CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Spanky Ham]

That is good news. I just don't like the Radeon for Ubuntu. It is fine in Windows and just playing with it briefly it seemed like it may be even better than Nvidia. I have been looking for a new card, since the new mid-range Nvidias might not be here till May or June. Now I can relax.

[ecrabb]

So, I never updated this thread. I still want a better video card. A buddy of mine gave me a very low-end HDMI card, so I played around with it a bit in the theater, and it worked audio-wise, and I got nice 1080p video, but games were an epic fail. So, let's try this again...

I don't need anything whiz-bang, but would like some decent 3D performance. Doesn't have to play the latest crazy games with settings on high and all that, and the quieter and cooler the better. Use will be like 90% HTPC (testing J.River, XMBC, Plex, Boxee, testing control of those), a little BD ISO playback (so need to good HDMI audio implementation), and only like 10% games and such. I upped my budget because it's obvious to me now that a $50 video card isn't going to play games at 1080p. I suppose I'm looking for something on the low-end, but I'd like to target $100 or maybe $150 tops.

I was looking at this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150681

But, then I read all the reviews, and they're all like "it's fine, but you have to turn down all the settings and run at 720p to get a decent frame rate." I assume they're referring to all the latest high-end games, so if I'm not playing Battlefield 4 or Crysis 3, will I be fine? I feel like I need to go to something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA10V1ZS2678

But, I don't know the thousand different models, memory, performance, which cards have decent drivers, etc.

I think this is the reason not as many people don't build their own PCs anymore.

Computer is an HP desktop something-or-other… 2.4Ghz (I think) Core 2 Duo. Came with Vista on it originally, but it's running W7.

Thanks!

Cheers,
SC

[CasetheCorvetteman]

I will have a look around Crabb and see what i would go for, but pricing could be tricky because its all very different here, so i will set the budget at $200 AUD which i reckon will easily get you your 90% requirement, and should be fine for your 10% gaming too.

I havent read all the thread yet so you may have other info listed, but the other items in the computer will have an impact on how well a video card can perform, more so for games than anything else.

[CasetheCorvetteman]

Im not sure how XFX rate these days since they are not really common here now but back when they were their general performance was a shade under other brands such as ASUS and Gigabyte, and if youre planning on gaming a bit here and there, id stay toward nVIDIA, ATi just dont seem to be leaders like they were in the old 9800 PRO days.

[CasetheCorvetteman]

This here:
http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=247&bid=6&sid=93889

Will likely very easily do your 90%, and itll be pretty quiet, not sure how itll go on gaming. Possibly not full high on 1920x1080p

[CasetheCorvetteman]

This is simular to what is in my secondary HTPC, but these dont do 4096x2160 and have no display port:

http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=247&bid=6&sid=141252

[CasetheCorvetteman]

This one will do 4096x2160 and does have display port:

http://umart.com.au/pro/products_listnew.phtml?id=10&id2=247&bid=6&sid=163279

You should be able to get that for $100-$150 USD.

In my main rig ive got a Gigabyte GTX760 4gig, i wouldnt say you can hear it over anything else, and itll run 2-3 yr old games all set high at 3840x2160 60Hz via display port without a drama.

[ecrabb]

Awesome! Thanks, Case! I'll do a little looking at what's available here that's comparable and grab something.

The biggest display I have is a Dell 30 2560x1600, so no UHD necessary. The video card you mentioned looks like it's almost $300 here - way more money than I want to sink into something to dick around with.

The box is an HP Compaq dc7900 minitower… I think it's 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo. I was looking at used, and I can buy a whole other similar box with Windows 7 already on it, Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz E8400 with 1333 FSB (as opposed to 1066). Would there be much difference between the two? I don't really want to spend the $350+ for an i7 machine plus a $150 video card. $500 is more than I want spend for a machine will be mostly just for dicking around. If I got a second cheap box, I could make the old one a dedicated Minecraft server for my daughter.

Thanks!

SC

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[CasetheCorvetteman]

I dont think itll matter much at all for the 90% side, but it will have an impact on the 10% of gaming, but still not worth the extra money for such old gear, unless youre getting it close to free.

Any of those cards should have no problems with the HDMI audio for HTPC use.

[HK-Steve]

I have a GTS450 laying around doing nothing, It is yours if you want it?? for free of course.......

[CasetheCorvetteman]

I havent looked at the specs of that card, but i cant see where it would not be suitable for the 90% HTPC use.