Geforce FX5200 advice for newbie, will this give good TV-Out (1 Viewer)

[questuk]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...89229/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_3_6/026-9667228-9770034

Hi,

Trying to decide on card for my PC, mainly it will be used to connect the PC (via s-video) to my TV (I am in the UK so needs to be 50Hz output from graphic card)

I am on a budget so will this give good results and will mediaportal will display all its graphics on the TV?

I will not be playing games, just videos etc.

Please give me your opinion.


Regards


Gary

 

[Pingus]

The Geforece FX chip works great with MP since its DX9 compatible.

I have used a ASUS V9520.

The video-out from the chip also have clear and bright pictures, but this might be different from brand to brand.

It's nice it's passive cooled too.

 

[Spif]

I used a Geforce 5200FX for my HTPC at first. It works well and is cheap but still I switched to a Radeon 9550 instead. The Radeon 9550 is only slightly more expensive and has, in my opinion, better quality on S-video out. Also, a Radeon card gives you the option of using RGB out via a SCART cable. If you can invest some time in it, the picture quality is really worth it! I currenly use a RGB-SCART cable at 940x540 resolution. This gives me no problems with overscan and great quality.

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

Would also consider 6200 nvidia as more upto date than fx series and hdtv ready (Check card details from manufacturer) and is only a couple of pounds dearer.

8)

 

[questuk]

I used a Geforce 5200FX for my HTPC at first. It works well and is cheap but still I switched to a Radeon 9550 instead. The Radeon 9550 is only slightly more expensive and has, in my opinion, better quality on S-video out. Also, a Radeon card gives you the option of using RGB out via a SCART cable. If you can invest some time in it, the picture quality is really worth it! I currenly use a RGB-SCART cable at 940x540 resolution. This gives me no problems with overscan and great quality.

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=6941&source=Ciao

I like the idea of RGB to scart, would the above enable me to do this?

if so how do i connect it, as there is not an RGB socket, so i assume you need a special cable from the DVI output? where do you buy these?

Also i want it passively cooled and AGp so the above does that as well?

Thanks for all your help!


Regards


Gary

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

Hi Questuk

From what i can find you will need a specific cable whichever graphics card you select. have read info at giga-byte.com link http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/v...ue=vga&ProductID=1187&ProductName=GV-R955128D
and nothing special on output connections.
Unfortunately your into a split faction here, where some people are Nvidia fans and some are ATI.
As you might guess from my signature i'm one of the former, but never had a PC problem and have never tried outputting to a TV, so there are most probably/likely wiser people than me for directing you in the right direction for ease of TV connectability.
From an engineers point of view, cannot see any difference worth of note.

 

[Tech Geek]

I have several ATi based systems and have set up several NVidia based systems for friends including a FX5500 based system for my brother where I picked out the video card just last week.

In spite of claims about the vast superiority of one brand over another I don't see a huge difference between GPU brands for TV quality. More likely you'll see a greater difference caused by your TV, cabling, video mode chosen or card quality. Some cards with the same GPU may have different quality output than others due to the parts used. Stick to better known brands if you can but don't spend a huge amount more for a card with the same GPU.

Most of the graphics cards I've suggested for friends and family were chosen more by price and features than by NVidia vs ATi.
Set a price range and buy the card with the best features for the price you can buy.

The 5200/5500 have a few less features for video playback than more expensive models from NVidia and ATi. That means it will require more CPU time to play back video with them than the more expensive DX9 GPUs. If you aren't using that CPU time for something else... who cares. The machine may be slightly less responsive but it should be minimal.

If you want the cheapest DirectX9 card... the 5200 model is it at around $35. My brother's 5500 was $39 after rebate (same as the 5200 only slightly faster). The ATi 9550 runs around $50, my X1300 was $65 for a refurb and I've seen them close to that after rebate new. Then you jump to around $100 (all US dollars btw) for similar features but more speed.
Keep in mind the latest GPU lines will have the best features.

 

[Spif]

I used a Geforce 5200FX for my HTPC at first. It works well and is cheap but still I switched to a Radeon 9550 instead. The Radeon 9550 is only slightly more expensive and has, in my opinion, better quality on S-video out. Also, a Radeon card gives you the option of using RGB out via a SCART cable. If you can invest some time in it, the picture quality is really worth it! I currenly use a RGB-SCART cable at 940x540 resolution. This gives me no problems with overscan and great quality.

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/ProductInfo.aspx?ProductID=6941&source=Ciao

I like the idea of RGB to scart, would the above enable me to do this?

if so how do i connect it, as there is not an RGB socket, so i assume you need a special cable from the DVI output? where do you buy these?

Also i want it passively cooled and AGp so the above does that as well?

Thanks for all your help!


Regards


Gary

That card you suggested will do fine. Regarding the cable, you can't buy one as far as I know. You will have to solder your own. It isn't hard at all but it can require some time trying to find the right settings for your TV.

Have a look at this link:
http://ryoandr.free.fr/english.html
This link is even better but is in swedish:
http://www.nada.kth.se/~feldt/vgascart/
Even if you don't understand swedish you can get a lot of timings from there.

You will need to use the VGA port of your graphics card. Not the DVI port. Another drawback is that you get no picture while booting the PC. It is not until Powerstrip has started and loaded the correct settings that you will see any picture on the TV.

As I said before this may take a little time but is right now the best way get good quality on a standard TV.