Graphics card for HTPC gaming

Jay_t

Jay_t

Jay_t

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Joined
19 May 2005
Posts
721
Location
The Lake District
Hi,

I have a HTPC running Vista Ultimate 64 bit with the following spec:

Intel E7200, 2x2GB Ram, 1TB HDD, DVD/RW and an ATI 2400 XT.

My girlfriend has started doing some gaming on it and is demanding that it provides acceptable performance on spore in 1920 x 1080 on the LCD TV.:eek:

My problem is that my choice of case was limited to the SilverStone Lascala LC04, due to its depth of 31 CM. This case has a TFX 300W PFC power supply and is a unique shape and cannot be changed. I have a spare 8800 GTS in my cupboard, could I get away with this?

Ideally I wanted a card that has no external power connectors as the PSU does not have the connections for these. Any idea if I can get away with the 8800 GTS or whether a less power hungry or faster card should be installed?

Cheers Guys :)
 
GTS would probably be close to too the limit plus i assume it'll need those extra power connectors you want to avoid.

I would personally consider either the 3650, 4650 or 4670.

Small, efficient and don't need any extra power connectors.

gt
 
I just installed spore on my HTPC running at 1920x1080 on a plasma to test it.

I am using an:

Asus ATI Radeon EAH3650/HTDI/256M HD 3650 256MB

The game runs really well on high using this graphics card. Its a small card, very quiet and doesnt need extra power. My HTPC is of similar spec to yours but I am running an overclocked e4300.

So to me it would be a good choice. Also its great for HD video. I had upgraded to it from integrated graphics and it solved all my blu ray and 1080p problems.
 
if you going for 1920 resolutions I would definately recommend 512 of GDDR3 rather than the 256 and GDDR2 - you'll notice the difference.
HD4670 should be fine I would have though, just reading another forum where someone has just put one in their hoojum which only has a 220W PSU, now if you ask me thats pushing it, but he's feeling happy with it, so 300Watts should be fine
 
I'm running a 4670 in my mATX build I did yesterday and it works great. Can't recommend that card enough. Works pretty damn well even at 1920x1200 with high settings in UT3 and copes with GRID and COD4 without problem. (although all I'm playing at the moment is X3)
 
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