8500GT vs. HD 2400

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rayman2k2

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Which of these two cards would you recommend for 1080p content? Its going to be paired with either a X2 3600+ or an A64 3800+


I've read reviews on both but cant find too much on HD decoding. Anyone know?

I know from an AnandTech article that the 8500GT has the same decoding power as the 8600GT (and I dont need the extra GPU power for gaming), but can't find much relating the 8500 and the HD2400...
 
i haven't really run into too many that cover a direct comparison of the 8500 and the 2400..

although with the X2 3600+ it may be more of a non-issue..

the 2400 review i read was only between 5-20% CPU usage on a 1.6Ghz Sempron 2800+..

the 8500 i think is pretty similar..
 
It depends on which decode type. nVidia is doing well on 264 while ATI is doing well on VC. There are a few sites out there show pretty reasonable CPU use on fairly run of the mill CPU's (3600+ or so) of 30% or less at very high bit rates. So for most of us who are doing HTPC's...either card, from a horsepower statement, is good.

As for image quality, this is still up for debate. However, I have a feeling in the next week or so there will be some side by sides. However, based upon what i've seen in sperate reviews...the IQ looks fine to me. But, I'll wait a few weeks for the experts, who have taken the time, to do the side-by-sides.
 
i have the same setup and i can tell you that you need to bump the speed of that x2 3600+ at least 2.2 for smooth playback paired with a 8500gt...good luck
 
I saw a test yesterday, cant find it today, but here are some links from another site...


http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/440/6/
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/440/7/

Now, on the other test I saw, they clearly stated that it was only the HD2600XT that supported 1080p, the lower versions only did 1080i. Decoding was the same tho. I will continue searching for that test...


edit: Still cant find it, however found a nice test of the card here:
http://www.beyond3d.com/content/reviews/28/7
 
Damodred said:
I saw a test yesterday, cant find it today, but here are some links from another site...


http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/440/6/
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/440/7/

Now, on the other test I saw, they clearly stated that it was only the HD2600XT that supported 1080p, the lower versions only did 1080i. Decoding was the same tho. I will continue searching for that test...


edit: Still cant find it, however found a nice test of the card here:
http://www.beyond3d.com/content/reviews/28/7
Click to expand...


Wow, thanks for that...


I'm mainly going to be using H.264 codecs, in xvid and x264 formats...


that said, im thinking about just using 720p since it'll save space, etc. so, would the X3100 found in this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16856101034 work?
 
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2111&page=5



That article there states that this BioForce TForce TF7050-M2 can play 1080p content on a X2 5000+ with approx. 20% CPU utilization...i'm assuming if i go for a Brisbane core X2 4000+, I should be seeing at least <40% utilization? Thats not too bad, I guess...


...is the TF7050 a good board? Do you think it'll handle 1080p content well?
 
rayman2k2 said:
...is the TF7050 a good board? Do you think it'll handle 1080p content well?
Click to expand...
I've got one and like it, it's a good little board so far. I'm not using the IGP so I don't exactly know if it'll handle 1080p but my gut is telling me "no" since it's pretty much just an updated 6150.
 
if considering the 8500 make sure to compare it to the 8600. I think i read on anandtech.com somewhere that the 8600 is better for HDTV setups because the 8500 is missing something.

just off the top of my head, i might be wrong.
 
i used a HD2400 and ran the resolution in windows as 1920x1080

so is that 1080P or 1080i? according to my TV, its 1080P

But i have to return it, cuz it does not come with the special DVI to HDMI adapter that does audio.
 
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chickenselects said:
if considering the 8500 make sure to compare it to the 8600. I think i read on anandtech.com somewhere that the 8600 is better for HDTV setups because the 8500 is missing something.

just off the top of my head, i might be wrong.
Click to expand...
The 8500 has the exact same VP2 that the 8600 series has; it's the 8400GS that is missing something (can't rememeber off the top of my head).
 
CrimandEvil said:
The 8500 has the exact same VP2 that the 8600 series has; it's the 8400GS that is missing something (can't rememeber off the top of my head).
Click to expand...

your absolutely correct, my mistake.

Heres an artical on the 8600 and HD performance.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2977&p=1

"Although we haven't been terribly impressed with the gaming performance of the GeForce 8600, it is currently the best option for anyone looking to watch Blu-ray or HD-DVD on their PCs. The full H.264 offload onto the GPU makes HD movie playback not only painless but also possible on lower speed systems."
 
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Gloomy said:
video works fine, i've been using DVI to HDMI cable for a while, but audio from HDMI does not work with these cables. to get full HDMI capability, i think others have been saying that it needs a special DVI to HDMI adapter
Click to expand...

We had a discussion about this over in the video card forums if a regular DVI to HDMI cable would work and some people thought it would. Clearly it doesn't for you. Are you missing any pins from the DVI side of the cable or does it have all of them?
 
ND40oz said:
We had a discussion about this over in the video card forums if a regular DVI to HDMI cable would work and some people thought it would. Clearly it doesn't for you. Are you missing any pins from the DVI side of the cable or does it have all of them?
Click to expand...



yeah, it has to be one of the DVI-I, DVI-D or DVI-A cables, i think its supposed to be a DVI-D connection, not sure though...


