Lowest Video Card for HTPC

K

KoZLop

[H]ard|Gawd
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Aug 16, 2003
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I am planning on making a HTPC out of spare computer parts I have, but what's the lowest grade video card should I get and have decent picture?

Will Geforce4 be a good enough card?
 
it all depends on what you will be using it for. I've seen people make due with less than that. It also depends on what kind of GF4 it is. (Ti series or MX) I would think that a GF4 would be plenty though.
 
I'm planning on using it for downloaded TV shows, Movies, and if i get this tv tuner working ill be recording. Soo any geforce4 is good for that?
 
i would think you would be good with a strong Geforce3...i wouldnt go with the GF4 mx series though....at the least i would use a geforce4 Ti4200...
 
would nVIDIA GeForce FX5200 be enough? maybe I'll use this one in my computer and buy a new one.
 
I would rather have the GF4 MX series than the GF4 TI series or the GF3 series. The MX's have onboard TV encoders that have far superior quality to the GF4 TI or the GF3's. The FX cards also have this integrated encoder.

Unless you get into HDTV, the actual performance of the video card is almost irrelevant.
 
but he already said that he is getting a TV-tuner, so he could get a better encoder on a tuner card...therefore the ti series would be a better fit than the mx
 
I just wanted to see what I can find for cheap, but it came out to be taking my main pc video card and replace it with an older one. I only program and web design soo any card can do that.
 
Markz0r said:
but he already said that he is getting a TV-tuner, so he could get a better encoder on a tuner card...therefore the ti series would be a better fit than the mx
Click to expand...

Huh?

He still needs to output to the TV, that's what the encoder is for, with SVIDEO or composite output. The only way he'll get around that requirement is if he has a DVI/VGA input on his TV, or uses a PVR-350 card. Plus, the GF4 Ti does nothing useful that the GF4 MX doesn't do for HTPC purposes. Both will play back video just fine.

The GF4 MX should be cheaper than the Ti anyway.
 
Markz0r said:
but he already said that he is getting a TV-tuner, so he could get a better encoder on a tuner card...therefore the ti series would be a better fit than the mx
Click to expand...
Your thinking about that is wrong. He's not saying get some POS like an AIW card he's saying that the TV out encoder on the MX is better then the Ti and the GF3. I'd stay away from GF3 and lower and start looking to a MX or better yet a 5200FX for a basic TV out.
 
Markz0r said:
i would think you would be good with a strong Geforce3...i wouldnt go with the GF4 mx series though....at the least i would use a geforce4 Ti4200...
Click to expand...


Actually the GF 4 MX would handle Directx 9 based application better than the 3 simply because it supports DXVA and the 3 dosn't. The MX is not in the same class as a 5700 or a ati 9600 but its leagues better than the 3 was in my experience. If you dont care about directX 9 then just about any card is acceptable in overlay.
 
I use to have a Geforce4 440 MX and that worked great. But I placed a 5700FX in there so I can do some mild gaming..
 
I've got a GF 4MX in my main HTPC and just bought a GF 4200Ti for my 2nd HTPC. I'll let you know if I can tell the differnce between them. I don't think it'll be noticable...
 
Here is what happened to me:

I wanted a HTPC that would run in true HD so I immediately sought out a card that had DVI out. I first purchased a Radeon 7000 and while the IQ was great it did not fully fit the entire 1080i screen nor was it compatible with MCE 2005. Next I got myself a Radeon 9600 SE and this time the problem was DVD playback at 1080i. You see, the pictures would start out fine but once a movie would play it would do so extremely choppy. Now I have a 9800 PRO and it finally has enough power to play movies and watch TV at 1080 under MCE 2005.

The real question here is what exactly do you intend to pair up to the video card and at what resolution. If you are going to run 1080 I can almost guarantee you that a GF4 will not be enough.
 
mx4 is ok for watching standard def stuff. if you do any ffdshow, it startst o crap out. I had a 5700 and got much better results. my current 9600(not SE) card does well, but is about as low as I would go. so in my humble opinion...

svideo = mx4 card
HD = 9600 or 5700 minimum

Crucial has 9700pro refurbs from time to time. that is a great card for an HTPC.
 
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