Suggestions on new GFX as I currently have the onboard broken ATI... (1 Viewer)

[Jimbawb]

Hi guys, I'd like your suggestions on ways to go with a new GFX card, as I currently have the ATI onboard chip which has loads of bugs. I can either go for a new GFX card, or a new mobo, solutions as follows:

GFX:
Must have HDMI out and be capable of playing blu-ray.
Cheap(!) if possible.

Mobo:
Same as above, must have HDMI and capable of playing blu-ray.
Much preferable to have spdif out, either optical or coax (one of the original reasons i went for my first mobo) - unless its possible to get a cheap audio card.


Basically im fed up of all the graphics problems my onboard ati is giving me, i want a good proper 1080p experience without having to faff around Any help appreciated!

 

[BennieBoy]

Which board do you currently have, and which problems do you have with the onboard chipset?

 

[Jimbawb]

Hi Bennieboy -I've got the Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H, no problems as such but I know i'm not getting the best out of it as its buggy with MP in general and some of the de-interlacing is naff/non existant. Plus ive heard it can't do 1080p? Despite me having it plugged into a 1080p set and set to 1080p res...odd.

But if i could get an nvidia card for £20 or something (i much prefer nvidia) that would sort many problems i'd be happy


Edit - i've also been a bit silly and forgotton that dvi and hdmi are identical image wise, so it doesnt matter if it has hdmi on the back or not..i can get an adapter. It would need to be able to support bluray though!

 

[FlipGer]

Hi,

if you want HD support, you need at least:
nVidia: 8000er series
ATI: 3000er series

Currently ATI seems to have a small advance with their new 48xxer series. The 4850 is cheap, supports DX10.1, needs not much power, is (more or less) silent and can decompress two HD streams at once. What is importand for BlueRay PIP.

HTH,
Flip.

 

[Jimbawb]

Nice one, thanks! I'll check them out I've always been more of a fan of nvidia but if ATI cards are better then maybe i should stick with them...

The 4000 series seems a bit too expensive for my needs though. I'll see how it goes

 

[allanp81]

I jsut bought a Sapphire x2400 XT. It's got DVI, VGA and HDMI out, passively cooled, PCI-E and about £30-35 to buy.

 

[MC_Mice]

There will be a ati 4650 ( equal to nvidia 9500gt ) and 4670 ( equal to 9600gt) coming on september 10th and 24th, so you might wanna wait for those.

But if you can´t wait, I think you can find 8600gt second-hand ( about 40euros here in Finland) , some of them are passive cooled.

 

[BennieBoy]

The 780G chipset of AMD (ATI) will do HD content just fine (including 1080p)
The costs of these boards vary between 50 and 90 euro's.
Just swap the 690 board with the 780 board should work.
You can keep all your other components.

Some threads on this forum mention the 780G chipset and it's behaviour with 1080p.

Greetz,
Ben

 

[Jimbawb]

Hmm..780g chipset? I think it might be easier for me to get a new gfx card? Is there not problems with 780G also..i thought there were.

So, if i was to go for the 3450/3650, are there any known problems with these? I've read about flickering GUIs again (doh) but i have Windows XP so i dont know if this will affect me? I take it these gfx cards will be able to play bluray discs fine (all features?).

Cheers guys! Its a minefield out there..

 

[Spragleknas]

If running Vista, you should consider nVidia. Reason: 0001192: Flickering Tv-guide and other overlays with EVR enabled - MediaPortal Bugtracker