Which ATI card for HTPC?

Phunky Phish · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:02

I want a PCI-e card for my HTPC.
I want a HDMI port on the card, rather than by an adapter as most DVI adapters I have found go to VGA! Its for watching 1080p blu-ray films. Just want something better than the Intel intergrated card I am using.
Looking for sub £100 ex VAT

Was thinking of a 4870

HELP!!

ebilcake · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:16

HD5770.

Phatzy · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:19

fretted · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:21

Some Qs

How silent does it need to be?
Are you looking to play any games at all?
How good is the airflow in your case?
How big is your case and psu?
Are you running Windows or Linux?

I would say a passive Sapphire 4670 Ultimate (around £60) would be more than adequate to play 1080p and give you the flexibility to play some modern games at decent res.

Jay_t · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:26

I use a single slot 4670 in my HTPC. I only use cards that take up one slot (thats all there is space for) and that need no additional power connectors.

The brand new 5670 would be your best bet for this.

Knubje · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:31

Dear lord, a lot of overkill in this thread imo!

It does all depend on if you want to play games or not really. If not then there is no need to spend even £50 on a reasonable 1080p card.

If money isn't an object however, go with a 5XXX ATI card as they are a big improvement in terms of Audio on HDMI and graphically you won't struggle.

Having said that, if you want to keep costs low, any ATI 4XXX card range will do the job as will any Nvidia 8xxx, 9xxx and upwards.

Uriel · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:33

You only need it for blu ray? No gaming. One of these would be perfect but they're out of stock: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-194-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1274

You could save some money and get any of the current ATI cards that has HDMI and is preferably passive. Even the current ATI onboard stuff copes fine with blu-ray playback.

Anth · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:35

For HTPC, ATI have completely stole the show.

So therefore the next question would be if you itend to game on the HTPC, and if you want silent running.

My advice for a reasonably performing gaming card would be a passive ATI 4670.

For sole HTPC and no gaming then a passive ATI 4550, or even 4350 would be perfect for your needs.

A 4870/4850/5770 would create huge amounts of heat and if you bought stock coolers create noise that can distract from the intended use of a HTPC.

Knubje · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:39

Anth said:
For HTPC, ATI have completely stole the show.

For sole HTPC and no gaming then a passive ATI 4550, or even 4350 would be perfect for your needs.

Agreed. I bought a cheap 4350 HDMI the other day. It's HTPC only as my main rig is for gaming.

If it literally is just Blue Ray and you don't want to fork out loads of money then the 'lower' end cards will do the job just fine.

alex24 · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:42

Got myself a passive 4350 for a shade over £20 new last week. Works just fine, has HDMI onboard and fits in low profile cases.

Uriel · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:45

alexhull24 said:
Got myself a passive 4350 for a shade over £20 new last week. Works just fine, has HDMI onboard and fits in low profile cases.

^^^

That would be exacly what you want if no gaming is required. You could spend the extra £80 on blu ray rentals / purchases and popcorn / pizza.

fretted · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:45

I didnt think my suggestion was overkill

Tweaker · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:46

Agree with 4350, it does 1080P great.

Uriel · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:46

fretted said:
I didnt think my suggestion was overkill

It's overkill if gaming is not required. If gaming is required it's a good suggestion.

Phunky Phish · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:51

Win 7
No games, just media playback
I have it in a midi case at the moment, air flow is not good as I have 4 HDD's in it, soon to be 5! (Really need to sort my ripped movie collection!)
I have a freezer 7 pro on the CPU and never hear that!
I like the look of that 4670 passive for for £55

Uriel · 15 Jan 2010 at 16:56

Phunky Phish said:
Win 7
No games, just media playback
I like the look of that 4670 passive for for £55

For just media playback you don't need a 4670. Look for a passive 4350 with hdmi.

Phunky Phish · 15 Jan 2010 at 17:05

I read somewhere the very low 4xxx cards cannot handle 24fps 1080p playback all that well.
Hence my thinking of the 4670.
This would take some load off my CPU right, as I am using the integrated intel card.

UncertainGod · 15 Jan 2010 at 17:15

The 4350 can handle full 1080p playback in it's sleep. I have one in a small form factor machine, although it is going to be replaced by a 5670 1gb very soon as I want some games downstairs now.

Durzel · 15 Jan 2010 at 17:19

How well do ATI cards do hardware acceleration? I'm using a 8800GT in my HTPC which is pretty overkill for just HD stuff, but with CUDA it runs like a dream. A friend of mine is using a 3870X2 in his HTPC-cum-gaming PC and it doesn't appear to even do hardware acceleration?

Uriel · 15 Jan 2010 at 17:21

Durzel said:
How well do ATI cards do hardware acceleration? I'm using a 8800GT in my HTPC which is pretty overkill for just HD stuff, but with CUDA it runs like a dream. A friend of mine is using a 3870X2 in his HTPC-cum-gaming PC and it doesn't appear to even do hardware acceleration?

Current cards handle it perfectly. Did the 3870x2 have avivo?

http://ati.amd.com/technology/avivo/h264.html