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Graphics Card For Media Centre PC

Exibit

Exibit

Exibit

Associate
Joined
18 Feb 2006
Posts
450
Location
Halifax
Need help with a graphics card for my media PC

I am looking for a graphics card for my media pc and dont seem to be able to find what I am looking for, I would prefer a card with a HDMI slot on the card as I know this will carry video and sound also with heatsink no fan

I was looking for ATi card

One of the following

ATI - Radeon HD4670 - PCI-E
ATI - Radeon HD4830 - PCI-E

Now my budget is about £100 I can find cards but not with the spec I require some dont have the HDMI port on board, they seem to bhave a convert adap to go from DVI to HDMI (will this still carry the 7.1 on board sound ?)

The other thing I was looking for was a graphics card without a fan as I would prefer a heat sink so there was no noise, but am after advice
 
bought one of these last week and was horrified to find that it's very loud when the system is idling
Click to expand...

Looked at the card in the link above but that comment has stopped me in my tracks, look at the review tab in your link
 
Chonh Warrior

Yes that card in your link is perfect though it seems to be out of stock, I will speak with OC in the morning about next available stock
 
I got a 8400GS for a relatives PC last week and it had HDMI port on it, also came with pass thru cable so it can do audio over HDMI. It was the £25 OCUK card, it was a gainward and its also passive cooled :)
 
Exibit said:
ATI - Radeon HD4670 - PCI-E
ATI - Radeon HD4830 - PCI-E
Click to expand...

Any of the 4600 series should do well as a HTPC card (You could even go cheaper with the 3400/3600 series cards!). Many of these already come with passive heatsink solutions, some are low profile and they don't even require a PCIE molex power connection.

The 4830 is quite overkill, being the little brother of the 4850 and 4870 gaming cards. You'd only need this card if you fancy a HTPC that is near-high gaming capable for a low budget. Plus most models need the heatsink fan and power connection.

If you do feel like going for the 4830, I would personally recommend the Sapphire 4830. I have one myself for my own HTPC and it runs beautifully for HD movies and some high-end games. Keeping the fan speed to 40% at all times it is dead slient whilst still keeping to low temperatures i.e. 44c maximum on load, but then that is also depandant to one's own case cooling and chassis type i.e. an SFF or mid-tower case.

And don't worry about the sound over HDMI as all ATi cards since around the 2000 series do it. And ss long as you buy these cards as new, they should always come with a DVI-to-HDMI adaptor as standard in the package.
 
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Phatjayunoi said:
And don't worry about the sound over HDMI as all ATi cards since around the 2000 series do it. And ss long as you buy these cards as new, they should always come with a DVI-to-HDMI adaptor as standard in the package.
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I've bought a few HD2XXX series cards new this year for various system builds and none had the DVI-HDMI adapter included... only the HD4XXX series of cards did.
 
Chong Warrior said:
I've bought a few HD2XXX series cards new this year for various system builds and none had the DVI-HDMI adapter included... only the HD4XXX series of cards did.
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I assume those HD2000 series cards are new boxed retail versions? Cause otherwise that is strange. A friend of mine recently bought a cheap retail HD2600 (HIS brand) for his HTPC and it came with all the standard extras.
 
4850 massive overkill for a pure media PC but great for general purpose inc modest gaming, not sure you have much choice in passive cooling or that its wise unless you case is reasonably cooled.
 
Massive overkill indeed but at least it will be PC gaming capable :D.

Sapphire also do the same version as their custom 4830 as well (Though OcUK does not stock it :(), so you get the same nice third party heatsink cooler that does it's job very well, and the PCB size should also be slightly smaller than the stock reference ATi design so it helps with power management and cooling. Not to mention the PCB is all in blue! All in all, you still get a very good deal out of it.
 
I know its overkill but I cant help it !!

Nearly bought a 4830 or a 4870 :D

Anyway will serve me well and I should never need to upgrade it

Thanks again
 
SAPPHIRE HD 4670 ULTIMATE Edition


Bit late for Exibit but for anyone else looking for a silent but capable GPU for their HTPC/Light gaming machine the Ultimate edition HD4670 above seems the business! . . . although at around £70-£75 it's placed within spitting distance of the newer HD4830!

I've tested three different HD4670's from Sapphire, ASUS and Power-Colour but wasn't happy with any of the cooling solutions, the cards were either too hot or two noisy, in particular the ASUS HD4670 was a total joke! . . .sounded like a hOOver craft as the fan was spinning at full pelt atm with no obvious way to slow it down! :(

The Sapphire Ultimate Edition HD4670 seems like a good choice for someone who wants cutting edge HTPC style functions (BluRay acceleration etc) with just enough 3D-Power to play some games like Team Fortress 2 at high quality 1680x1050 etc. Deffo one of the lowest power but capable GPU's around atm and well suited to the casual gamer who cares about running costs! :)

Next up is the baby of the HD4800 Series family . . .

SAPPHIRE HD 4830


This card looks to be over-kill for a classic HTPC however for those people that are a bit more serious about their fraggin and perhaps have their lounge-gaming-machine/HTPC merged and connected to a Full HD capable humunga LCD/Plasma screen I think the HD4830 fits the bill nicely. I've not tested one myself yet although if it's anything like the HD4850 then I suspect it will blow me away . . . the price did! (i.e £20 more than a HD4670, £35 cheaper than a HD4850).

Sapphire have created a custom PCB for their new cards and also a custom cooler. The PCB is an inch and half shorter (no sata snags!) and apparently runs pretty cool compared to the Beta HD4850's we all bought months ago!

I'm just hoping the fan on the newer Sapphire cards isn't too noisy! :D
 
Big.Wayne said:
I've tested three different HD4670's from Sapphire, ASUS and Power-Colour but wasn't happy with any of the cooling solutions, the cards were either too hot or two noisy, in particular the ASUS HD4670 was a total joke! . . .sounded like a hOOver craft as the fan was spinning at full pelt atm with no obvious way to slow it down! :(
Click to expand...

I hear you buddy! The ultimate looks like a step in the right direction... but how many modern htpc cases have the headroom for that cooler? (and decent case airflow too)

I'm still running my force3D 4760 passively (standard rubbish heatsink just with the fan removed) and its fine for 2D clocks plus very light gpu loads.
When I play the occasional game the case side has to come off and a red wing fan gets placed on the heat sink :D
Not the best solution but its silent, allows big overclocks and is sooo much better than having a hOOver craft in the room ;)

Still waiting for a decent 'true' single slot cooler to hit the market....
________
LIST OF GM BELLHOUSING PATTERNS HISTORY
 
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I would deffinatly reccomend going for a card with native HDMI if your planning on playing bluray - the dongles usually break HDCP and who knows how long VGA will play bluray at full quality.
 
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