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Graphics card for an HTPC?

Moredhel

Moredhel

Moredhel

Soldato
Joined
11 May 2004
Posts
4,790
Location
Gloucester
Hi there,

I'm after a graphics card for an HTPC setup, I'd kinda like it to be vista ready (as in aero glass supported), but I'd also like it to be virtually silent. I'm not fussed as to weather it's ATi or Nvidia, but it needs to be PCI-E and have at least composite and svid in and out (although a TV tuner isn't needed). Component output would be an advantage, although not needed yet.

Any recommendations?
 
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HEADRAT said:
Gigabyte GV NX76G256HI-RH, HDMI and HDCP compliant and passive.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/News/VGA/News_List.aspx?NewsID=1285

which mean it will be great for BluRay or HD-DVD.
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Thing that gets me though is they're kinda charging a premium for the HDMI socket (its licensed btw). Functionally its no better than DVI, maybe in bandwidth specification (which the graphics card doesn't use anyway) and of course the SPDIF pass through. Other than that, there are plenty of cheaper 7 series with HDCP on DVI.

Have a look here http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1071342

I was looking to upgrade my HTPC (some light gaming) and the "Leadtek WinFast PX7900 GS TDH" seemed the cheapest (£130) of the 7900 with HDCP/GDDR3, not passive though. But a hell of a lot faster than a 7600GS with slow GDDR2 (yuk) :D

There's a new HDMI/Passive Leadtek out as well if thats what you like.
http://www.leadtek.com.tw/eng/3d_graphic/overview.asp?lineid=1&pronameid=314

I guess it depends what you need and how much you want to spend. If you look at this:

http://www.nvidia.com/page/purevideo_support.html

If its just for HDTV and such then everything from a 7600GT on is the same as far as decoding H264 etc. The ideal card for me would be a 7600GT with passive cooling, HDCP and 256MB GDDR3. Still looking :D
 
No need for a HDMI card, nor £130 GFX card either :rolleyes: I use a ATI X300 that has DVI and does the job.

Scaling uses CPU power, not video acceleration so videocard isn't that important nowadays, unless you use purevideo as gfx card does scaling..but ffdshow is better imo
 
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squiffy said:
No need for a HDMI card, nor £130 GFX card either :rolleyes: I use a ATI X300 that has DVI and does the job.

Scaling uses CPU power, not video acceleration so videocard isn't that important nowadays, unless you use purevideo as gfx card does scaling..but ffdshow is better imo
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I do use mine for some low res lan gaming fun. I also use it for HDTV H264 & DVB-S2 decoding. An X300 which I had btw, is completely and utterly useless. So no need for rolleyes. Not everyone has such low requirements. :rolleyes:
 
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I do use mine for some low res lan gaming fun. I also use it for HDTV H264 & DVB-S2 decoding.
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Got any H264 HD test videos? I only have SD material, and scale, and that's ok. I have heard H264 is pretty inefficient and very CPU intensive compared to other HD formats.

Was the ATI X300 useless for a HTPC? Or just gaming?
 
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squiffy said:
Got any H264 HD test videos? I only have SD material, and scale, and that's ok. I have heard H264 is pretty inefficient and very CPU intensive compared to other HD formats.
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Who doesn't? It depends on what you use the HTPC, if its an SDTV then onboard graphics is probably fine. Mines running a 96" image from and HD projector. The high bitrate stuff really pushes the specs up. My DVB-S2 card won't work without GPU support (min is 6600GT btw) and quite a fast CPU. So its horse for course, you can't generalise.

Do a Google for a Technotrend S2-3200, can't post a link.

Here's the min HDTV spec, BBCHD that sort of thing.

3.4 GHz P4 (Single Core with Hyperthreading) or
2.2 GHz AMD 3500+ or
Dual Core P4 D820 / D830 or
Dual Core AMD X2 3800+
with graphics card: ATI X1600/X1800 or NVidia 6600GT/7600GT
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What resolution is your projector? Are you using ffdshow to scale, and if so any other filters? Do you have links to free test videos that stuttered on your ATI x300 card?

I can playback WMV HD 1080P- around 75% PCU usage on 3700 SC, ATI X300. With SD material, scaling SD to 1680x1050. 65% CPU usage.

Not everyone has such low requirements.
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Well it's a HTPC, not a gaming rig which I have also...see sig.
 
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squiffy said:
What resolution is your projector? Are you using ffdshow to scale, and if so any other filters? Do you have links to free test videos that stuttered on your ATI x300 card?

I can playback WMV HD 1080P- around 75% PCU usage on 3700 SC, ATI X300. With SD material, scaling SD to 1680x1050. 65% CPU usage.
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There is tons of H264, try Usenet. No scaling needed at native HD. Its not just resolution either, for transmissions its the stream bitrate, without the H264 it would be massive. Even with it, it needs the GPU acceleration, with an A64 4000+ at 2.8GHz and its still not quite man enough. And its primary use is HDTV and HD DVB-S, not games. Btw, you could probably get those overheads down using the latest Coreavc codecs, for video files TS and such, it doesn't use any GPU.

http://www.coreavc.com/
 
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Would this be any good for a HTPC? I'm thinking in terms of accelerating H264/x264 video and other HD stuff?

Right now Im using a P4 [email protected]. My graphics card is a 6800GT which isnt accelerating anything - Im totally cpu dependent. Sometimes I get dropped frames when I view 1080p material.

Also I need HDCP as I have the PC hooked upto a HD (720p) Projector.

Im using FFDSHOW to sharpen low resolution videos (upscaling shows no picture improvement on my projector).
 
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squiffy said:
No need for a HDMI card, nor £130 GFX card either :rolleyes:
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I don't think there was much need for the rolleyes TBH.

fornowagain said:
I also use it for HDTV H264 & DVB-S2 decoding. An X300 which I had btw, is completely and utterly useless. So no need for rolleyes. Not everyone has such low requirements. :rolleyes:
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Agreed, also if you going to buy a card why not buy something that will grow with your requirements not stiffle them.

HEADRAT
 
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