When i'm trying to play these rips the picture stutters. Do i need to upgrade or is it some kind of software/codec issue.

Intel P4 540 prescott 3.2
2 gig ram
nvidia 7300 gs
1.7 terabytes storage
powerdvd v7.3

Any help would be appreciated.

I think the minimum specs for HD DVD with PowerDVD is a Pentium D 3.4Ghz. That's what I've got, and even then I get the rare playback issue with a few VC1 scenes.

Your specs should be sufficient. Try disabling/enabling hardware acceleration, or a different nVidia driver version if you're using Vista. What is your CPU usage?

I've seen a 7600GT with the same CPU doing VC-1 decode just fine.

Diogen.

When i'm trying to play these rips the picture stutters. Do i need to upgrade or is it some kind of software/codec issue.

Intel P4 540 prescott 3.2
2 gig ram
nvidia 7300 gs
1.7 terabytes storage
powerdvd v7.3

Any help would be appreciated.

99% chance it's a problem with your GPU driver. Either poor driver version, hardware acceleration is not turned on, or your version of powerdvd doesn't like nvidia's driver. GPU acceleration is very important in keeping CPU usage down and having a smooth playback.

nvidia 7300 gs

This is your problem. You need more GPU muscle.

BTW, you should move this to the HTPC section.

Issue is not performance. I run a vanilla 6600 with a P4 640. No problems.

Try a fresh install with a different version of drivers. That should clear things up.