Hey everyone, I could really use some advice on a problem I've been experiencing with my PC. It's a custom build from 2012, and while I've upgraded the RAM from 4GB to 8GB and replaced some faulty parts, I haven't done any major upgrades. I usually just use it for browsing, so I didn't think much of it until recently. The issue is, when I watch YouTube videos, I used to be able to handle 1080p at 60 fps without issues, but now I'm running into frame drops and freezing. This started with just a few videos, but it's gotten worse to the point where I can only watch 480p at 30 fps without problems. Interestingly, not all videos have this issue; some still play perfectly at 1080p. Any idea what might be causing this and if there's a fix?
1 Answer
It sounds like the problems you're having could be due to the different video CODECs that YouTube uses. Older hardware can struggle with certain CODECs, especially newer ones which may not be supported for hardware decoding on older CPUs and GPUs. You can check which CODEC is being used by right-clicking on the video and selecting 'Stats for nerds.' If your GPU and CPU can't keep up with the demands of the newer CODECs, it might explain the issues you're seeing. You could try using the h264ify extension to force some older CODECs which might help.
Exactly! The fact that you can still watch some videos in 1080p indicates that not all formats are pushing your hardware to the max. Upgrading components might be necessary if you want consistent performance.