Like the topic says...
At the moment which is the best HTPC vga card ? (when using HDMI 1080p 24hz) and with the least noise db levels... ?
So many threads here and so many problems...
I'm having problems with my igp nforce 730 nvidia 9400 drivers and want to put in a real pciex vga card (so disabeling the onboard igp)
And I really don't know which to choose...
Main focus is 720p - 1080p mkv files for the best picture quality...
Thanks !
I don't get paid for recommending this
A simple passively cooled Nvidia G210 card has all the latest vdpau features and is fanless, you don't need more with XBMC. There's also half-height versions
Just make sure you move the air around, else heat will build up
Either of them
Ok, I missed that this was for Windows. Then I believe it doesn't matter.
Tnx for THE fast replies, sorry i didn't mention i'm using Windows 7
So nvidia g210 or netter with fan z'n gt240
Or Ati 5450? Ati 5570?
Pfff not easy, is power consumption high on an gt240?
Tnx
I moved from an ATI 4890 to an Nvidia GTX 460. No comparison.
Nvidia plays everything with DXVA working correctly, ATI didn't.
With Dharma things got better for ATI but, for instance, while playing back my HD-DVD straight rips of Planet Earth on 4890 I always got microstutters (which I did not get by software decoding). GTX460 is silk smooth. And it stays incredibly cool for the performance it offers.
ashlar Wrote:I moved from an ATI 4890 to an Nvidia GTX 460. No comparison.
Nvidia plays everything with DXVA working correctly, ATI didn't.
With Dharma things got better for ATI but, for instance, while playing back my HD-DVD straight rips of Planet Earth on 4890 I always got microstutters (which I did not get by software decoding). GTX460 is silk smooth. And it stays incredibly cool for the performance it offers.
... that is also an expensive card and overkill for HTPC.
I got a fanless ATI 5450 for $25 and it works perfectly in XBMC & Win7 Media Center, and other HTPC apps. Don't waste your $ on anything more expensive if you are only doing HTPC with it.
I'd personally go G210 or G220 fanless if you have the space. For me, Nvidia's driver and software handles Plasmas much better than ATI CCC
This forum is full of issues relating to various versions of the ATI drivers and what you need to fiddle with in the Catalyst Control Centre to avoid the dreaded black screen. Enough said.
JR
Livin Wrote:... that is also an expensive card and overkill for HTPC.
I got a fanless ATI 5450 for $25 and it works perfectly in XBMC & Win7 Media Center, and other HTPC apps. Don't waste your $ on anything more expensive if you are only doing HTPC with it.
Sure. I do gaming as well on the same machine. Console games at higher res and higher details and effects. GTX 460 is definitely overkill for HTPC. A G220 would be plenty enough (although, if the OP is the type to care for these things, it doesn't offer bitstreaming for hi-res audio formats, but it can stream hi-res 7.1 LPCM).
Livin Wrote:I got a fanless ATI 5450 for $25 and it works perfectly in XBMC & Win7 Media Center, and other HTPC apps. Don't waste your $ on anything more expensive if you are only doing HTPC with it.
I can second that. Running a passive ATI 5450 / Win7 and never had any issues either with trunk or dsplayer builds.
Cheers
Tnx for all the replies guys !
But ati 5xxx series gives problems on dharma beta 2 built ?
I also heard the 5450 can't run all the post processing tools because it is too slow and a 5570 would be better or doesn't this affect picture quality in xbmc ?
And difference g210 and g220 for xbmc ?
djbase, check the forums. As already mentioned: pretty much nobody has problems with Nvidia. Lots of problems with ATI. And, historically, driver support has never been ATI's strength.
Having repeated this, theoretical capabilities (as in "not necessarily XBMC will exploit everything, as it depends on drivers quality") could be summed up by having a look here:
http://goo.gl/UERF (Xbit Labs comparison of HQV 2.0 results).
Thanks for the link and indeed the 460 is one damn hot gfx card for video performance, pitty of the price due to being overkill for HTPC, I don't need the 3D horse power...
So a nvidia gt240 with a low noise fan seems to best the all-rounder for HTPC ? (but doesn't have audio hd bit streaming ?
djbase Wrote:So a nvidia gt240 with a low noise fan seems to best the all-rounder for HTPC ? (but doesn't have audio hd bit streaming ?
If I were you and I was planning to use it in XBMC, that's what I would buy. Possibly even a fanless GT220 (but a quiet GT240 could offer you an extra bit of power for light gaming, if you are interested in that).
Audio HD bitstreaming doesn't happen on Nvidia, save for GTX 460 and GTS 450 (
you might have a look at that maybe). But once XBMC will decode everything to LPCM, you will not lose a single bit of audio information.