6600GT did I waste my money?

[bones71]

I just upgraded From an ati 9000 to a pny 6600gt. I was using dvi out on the 9000 tried component and dvi from the 6600 dvi seems just a hair better output quality. I figured the upgrade would at least let me run vmr9 without tearing. It still has tearing not as bad though but not good enough to use. Had to switch to default vmr7 I believe. The only real improvement is I couldn't boot with just dvi connected with the 9000 and now I can so idon't need an extra monnitor connected. I was thinking about getting the 5700 personal cinema at least then I would have a rf remote. But figured I would get the 6600 for the added PQ was I wrong to think this?

[mlbdude]

nVidia cards can't do VMR9 via DVI at high resolutiions unless the video player runs in renderless and full screen exclusive. It is very picky. You will have to try component or use another player.

I switch between an nVidia 5700, 5200, 6600 and an ATI 9600. Only the 9600 via component offers completely smooth VMR9 in all players. All look almost exaclty the same though. I think the nVidia cards do a "slightly" better job deinterlacing video material though.

[bones71]

I tried it via component same tearing. So you think if I got the 5700 personal cinema ($30.00 cheaper) I would get pretty much the same results with a bonus remote? Will the 5700 also boot with dvi or component without an additional monitor.I think I canj exchange it.

[bones71]

By the way it's good to see you on here Mlbdude.Haven't seen you since you left the mce project thanks for all your contributions to sage wouldn't be the same without them.

[mlbdude]

Thanks been busy.

Don't get me wrong the 6600 is a great card. I just got an XFX 6600GT for a steal. It just has some issues right now that will hopefully be ironed out with driver updates. My 5700 does boot just fine with only DVI connected (can't see any boot screen but once Windows starts all comes up). Like I said I cannot tell a difference in PQ between those two at all. Both have poor VMR9 performance over DVI though. However, it is cheaper. Can you use the remote in any application?

If the 6600 starts to offer better performance, ran quieter and cooler, I would love it. I guess I have no clue what you should do .

[bones71]

maybe i should spend more money and get the aiw 9800pro this wouldn't have the vmr issues right? and I would get the remote that I believe has a plugin for sage so sick of the hauppauge usbuirt combo I have to pretty much aim it right at the reciever. rf would be so nice. The nvidia remote has a usb reciever it says it controls windows funcions and can control mouse not sure if it would be able to be incorporated into sage.
I am so confused.

[mlbdude]

I run the 9600 non-pro via component outputting 1080i using ffdshow resize at 1920x1080. It does not tear with VMR9 in any application I use. However, I have not run Sage on that PC for a few versions so I cannot say for sure if an ATI will work for you with Sage. It would be nice to hear some up to date info on this.

[bones71]

thanks for your help I will let you know what happens. I think I will tri the aiw9800pro if I can talk my wife into letting me spend the extra money.

[Wheemer]

Why don't you get a normal 9800 pro and a better remote... The Ati remote is not so good. I use an IR remote with the USB-Uirt and I do not have to aim it anywhere near the receiver for it to work. Even at extreme angles, such as backwards, it seems to bounce off the walls and reach the USB-Uirt every time. Maybe it's just the remote you are trying to use...

I had the Ati Remote wonder and found that it was a lot pickier than you would imagine... at certain angles it wouldn't transmit anything.

[g808]

For what it's worth I just installed MCE 2005 with a 6600GT and I'm getting tear-free playback over DVI at 1080i. I loved Sage, but the setup was very easy with MCE and the PQ is incredible without any tweaking.

[bones71]

thanks wheemer thinking more along the lines of a 9550 and a harmony remote can get both for about the same price as the 6600. Using dvi anyway thought component would be better but it wasn't on the 6600. I don't play any games or anything just sage on this computer. What do you guys think?

[korben_dallas]

You can get a 9550 and component dongle directly from ATI's website.

[mlbdude]

Originally Posted by g808

For what it's worth I just installed MCE 2005 with a 6600GT and I'm getting tear-free playback over DVI at 1080i. I loved Sage, but the setup was very easy with MCE and the PQ is incredible without any tweaking.

What driver are you using for this? So far all the beta drivers I have tried have caused lockups with MCE with DVD content? What decoder are you using?

[turak]

I recently picked up a MSI 6600GT and have also had trouble with VMR9 over DVI. I've tried both 1080i and 720p. The video playback looks almost like it's in slow motion. I've switched to using overlay for now. I wonder if anyone has managed to get a 6600GT to do 1080i over DVI using VMR9.

[bones71]

OK after reading a million reviews and htpc forum post I have decided to keep the 6600gt I will just run it at 1080 thru dvi with overlay till this is all straighted out the picture still looks good just not as good as I had hoped for.I would try mce 2005 but I currently use 4 tuners and mce can't handle that. Thanks to everyone for the help.

[turak]

I just upgraded from Sage 2.1.10 to 2.2.6RC and tried VMR9 again. There is a definate improvement, but it was still tearing like mad.

[mlbdude]

The tearing is due to the nVidia drivers not supporting VMR9 over DVI at 1080i unless it is in renderless and full screen exclusive. So, with that card you are limited in the players you choose. MCE does support this. It would be nice if Sage did too, but what happens with the next player I want to use and it does not do this specific playback method? Unless there is some technical limitation to 1080i over DVI I hope nVidia fixes this.