Graphics card solely for HDMI and VGA no games

gilbates · 18 Jun 2009 at 22:32

i`m looking for a graphics card guys that has DVI and VGA output and also supplys audio via the DVI , it must definately have this as its important to me

i will not be playing any games on it so i`m only interested in its quality of HD output it can achieve via the DVI , my GEforce 9300 GS that came with the machine is not good at producing a good picture on a 50" plas

and if possible the card needs to be silent, no fan

have you got any ideas guys coz i am well out of step with whats good and whats not these days

elpedro · 18 Jun 2009 at 22:42

Here ya go - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-178-SP

Check that it comes with the ATI HDMI/DVI adapter, but as far as I know, they support audio over HDMI

EDIT: Definitely supports 5.1 audio over HDMI, just checked Sapphire's website

gilbates · 18 Jun 2009 at 22:53

thanks elpedro , i`l have a looksee in a tick , i just been reading around and it does seem to be a minefield with regard to audio via HDMI or DVI dependant on card manufacture

my nvidia 9300 ( lowly 9300 i should say lol ) has a pin header on board by chance and i made a fly lead to go from my mobo s/pdif out to the graphics card s/pdif in pin header , this gave me sound via DVI to HDMI , maybe i wont need that anymore then lol

gilbates · 19 Jun 2009 at 00:16

i have a dilema , i can get the 1gb version for £2 more than the 256, will the 1gb draw more power ??? as my PSU is only 350w , 300 is min for the 256 but i dont no what the min spec is for 1gb .... is 1 gb overkill anyway , as i dont want or need to game with it

decisions decisions

elpedro · 19 Jun 2009 at 00:35

If you're not playing games, it won't make the slightest difference to video playback

kylew · 19 Jun 2009 at 00:56

Though the 1GB might retain its price better than the 256MB one. Saying that, if it's only £2 extra. I can't see it pulling more power really, I think they use the same amount of chips, i think cards pull more power if they use more RAM chips.

ATi's HD cards are pretty good for sound over DVI/HDMI, it'll be a good choice for your HTPC.

gilbates · 19 Jun 2009 at 01:56

£30 FOR A 1GIG 3450 pci-e

inc delivery and vat

Thanks for your help guys , i figured why not lol

gilbates · 22 Jun 2009 at 23:10

ok guys i have this card but i have a question

due to it having audio on board , does that mean i have to disable the mobo audio to get playback ?? and does this card need a special connector to get audio from it

i have been reading around and from what i have seen you cant have mobo s/pdif and a card like this , am i right or wrong

please gime a shout back coz i need to no whether to shot of the card already or keep messing with it

elpedro · 22 Jun 2009 at 23:45

You won't need to disable your onboard audio, your PC will just detect another audio output you can set to default.

All you need is the ATI DVI-HDMI dongle to carry the audio

gilbates · 23 Jun 2009 at 00:22

oh pants ... who would have believed it would be this tricky

Thanks again elpedro , all your info and help is appreciated but looks like i have a problem then

ya see my current setup is this
mobo s/pdif out
2 way fly leed from mobo s/pdif to...
Vid card s/pdif in pin header
home made RCA female connector

now this gives me s/pdif output to my amp via coaxial and the female connector and simultanious audio through my vid card via 1 option in the audio control panel , as is the norm for this " HDMI audio "

so if i use the 3450 audio i will have to select either " HDMI audio " = mobo s/pdif OR "HDMI audio " vid card but i wont be able to run both outputs at the same time , not an issue for gamers so much using a Pc screen but for an HTPC user it is an issue

if i`m correct then , is there a vid card that has s/pdif passthrough in the form of an input s/pdif pin header , looks like my original question at the top unknown to me at the time can have 2 meanings

" must have audio out " can either be
pass through from mobo no on borad sound processor or
on board sound with sound processor

i had no idea when i asked at the top of the page what a quagmire this can be

so the card i have now gives a nice picy but due to its onbord processing of sound is no good , looks like ( so i have learnt tonight ) i need audio pass through not processing via a 2 pin header

nightmare or what lol

sastusbulbas · 23 Jun 2009 at 20:59

Ummm

HDMI audio I thought was digital outputted via an HDMI lead to a suitable processor? giving better quality audio?

gilbates · 23 Jun 2009 at 21:04

the processor being your telly or an amp or both

elpedro · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:17

I'm not too hot on the whole audio/HTPC scene so I'll try my best here.

What I think you're after is what some of the high end nVidia cards do. They have a spdif connector instead of processing the audio on the card which can be connected to a sound card or onboard sound, which is then outputted via an HDMI adapter. If the spdif isn't connected, no additional audio output is detected by the PC.

Problem: If this is indeed the solution, only the GT200 cards have this feature (that I'm aware of). In english, only the top end gaming cards that aren't meant for HTPCs

james.miller · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:25

why is it an issue if you can only use one output at a time?

elpedro · 23 Jun 2009 at 22:27

james.miller said:
why is it an issue if you can only use one output at a time?

I believe he doesn't want the graphics card doing the audio processing as it won't be as good quality

james.miller · 23 Jun 2009 at 23:48

elpedro said:
I believe he doesn't want the graphics card doing the audio processing as it won't be as good quality

well thats trash. id take the LPCM from a Hd4 series ati card over spdif every day of the week.

elpedro · 24 Jun 2009 at 00:16

james.miller said:
well thats trash. id take the LPCM from a Hd4 series ati card over spdif every day of the week.

Er.... depends what the spdif is connected to lol

james.miller · 24 Jun 2009 at 00:17

elpedro said:
Er.... depends what the spdif is connected to lol

anything that takes both will do better with the 7.1 192khz LPCM that somethign like a hd4350 willl produce

gilbates · 24 Jun 2009 at 21:48

blimey lol , its nothing to do with quality

its a simple thing , have audio from 1 source ( Mobo s/pdif ) and output it to the vid card AND female RCA which is connected to an amp , all at the same time

its an easy task most of the geforce cards i have learnt have s/pdif 2 pin headers on them , i say most coz there is a huge variation on the same card in many places , ATI as far as i no dont put s/pdif headers on there cards much but Nvidia do

its defo not a high end deal , my present card which is a crap 9300 GS has s/pdif in and i use it constantly , but because its better suited to laptops and not a 50" Tv i wanted to replace it , seriously i had no idea it wasent mainstream to split the s/pdif out from the mobo , no quality is lost and you can run your telly and amp together , this saves messing about all the time with swapping default audio devices

anyways i found a card that isnt awsome by any means but is better than what i have presently and it was a GEforce 8500 Gt PCIE with a 2 pin s/pdif header on the board ....hopefully , at least thats what the picture showed , if its not there my Mrs will brain me

Bob Wya Jnr · 24 Jun 2009 at 23:09

The 9500GT definately has an SPDIF connector and is quite reasonable value, Google for:

Palit nVidia GeForce 9500GT SUPER 512MB DDR2 DVI/HDMI Out PCI-E, Retail

Passive cooled - so is quite quiet. The 1Gb version of the card is a sick joke BTW (why??). You only need 128/256Mb for a HTPC rig anyway...

RE: support for a SPDIF input. A connector is present on the image of the Palit SUPER passive cooled card which matches that on the Palit 9500 GT OC card. - which definitely supports a SPDIF input:
Galaxy GeForce 9500 GT Overclocked 512 MB

Nvidia are offering better driver support for the 9xxx (and later) cards. So even if the 9500 GT is just a 8600 GT rebranded (or whatever) it's worth considering a newer card - just in case!!

Bob