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AGP + HDTV

Lumeycom

Lumeycom

Lumeycom

Associate
Joined
31 Jan 2008
Posts
1,327
Location
S Wales
Are there any legacy cards out there that will suit a HTPC setup for HDMI output? I've got a old pc that i'm about to upgrade that would be suitable spec (s478 3.2ghz etc) but would ideally like a gfx card that could at least assist with the decoding to give me a chance of getting 1080 output.

Wasn't sure whether to post here or general (bit new around these parts!) so mods please can you move this if its better served there

Thanks!
 
Not sure on the exact spec for 1080 output, im a little fuzzy on HTPC issues exactly, but thought i'd at least reply.

I got the "silent" treatment below 75 posts as well, so I know the feeling.

I've literally just bought a 7600GS thats going in a Socket 478 with XP 2600 PC tonight, so i'll let you know how that manages with the outputs.
 
The Nvidia 7xxx series arent good for decoding HD, an ATI 2400Pro might be best, but idealy you should wait for an ATI 3xxx to come out on AGP.

Have you tried CoreAVC on your old system? As that will decode HD on really crappy CPUs without the need for a modern GPU.
 
Lanz said:
The Nvidia 7xxx series arent good for decoding HD, an ATI 2400Pro might be best, but idealy you should wait for an ATI 3xxx to come out on AGP.

Have you tried CoreAVC on your old system? As that will decode HD on really crappy CPUs without the need for a modern GPU.
Click to expand...

Will coreavc also do vc-1 ?

2400pro spec wise is upto the challenge but search the forums and notice the numerous issue with it.

I'm still trying to find the perfect HD2400/2600 agp too.
 
Just read the facts and they were pretty disappointing. 7000 series(agp) offers no hardware VC-1 acceleration.

Other facts : Everyone knows Nvidia's pure-video stinks. ATI has always had the video playback crown.
 
Subliminal Aura said:
Just read the facts and they were pretty disappointing. 7000 series(agp) offers no hardware VC-1 acceleration.

Other facts : Everyone knows Nvidia's pure-video stinks. ATI has always had the video playback crown.
Click to expand...

Not really true. Purevideo HD offers better visuals when it works properly, but Vista drivers have been quite sucky lately where as AMD/ATI have progressed nicely with the HDTV options.

And before vista, nobody would have dreamed of putting an ATI card into their old MCE05 machines, back then, the Geforce 6600 wiped the floor with anything ATI had out. For standard def and upscaling DVDs, the old purevideo was, and is still the best.
 
Subliminal Aura said:
Just read the facts and they were pretty disappointing. 7000 series(agp) offers no hardware VC-1 acceleration.

Other facts : Everyone knows Nvidia's pure-video stinks. ATI has always had the video playback crown.
Click to expand...

Thats also crap, you obv dont read many reviews, both are about the same and incase you dont know most newer 8000's have PV2.
 
Lanz said:
Not really true. Purevideo HD offers better visuals when it works properly, but Vista drivers have been quite sucky lately where as AMD/ATI have progressed nicely with the HDTV options.

And before vista, nobody would have dreamed of putting an ATI card into their old MCE05 machines, back then, the Geforce 6600 wiped the floor with anything ATI had out. For standard def and upscaling DVDs, the old purevideo was, and is still the best.
Click to expand...


The OP, NEVER mentioned Vista at any point of his post. ;)
 
helmutcheese said:
Thats also crap, you obv dont read many reviews, both are about the same and incase you dont know most newer 8000's have PV2.
Click to expand...

Nice to see the Nvidia fan boys are still alive. FYI I don't care whether it's Nvidia or ATI - picture quality is what counts.

PV2 and 8000 series is hardly legacy is it ? Read OP carefully.

Have you got any links to back up PV2 I'd be interesting in reading them as I tend to buy the cards and try them for myself rather than just reading reviews.
 
Thanks I decided to fire up google it was hard work but what the hell....

Snip this more recent review : tbh There are some pro reviews out there but I don't have my bookmarks handy. I'll dig them out for you since you seem to make judgements by reviews alone.

http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?id=2478&cid=3&pg=7

" First, let's talk about Avivo HD versus PureVideo HD. In all but one of the movies we tested across all three commonly used HD CODECs, both technologies were equally excellent in reducing the workload on the CPU. ATI has the advantage when it comes to VC-1, living up to their claim that VP2 lacked the hardware to handle the entropy decode stage for this codec. Even then, the numbers were still low and we can say with confidence that this generation of HD decoding has improved greatly and is now very adequate for HD video playback.

What enhanced ATI's status here is our observation that the lower end GPUs from NVIDIA were not as proficient when it came to hardware acceleration. The differences were not huge but still significant, especially when you consider the budget and the enthusiast class of GPUs. This was not the case for ATI, where the lower end Radeon HD 2400 XT was as capable as the Radeon HD 3870. For those considering a budget card for their systems, this could be an important factor. "

Remember the OP and his legacy/low end gpu requirements ?

Find me an Nvidia card that matches the HD24(6)00 in performance and price. Oops someone tell me what the title of this post is again ?
- Nvidia FAIL BOAT

" AGP + HDTV " - Guess the card will need to be agp too
- Nvidia FAIL BOAT

OP would have probably wanted something quiet and silent
- FAIL FAIL FAIL again.

Oh dear
 
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Amasing what you can do when your not being a lazy lamer aint it ?.

No go and read up on the PV2 you did not seem to even know about, again there is no clear winner.

And the OP did not mention any OS, just fact its old PC and I would guess XP then and as above Nvidia PureVideo Decoder was great in XP.

I see you like to pick out ones that favour ATI, no wonder you ignored the THG one. ;)
 
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What must the original poster think... You guys needs to calm down a bit.

Bottom line is, if you want full hardware assisted HD on AGP, then ATI is the only solution (until Nvidia bring out 8xxx on AGP)
 
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