Video Card for HTPC?

[bullet]

Hi there, my nvidia gt240 has just died, and I’m after a new graphics card for my HTPC, but unsure which one to go for. I’ve been looking at the ATI 6570 and NVidia gt440, or anything better?
I will be streaming HD movies, watching blu rays discs, also It will be connected to my amplifier so will need hd audio.
Thanks

 

[cmndr_andi]

I would go for the HD 6450. Pretty much ideal htpc card imho.

 

[bullet]

That’s great, looks like it will do the job for my needs, cheaper to.
Thank you.

 

[Sparky]

Im looking for something similar, how would a 6450 compare to a 3870 in gaming? I only play BF2 which isnt to draining.

 

[uv]

Does the 6450 do anything the HD5450 doesn't do for a tenner cheaper?

I've never had any problems with my 5450 (apart from when using XBMC under Linux), it's a fantastic HTPC card for £25!

 

[cmndr_andi]

Does the 6450 do anything the HD5450 doesn't do for a tenner cheaper?

I've never had any problems with my 5450 (apart from when using XBMC under Linux), it's a fantastic HTPC card for £25!

Quote from anandtech:

Coming from the 5450, we’re going to see four big changes for the 6450:

Better performance due to higher clockspeeds and more functional units
Improved tessellation engine
New display controllers
UVD3

Crucially for HTPC use the 6450 does better in video quality benchmarks and supports blu-ray 3D decoding.