CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

**AnalogRocks**

Just a quick poll. I'm in the market for a new PCIe video card that will be used 99% of the time for movie/DVD/HD watching. What are you guys running?

Please list your model number/manufacture as well as onboard or interface type.(eg PCI/AGP/PCIe ) and the amount of RAM it has and the connection type (VGA,DVI, DVI with VGA adaptor etc).

Also has the video card/integrated chipset been good or bad for you? Please elaborate.

If it's not on my list ( I missed some. I know ) please post about it.

Thanks

antorsae · Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 297

Two Nvidia 8800 GTX in SLI; PCIe; 768 Mb ea.

I will be just setting them up next week and use them to feed the Blendzilla in higher than 1080p resolutions for games mostly. I got the XB360 HD-DVD drive which I'll be using in the PC.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 5:16 pm Post subject:

Zebu Fellenz · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567

Crappy Geforce FX 5500 Sad

wallace123456 · Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 2236 Location: Northwest VA area

Info from web site: (http://evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=256-P2-N381-TX&family=17)
Performance:
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 XT
325 MHz GPU
8 Pixel Pipelines
400 MHz RAMDAC

Memory:
256 MB, 256 bit DDR
600 MHz (effective)
19.2 GB/s Memory Bandwidth

Interface:
PCI-E 16X
VGA, DVI-I, HDTV
SLI Capable

Resolution & Refresh:
240 Hz Max Refresh Rate
2048 x 1536 x 32bit x 85 Hz Max Analog
1600 x 1200 Max Digital

Requirements:
Minimum of a 300 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 18 Amp Amps.)

Now, to say how well it works? Can't really give any good evaluations since I am looking for a better input card for my sony 1272. Right now, I am only using the s-video from video card to pj. Crying or Very sad

I stayed with a video card using NVIDIA since that is the same type chipset on the motherboard (A8N-E). Does it make a difference? Don't know for sure. Time will tell.

I have also used ATI 9600 in the past with no problems.

I have found the main thing in keeping video and sound cards running good with regards to the motherboard, is keeping the software on the pc "short and simple". Nothing more than needed for whatever the function was intended.

I would think you might be limited in your since since you are using a HTPC type case. Maybe not as many cards for the small profile? Don't know.

Also, I wanted a good card that still have a vga output. Almost all new cards (PCI-E) have only DVI connectors.

wallace

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:39 am Post subject:

The only cards I have found with VGA out are ATi. This relly pisses me off. The last two HTPC were ATi based and nothing but problem after problem.

I love trouble shooting, I fix old cars that others have written off because of weird damn problems they can't solve. I love the initial build. Then the driver update....untill I downloaded ATi's software. Nothing but a 3 mmoth ( at minimum ) headach. Then when you finaly get it working it glitches and crashes.

I have a SN41G2 with a 9600 AIW TV/FM card. The FM never worked right ( macrovision implimentation cause the FM recording to go up and down in volume ) the analog video worked ok untill one day the ATI MMC just crashed and continued to do so. Reinstalled the whole damn thing and still crashes. I nw have a glorified DVD player with expensive ATi parts 320GB HDD 2GB ram and Dolby Digital Live. Even the HDTV Wonder I had to use WatchHD TV software to make the card work without drop outs. How is it a huge company like ATi can design nice hardware like this with all sorts of functionality and it takes a 3rd party application that will fit on a floppy disk TWICE, to make it work better than the bloatware they ship with their cards?
I really hope now that AMD has bought them they will hire some programmers to make things work.

/END RANT

Nvidia!!! We NEED VGA OUT!! Please. PLease. PLEASE!!! Don't make me have to buy another ATi.

I wonder if we can hack a card that has DVI to disable all the digital crap and just use the RGBHV output? I know all the DVI-I have the RGB analog on there but the picture seems to suffer from what I have read.

wallace123456 · Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 2236 Location: Northwest VA area

I know you have posted this before, but what motherboard are you using?

btw, the your rant is great!

Now, how do you really feel about ATI? Evil or Very Mad

wallace

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 10:36 am Post subject:

The SN41G2 is a shuttle PC. Built it in 2004. Geforce 2 chipset with MCP-T. 2GB brand name ram, DVD drive, 7 in one floppy/ memory card reader. It has the potential to be a nice little NTSC/ATSC/FM/DVD PVR unit. Unfortunatly the ATi software doesn't work. It's still hooked up to my projector but I'm only playing DVD (using VLC media player <---great piece of software).

Or are you refering to the new PC that's almost done? (Ram's should be in Friday and the case should be done tomorow )

Glad you like my bad speeling rant. See the EDIT above it whould have said AMD bought ATi not ad bought ATi. lol

Mark_A_W · Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:59 pm Post subject:

The funny thing is I've had no real trouble with my series of ATi cards (not AIW), and endless trouble with Nvidias.

The only problem I've come across with my 9500 is it won't do interlaced res's over DVI.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:11 pm Post subject:

wallace123456 · Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 2236 Location: Northwest VA area

**kal** · Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 7:42 pm Post subject:

Other: An old ATI Radeon 7200

Kal

Chuchuf · Joined: 11 Mar 2006 Posts: 548

As far as I'm concerned, there is only one,,,,,,and the reference design is NVidia.

Terry

cbe317 · Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 214 Location: Thunderbolt, GA

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:20 am Post subject: