Best graphics card? (1 Viewer)

Autoper

Portal Pro
January 24, 2005
87
0
Stavanger, Norway
Hi,

I try to find the best graphics card to use with MP (not for gaming).
What I'm looking for is a fanless card where analog picture quality is as good as possible. For now I'm using a Creative FX5200 card, but the picture quality is poor.
The card have to support: composite out, s-video out, component out, RGB out and DVI out.
What is the right card?


Regards
Autoper
 

jdiffend

Portal Pro
January 9, 2005
98
0
Autoper said:
Hi,

I try to find the best graphics card to use with MP (not for gaming).
What I'm looking for is a fanless card where analog picture quality is as good as possible. For now I'm using a Creative FX5200 card, but the picture quality is poor.
The card have to support: composite out, s-video out, component out, RGB out and DVI out.
What is the right card?


Regards
Autoper

Try the buyer's guide here:
http://htpcnews.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9263

NVidea vs ATi wars aside...
The Radeon 9550 would be the least expensive that supports Media Portal but has decent outputs. Component out can be optained from just a cable but Microcenter was charging over $25 for it so I'd check to see what ATi's component video dongle costs and make sure it works with the card you choose.
 

TheVideoViking

Portal Pro
November 30, 2004
62
0
Groningen, Netherlands
I bought a ATI 9600 SE for a bargain on a sale. I bought it so I could watch MP on my TV and use internet or wathever on my pc the same time. But the way ATI is using the second screen didn't work out for me. I didn't have much time to experimentate because I wanted to return it if it didn't do what I wanted it to do, so am not sure if there was a way. I'm still thinking about getting a passive cooled nVidea, but I really wonder if it works the way I wanted before I put money in it. Is there anyone who could tell me how you can use both the monitor and the tv at the same time with different programs on a geForce, and if it is possible to run the monitor and the TV with different resolutions?
Thanx
 

Marcusb

Retired Team Member
  • Premium Supporter
  • February 16, 2005
    1,995
    29
    Melbourne
    I've posted some instructions on this a few times in the past. Do a search on postes by me with "clone" in the body. I know you do't want to use the clone method, but I am pretty sure that will find the right posts.

    Can't be more helpful as I'm heading out now.

    Marcus.
     

    Tau C Seti

    Portal Member
    November 19, 2005
    12
    0
    Sydney Australia
    Latest and greatest from ATI (1xxxx series only) is AVIVO, vs nVidia's 'PureVideo' (6xxxx and up) hype. Both are still ongoing concerns, but currently most reviews and tests indicate that the nVidia 'purevideo' offering is superior to ATI.

    Costly though.

    Best Bang for buck IMHO is the ABIT RX600 Pro-HDTV card.
    rx600-hdtv-angle.jpg

    For HTPC use it's a thing of beauty and CHEAP !!! In Australia, you can find it for as little as AUD $108 (USD $81.00)

    It has a seperate TDMS for DVI, etc. Unfortunately, all reviews concentrate exclusively on Gaming Benchmarks, which is not appropriate for this card. Viperlair does a review of it's cousin the ABIT RX600 Pro-Guru (has not got so many HDTV goodies) and it states:"The picture quality that comes out of the DVI interface into a HDTV is nothing short of breath taking. Posting pictures of it just couldn't do it justice. "
     

    Brocklander

    Retired Team Member
  • Premium Supporter
  • September 15, 2004
    347
    2
    Wellington
    Home Country
    New Zealand New Zealand
    Nvidia 6600GT, component out and passively cooled. I have a Legend one with a fan - NOT a good idea (too loud)! And no room for a replacement cooler in my Shuttle box...

    I console myself with the fact that I couldn't find a passively cooled card, let alone one with that and component out.

    6600GT or a 6600LE, your choice. I like a bit of gaming so I made the jump to the GT.
     

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