Graphics card recommendation

[white_rajah]

Hi everyone - I'm thinking about upgrading the graphics card that came with my system (an NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 on a Sony Vaio RZ32G) to try to get better playback with BeyondTV.

It's hard to even know where to get started in choosing a new one. At this point, all I know is that the form of the card needs to be AGP8X to fit into the slot vacated by the old one. I'm really only interested in HDTV playback (not games), so what would be my best option: NVIDIA or ATI? If ATI, is is worth looking at the All-in-Wonder cards to squeeze in an extra tuner, or are they more trouble than they are worth?

I'm using a FusionHDTV lite for recordings, and have a dual-tuner Hauppage on the way. Also have a MyHD card in there which has fantastic playback quality (but obviously insn't integrated with the BeyondTV software).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[karhill]

Originally Posted by white_rajah

It's hard to even know where to get started in choosing a new one. At this point, all I know is that the form of the card needs to be AGP8X to fit into the slot vacated by the old one. I'm really only interested in HDTV playback (not games), so what would be my best option: NVIDIA or ATI? If ATI, is is worth looking at the All-in-Wonder cards to squeeze in an extra tuner, or are they more trouble than they are worth?

Just my personal opinion, but I think the All-in-Wonder cards are generally more trouble than they are worth. I replaced mine (admitally an older one) with an Nvidia 6600GT just to get away from the driver hell that I tended to have with the ATI catalyst and MMC mess. Parts of this thread sound familar to me, an ATI All-in-Wonder driver upgrade was a feared event....ATI Drivers

[white_rajah]

Thanks for your response. I'll steer clear of the All-in-Wonder, as I don't want to spend the summer indoors reinstalling drivers

I see in your signature that you're using the Nvidia purevideo codecs. I'm curious to know if they are worth it (i.e. significantly better than other DVD codecs)?

[Bigbird999]

white

I agree, I'm an ATI user (3 machines) and the AIW is a real problem especially combined with BTV. However, I can find no fault with ATI's straight video cards. Something like the 9600 or 9800 Pro works well and they have an adapter that attaches to the digital out port to select your output ie 420P 720P 1080i

BB

[gbranche]

Based on comments here, I installed a Gigabyte GV-N66256DP card. I've been quite pleased with it since then.

Prior to that, I had a PNY FX5500 card in use, and it was fine for the last year or so, until I upgraded to HD. (I needed a DVI-I connector, and the 5500 only has VGA connectors.) It's currently sitting in the box on the shelf, waiting for me to get motivated to put it on EBay.

[karhill]

Originally Posted by white_rajah

Thanks for your response. I'll steer clear of the All-in-Wonder, as I don't want to spend the summer indoors reinstalling drivers

I see in your signature that you're using the Nvidia purevideo codecs. I'm curious to know if they are worth it (i.e. significantly better than other DVD codecs)?

Ah, a while back I was having HD playback problems, so I switched to the Snapstream codecs. They worked slightly better for me. The HD playback problems have long since gone away, so I might try the Nvidia purevideo again, but it's not a high priority for me. (Updated my signature...)

[cormode]

I'm an AIT user too.

I think the video outputs on the ATI cards is better designed than the Nvidia (ATI has better contrast and color balance out of the box without needing to fiddle). I also prefer how the ATI catalyst software handles profile changes: With one button on the remote I can switch the display into the correct resolution for tv, activate the tv output and make it primary, and launch beyond TV, with another button I can switch everything back to the DVI output for my LCD monitor.

I had smooth as glass HD on an ATI 9000pro. I upgraded to a 9800 because of improvements in how the ATI cards handle TV detection (with a 9000 the TV must be turned on at boot up, not so with 9800).

The key to smooth HD isn't so much the video card as it is keeping the codecs managed. Don't install any codec you don't absolutely need and try removing anything that wants to touch MPEG-2 to clear up the jerkiess. (This of course assumes you have adequate signal strength from the antenna!)

[nurho83]

I've been more than happy with my Nvidia 6200s. Got two identical ones in two machines and they're great. I only have standard def so ymmv.

[Jakesty]

I read so much about the NVidia 6600, so I purchased the EVGA 6600GT and it is great. The small fan spins fast, but quiet and stays cool. It also has shader 3.0 support which I considered for some of the better games that are now out there. You can pick one up at Newegg for about $110 or less.
I've had nothing but ATI before this one including the ATI AIW 9700 which is a nice quality card, but ATI drivers are like going through hell. The 9600 and 9250 are all the same that I have, and another reason why I wanted to try Nvidia.

I will definately be buying an NVidia 7xxx for my new gaming machine in the future...sorry ATI.
Jake

[DigitalOverlord]

Originally Posted by gbranche

Based on comments here, I installed a Gigabyte GV-N66256DP card. I've been quite pleased with it since then.

Prior to that, I had a PNY FX5500 card in use, and it was fine for the last year or so, until I upgraded to HD. (I needed a DVI-I connector, and the 5500 only has VGA connectors.) It's currently sitting in the box on the shelf, waiting for me to get motivated to put it on EBay.

I have gigabyte too and it's great!

[white_rajah]

Thanks to everyone who posted responses to my original post. This gives me a lot to go on in shopping for a new card.

I've learned that the computer I'm using (Sony RZ32G, about three years old), doesn't handle video cards with high power consumption well. On a Sony forum, various people have posted reports that their systems couldn't handle state of the art cards. If anyone happens to know if any of the cards recommended above are low power-consuming cards, I'd be grateful if you could post the info here.

Thanks!

[Bigbird999]

Probably more info than you need http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...-power_10.html
and what you probably need