ATI HD3450 HDMI Output - Help!

[D3tritus]

I'm looking to buy an ATI HD3450 card for my HTPC. I've had no luck locating a card that has a passive heatsink and has an HDMI connector on the back. A lot of the cards talk about being HDMI compatible but just have Dual-DVI outputs or DVI/VGA/S-Video. It's very frustrating.

I'd just pick up a Sapphire 256Mb HD3450 and use a standard DVI-HDMI dongle but I've heard that this doesn't work with the ATI cards? I *think* it may just be the HDMI Audio that doesn't work (DVI standard does not provide for Audio so ATI must have hijacked some of the pins to transmit Audio through DVI) but I'm not sure. If it is just the audio that is lost then that's fine, I run my audio out to my Receiver, not the TV...no need for audio over the HDMI cable.

I've also heard that there are some issues with handshaking and the 3450. The TV needs to be switched on before the PC or somesuch. There's more detail on AV Forums Does ATI HDMI dongle fix handshaking? - AVS Forum. Having to reboot the PC or switch it on/off will be a deal-breaker for me. WAF is right down the pan.

So, I'm left with a very confusing hardware purchase. Does anyone have answers to the following:
- Is there an HD3450 available with integrated HDMI output and a passive heatsink?
- Can I use a standard DVI-HDMI dongle if I don't need to send Audio down the HDMI cable?
- Where can I buy an ATI DVI-HDMI dongle in the UK?
- Is anyone experiencing handshaking issues with the HD3450?

Cheers.

[Spooky]

The (or an) adapter you are looking for is called PowerColor HDMI Adapter WA-G247, maybe that helps in the search for a distributor in the uk. And yes, it seems the Audio signal is only transmittable via the special ATi adapter.

Here are two lists of passive HD3450 models: PCIe 256MB Preisvergleich bei Geizhals.at sterreich , PCIe 512MB+ Preisvergleich bei Geizhals.at sterreich
As far as I know all Radeon HD models have an integrated Audiocontroller to transmit Audio via DVI/HDMI (certainly all Radeon HD 3450 models). There is no such thing as an "integrated HDMI output" since DVI video output is fully compatible with HDMI video output.

I don't know anything about handshaking issues though.

[D3tritus]

Thanks Spooky. I'll check out those lists.

By "integrated HDMI output", I meant cards with a built-in HDMI connector: no need for a dongle and consequently no dongle compatibility issues. I don't think there are any such cards in production at the minute.

[Spooky]

Well, the new GeForce 9800 GX2 has a HDMI connector, though I guess that card doesn't fit your needs at all

[kingnubian]

I purchased an HIS HD3450 since it comes with the adapter in the box. Works great btw.

[D3tritus]

9800GX2...might as well stick a vacuum cleaner in my case! Far too noisy for this application. I have an 8800GT in my machine upstairs, that does all my gaming.

I'll look into the HIS card. Sounds like a good compromise.

[marioleo]

Not sure I really understood your message, but I hope this could help anyway :

I bought a Sapphire X1650 Pro having both DVI outputs. I connected one of them to HDMI input from my LCD TV through an DVI to HDMI converter. This works fine. Indeed I cannot get any sound out of it and then plugged my 3.5 output from my sound card to my HomeCinema amp and this is fine

[Spooky]

@marioleo: only the Radeon HD series have an integrated Audio controller to transmit Audio via DVI/HDMI.

[thkogel]

I have found a ASUS EAH3450/DI/256M with native HDMI and "Build in Multi-channel 5.1 surround audio". I'm not sure that 256MB memory is enouth for fullHD Playback.

the ASUS EAH3450/HTP/512M have 512mb of memory but "HDMI optional".