...waaaaaaait, this is my thread! whats up with this thread hijack?!? ;)
 
rayman2k2 said:
yeah, it has to be one of the DVI-I, DVI-D or DVI-A cables, i think its supposed to be a DVI-D connection, not sure though...


...waaaaaaait, this is my thread! whats up with this thread hijack?!? ;)
Click to expand...

Sorry rayman, now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

Personally I'd go with the 2600/2400, for decoding and sound through HDMI...although that new G33 based shuttle with dolby digital out looks pretty nice if you don't have everything else already. I was thinking of picking up one and pairing it with an E6600 when I upgrade to the Q6600.
 
ND40oz said:
Sorry rayman, now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

Personally I'd go with the 2600/2400, for decoding and sound through HDMI...although that new G33 based shuttle with dolby digital out looks pretty nice if you don't have everything else already. I was thinking of picking up one and pairing it with an E6600 when I upgrade to the Q6600.
Click to expand...




yeah, i was leaning towards the 2600/2400 as well (they arent for sale at newegg yet?)

however, i asked a friend who also had the Biostar TF7050 and he said he can watch 1080p without too many hiccups with an A64 X2 4000+. So i got a few decisions to make atm...
 
ND40oz said:
We had a discussion about this over in the video card forums if a regular DVI to HDMI cable would work and some people thought it would. Clearly it doesn't for you. Are you missing any pins from the DVI side of the cable or does it have all of them?
Click to expand...

i used a dual link DVI-D to HDMI cable... no luck

apparently, the sales at a-power.com told me that the HD2600XT comes with the DVI to HDMI adapter, but the rest does not.
 
Gloomy said:
i used a dual link DVI-D to HDMI cable... no luck

apparently, the sales at a-power.com told me that the HD2600XT comes with the DVI to HDMI adapter, but the rest does not.
Click to expand...

The dual link part shouldn't matter because HDMI does not support dual-link. I have the adaptors, they came with my 2900XTs, they do have the dual link pins as well as the analogue pins (every possible pin), can you try a DVI-I to HDMI adaptor and see if it works?

Rayman, I have an 8600GT, but I haven't used it to try and play any 1080p video (using it at 768p), I'd gladly test it out for you, but what sources are you using? Although it might not be that good of a comparison to the 8500GT, I forget what the differences are.
 
ND40oz said:
Although it might not be that good of a comparison to the 8500GT, I forget what the differences are.
Click to expand...
For something like this not a whole damn lot. They're pretty much identical for HTPC usage (unlike the 7600GS and 7600GT where the GT was much better for video playback due to it's higher clock speed).
 
ND40oz said:
The dual link part shouldn't matter because HDMI does not support dual-link. I have the adaptors, they came with my 2900XTs, they do have the dual link pins as well as the analogue pins (every possible pin), can you try a DVI-I to HDMI adaptor and see if it works?

Rayman, I have an 8600GT, but I haven't used it to try and play any 1080p video (using it at 768p), I'd gladly test it out for you, but what sources are you using? Although it might not be that good of a comparison to the 8500GT, I forget what the differences are.
Click to expand...



source wise, its primarily x264 HD Movies


EDIT: As CrimandEvil said, theres not that big of a difference b/w the two in terms of video decoding...
 
I have an 8500GT and it is almost what I was looking for but I have 2 problems that the 2600 will solve:

1: The 2600 will accelerate the VC-1 titles.
2: I have overscan with the 8500 on my Sony 50A2020 that I can not get rid of. My old 1950 Pro has no overscan problem and presume that will continue on with the 2600.

I agree with Trepidati0n that the difference in image quality has not been decided yet. I will go with the picture quality any day than features.
 
Hmm.... Here we are over a year later and this stuff is questionable on why you have problems with one video card doing what someone else is doing with that same video card. I have a Dell Inspiron 531 Desktop, which is the AMD 64 5000+, which basically is a AMD 64x2 2.6ghz machine. I put a wireless card in it and I have a 500gb and 750gb SATA drive in it with a DVD burner. It came with a 128mb HD 2400 pro, that crapped out after it arrived, and I just did not want to wait for support and picked up a 256mb HD 2400 Pro from Wallmart about 5 minutes away from me. I have a Dell usb TV tuner card that came with my older Dell laptop, and I got it working pretty goood through Vista MCE as my HTPC with a Sony 720p 50" TV. I got a new Samsung 1080p, hooked it up and had a heck of a time getting it working to look good and I still could only get 1080i to work. I went out and picked up a new HD 4670 and after playing with it for 2 days and talking to tech support, I guess my system does not have enough power to run this card, only having a 300w power supply. I went out and got a 8500 GT, tossed it in there and used the latest NVidia drivers. I wish I had just gotten this card to begin with, because it just worked. Everything looks great and when I went into MCE for Vista and configured the TV/Monitor section, it just automatically recognized that I was running at 1080p@60mhz. I am now just loving life and everything is great. The HD 2400 Pro just had all sorts of problems getting it even at 1080i, where I had to run the Windows screen at 1777x1000 and match the MCE to use the same 1777x1000, or I would get ghosting and pixelation when watching TV or a recored movie.
 
Holy dead thread necro :)


Thanks for the write up. Did you have any overscan or underscan with you ATI card that was fixed when you got the nvidia card?
 
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