Building my first HTPC using BTV -- Will this video card?

[DSwartze]

I am building my first HTPC using BTV and wondering if anyone could tell me if the Diamond Radeon X550 video card works well with BTV. Here's the URL: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...2&Sku=D10-2058

Thanks for the help.

[tscales]

Awfully light weight. I have an X600 and tossed it in the parts bin.

I'd spend a little more for something like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133192

Just an example.

[sparky2020]

I too am building my first BTV htpc. Have built others before using the tv out option of the haupauge pvr350. I'm stuck with pci for graphics. I've been reading through the forums and havent found anything definitive about whats the best pci card to use. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. btw I do have a nvidia mx4000 card right now, is there any hacks to force feed directx9. prob not so i'll have to get a new card. Thanks for any information

[tscales]

PVR350 out doesn't work in BTV.

Best PCI is the X1300, but very expensive. Might as well replace the machine. FX5500 is the best value, but lightweight for HD

[DSwartze]

WRT the PNY VCG7600SXPB GeForce 7600GS mentioned above, how is the fan noise? One of the customer reviews mentioned that it is loud.

[sparky2020]

thanks for the prompt reply. I'll check into that ati card. I'm aways off from a HD setup and prob will convert my current gaming machine over too it when its time to shift to HD and my current pvr to a link mach. I currently use just regular analog cable to a run of the mill 27 inch projection tv. nothing fancy here. . . . yet

[tscales]

I prefer nVidia. If noise is an issue, they make a fanless 7600GS. I have one and it is great.

[encoder]

Just another data point: I have a low-end fanless ATI Radeon x300/128MB PCI-e. It plays HD perfectly at 1600x1200 without breaking a sweat on my system with dual core AMD 64.

/e

[tscales]

1600x1200 can only support 720p, not full 1080i, so it's not a perfect test. The X300 will not perform adequately at 1920x1080. Been there, tried that.

Tom

[encoder]

I agree the card is not doing 1080i since the monitor does not support it. However, I'm not sure if I agree that it can only display 720p. I believe for 1080i content the monitor displays in full screen at 1600 x 900.

720p @ 100% scale takes up about half of the screen (in width). 1080i @ 50% scale takes up more than half of the screen. So 1600x900 full screen should be better than 720p and the PQ shows that also.


/e

[tscales]

1080i = 1920x1080 interlaced. It can scale down to lower resolutions, but that is the proper resolution (hence: 1080).

Three of my panels are 1920x1080p and it fills the screen

[RhythmDoctor]

Obviously there are no absolute right or wrong answers to this. There are tradeoffs, such as fan noise. I'll tell you what worked for me, so you can have a benchmark for comparison.

I wanted an inexpensive card with passive cooling, so I tried the XFX GeForce 7600GS, and it works great. It has hardware deinterlacing, which takes a significant load off the CPU. It does lack some other features of the GT series cards, but those all have fans. Mine is configured to output 1080p, and does so smoothly with no problems. I found it at Buy.com for $50 after rebates. It's a little higher now, but if you can wait you might get a similar price.

HTPC Setup: eMachines T5216 | 1.5Gig memory | WD 160 gig IDE | Seagate 200 gig IDE | Windows MCE 2005 | Integrated sound | XFX nVidia GeForce 7600 GS PCIE video card (passive cooling) | Ultra Vseries 600w power supply | two Hauppauge HVR-950 USB hybrid tuners (WinTV2000 not installed) | BeyondTV 4.5 | Amplified antenna in attic | Sony KDS50A2000 via DVI-HDMI cable