core speed of 1GHz. Any other devices besides Chromecast that can stream media based on my setup?

That can't be right. According to Wikipedia the Athlon 64 X2 4400+ is 2-2.3GHz with stock clocks...

[Kool Aid Man]

I used CPU-Z that MaslowK recommended and the core speed was 1004MHz (1GHz) but my system settings in the control panel lists 2.30GHz. Is only one core active? Not sure why the speeds are different?

[MaslowK]

What's likely going on is that the 2.30GHz is the maximum speed each core can go, and the 1GHz is how much it's actually using due to a power saving mode in Windows, where it only uses as much power as your programs are actually using at the time. If that's the case, it should bump up to around the 2.3GHz if/when it's needed by Chromecast. That said though, I've found that this power saving mode will cause the clockspeed to fluctuate in a way that ends up being detrimental to performance (with Intel CPUs I've used anyway), so I still like to disable it entirely.

To do that, go to your Control Panel and click on Power Options, or just type "power" into your start menus search bar and click "Power Options" from the items it shows. If you have a "High Performance" option there, just select that and check CPU-Z again; it should be showing the full amount now. If there isn't a High Performance option, go ahead and click "Change plan settings" on whichever plan you currently have selected there, and then click "Change advanced power settings". In the new window, find the "Processor power management" item and expand it.

You should see both "Minimum processor state" and "Maximum processor state"; expand each of those and change their values to 100%, then click Ok to close that window. As long as you modified those values on your currently selected power plan, it should force your processor to run at its full speed regardless of what programs you're running.