Best graphics card for Hi Def HTPC?

[entireweb]

Hi,

I have just built a HTPC using an ASRock 1333-Full HD mobo. This uses an integrated ati x1250 gpu. I have a combo hd/blu ray drive, and its all connected via HDMI to a full hd panasonic pz70 plasma. The picture quality of hd dvd and blu ray at 1080p is pretty good using power dvd and even my e4300 isnt stressed. But imo there is something lacking in picture quality. It also underscans badly and I have had to use powerstrip to correct this. For instance HD DVD looks better using my xbox 360 via HDMI. Then I went reading the small print and noticed the x1250 doesnt support all of the new ati avivo HD functionality. Also standard def dvd is rubbish, much much worse than the upscaling that the 360 can do. I was going to get ffdshow to do the upscaling but then I was thinking maybe a better gpu would do it.

So I was thinking of an ATI 3400,3600,3800 or the new nvidia 9600.

Is the video/picture quality of a cheapo 3450 as good as the best 3870 and does it support all of ATI Avivo HD? Also I have read that the new 9600 supports extra stuff in nvidia's purevideo, eg dynamic contrast enhancement etc.

Cost isnt much of an issue, I just want the best picture quality available. A passive card would be best but a low noise fanned one would be OK as well.
Gaming would be an added bonus, but not at a sacrifice to picture quality.

Any suggestions or comments please.

 

[jak731]

if HD media is your main priority then i would suggest the 3870 especially if you want to be able to do some gaming as well.

ati cards have built in HD decoding so any of the 3000 series will do if your just using it for media

 

[mdjmcnally]

I would say get a ATI3450 or a 9600GT. The 3800 would be overkill. Typically the lower end models from both companies tend to be better in the same generation then the high end.

Really though if building from scratch at the moment then the best system at the moment is the 780G based boards with a 45W Athlon X2 4850e.

The 780G can even output Bluray using a Sempron processor, and the fact that the AMD CPU doesn't perform as well as the Intel doesn't really matter in this environment.

Lots of people here seem to be using this combo or at least a 780G and some low power Athlon X2.

 

[jak731]

i suggested the 3870 as i had no idea what type of games he wanted to play on that pc, however if the games are quite old or not gpu intensive then a lower powered card should be purchased

 

[entireweb]

Really though if building from scratch at the moment then the best system at the moment is the 780G based boards with a 45W Athlon X2 4850e.

Thanks. I hadnt even thought of a 780g solution. I will do some research. I dont mind binning my mobo as it was 50 euros or so and my e4300 was just a left over cpu.

 

[queamin]

This was taken from a thread about the new cards coming out in mid june and i would think nvidia would have something about the same as well.

The Radeon 4800 series also includes 7.1 channel-via-HDMI support and color output also got a “significant” boost, our sources said. We were unable to confirm HDMI 1.3 support, but we would not be surprised if that in fact is the case. The Unified Video Decoder is now in generation 2 and is called "UVD2".

 

[entireweb]

i suggested the 3870 as i had no idea what type of games he wanted to play on that pc, however if the games are quite old or not gpu intensive then a lower powered card should be purchased

I have another PC for gaming 8800gt sli. But I wouldnt mind playing "World of Warcraft at 1080p", in the living room. I play it at 1920x1200 on my gaming PC. I like the game anyhow

Also I wouldnt mind having fluid visualizations running when I listen to music via the HTPC. At present they are running at a pathetic frame rate.

 

[Lanz]

Get a cheapo, passive HD3450. Works a treat.

For media center stuff, Im currently converted from Nvidia now, AMD seems to take it far more seriously at the moment. Nvidia seem to muck up some aspect of purevideo with each drive rthey release, I never found a decent one that did everything i want.

 

[entireweb]

This was taken from a thread about the new cards coming out in mid june and i would think nvidia would have something about the same as well.

Yes maybe its worth waiting a few weeks for the new radeon HD 4000 series. But then again thats if they really come out in June. Not like the 8800gt disaster. I ordered my two on the day of release and then as everyone knows, waited weeks, arhhhhhhh

 

[tutu]

Get a second hand 3870 off members market and slap on a Accelero S1. Really easy to do and works a treat. Thats what I did. I doubt the 4 series will have HDMI 1.3. I want it to but I doubt it.

ATI are the only ones to offer full VC-1 decoding which is what the majority of blu-ray titles use!!

I know a lot of people are touting AMD's new platform. But don't forget you can still get a E2160 + P35 + 3450 for not much more and probably have a faster system.

 

[Toryglen-boy]

be careful.

i use an ATi HD3450 in my silent HTPC, and there are LOADS of problems with it being HDCP compliant, that said, its not just ATi, its video cards in general. I use a progam called AnyHDDVD from Slysoft, that bypasses the HDCP check, dont get me wrong this isnt being used for piracy, i own ALL my HD-DVD's and BluRay discs, its so my PC will play them in the first instance.

 

[Paracelsus]

Just got a HD3450 for this purpose - plays 1440x1080 h.264 with no issue, CPU usage is 40-60% with an Athlon 64 3000+ (1.8Ghz). GPU usage is supposedly 2-4% according to CCC, seems really low, but the card doesn't get any hotter so it's probably true.

Can't test 1920x1080 yet, I'll do it tomorrow.

 

[Toryglen-boy]

Just got a HD3450 for this purpose - plays 1440x1080 h.264 with no issue, CPU usage is 40-60% with an Athlon 64 3000+ (1.8Ghz). GPU usage is supposedly 2-4% according to CCC, seems really low, but the card doesn't get any hotter so it's probably true.

Can't test 1920x1080 yet, I'll do it tomorrow.

and it will do fine, but have you treid it on an 'orignal' HD-DVD or BluRay disk? you will have issues .....

 

[Paracelsus]

Nope - do you mean issues like you mentioned above? Or issues with playback because of the CPU?

 

[Toryglen-boy]

Nope - do you mean issues like you mentioned above? Or issues with playback because of the CPU?

your machine is up to it, mine is never more than 20% load, and thats using FFDSHOW for post processing to make .avi look good, and for DVD upscaling.

i mean the HDCP issue, ATi dont actually have a 100% fully HDCP compliant card on the market, they are HDCP ready etc, but not compliant.

 

[entireweb]

be careful.

i use an ATi HD3450 in my silent HTPC, and there are LOADS of problems with it being HDCP compliant, that said, its not just ATi, its video cards in general. I use a progam called AnyHDDVD from Slysoft, that bypasses the HDCP check, dont get me wrong this isnt being used for piracy, i own ALL my HD-DVD's and BluRay discs, its so my PC will play them in the first instance.

What to you mean by "load of problems"? Occasionally using the x1250 when switching between powerdvd playing a hd dvd and vlc playing an xvid I get a popup saying HDMI encryption failure or something. But I never have any HDCP problems if I just stick a HD DVD in and play it.

BTW is your whole chain HDCP compliant, eg your monitor (if you are using a monitor that is)?