Quick video card (tv-out) question ...

[han0522]

First of all, I want to ensure anyone reading this that I've searched through these forums, htpcnews forums, and avsforums to try and find as much information as I can. I appreciate you reading this and will appreciate any feedback!

Okay, I've been using SageTV since last September and, may I say, this is an excellent program and an excellent community!

I built my htpc cheaply because I wasn't sure how I'd take to it. Now that I see how awesome it is (and, dare I say, time-saving [skipping commercials]), I've decided to "beef" up my htpc.

My current setup is as follows:
A7M266 running a 1.33 T-bird
512 PC2100 ram
ATI 64mb ddr vivo (think it is equivalent to a 7000 or 7500)
all going to an SDTV

Now, the CPU is running (and has been for awhile) at 63 C (obviously, WAAYY too hot). So, part of my upgrade will be a new cpu/mobo/ram that will run cooler, as well as a better (ventiallation-wise) case. But along with this change I want to upgrade the video card.

After a week of searching and reading, it seems like the best options given the SDTV (and no gaming) are:
ATI 9550se
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...102-458&depa=0)

-OR-

FX5200
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...125-131&depa=1)
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...121-186&depa=1)
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...130-173&depa=1)
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...121-150&depa=1)

The links indicate the best options I could find at newegg.

Now, my question is, given that I'm still "new" to the htpc world and not yet sure of all the details to look out for, do these video cards look alright? Is there a specific feature that the 5200 or 9550se has that, somehow, has been excluded from the above video cards and, therefore, make purchasing one of them meaningless?

Again, over the past months, any problem I've run into (and that wasn't very many) I immediately was able to solve due to this community!!

Thanks for all the past help and any help/advice you can provide now!

-Han0522

[han0522]

Just a bump for the week.

I'm guessing any of these cards would turn out to be about the same for output to an sdtv. I guess there's not much to it.

However, I had read that 128-bit cards would be beneficial to an sdtv, but wasn't sure if that was actually the case or just the [uninformed] opinion of one individual.

So, my ignorance in this area makes me hesitant. I often see people stating "get a 5200" but don't go on mention any specific good candidates. Is this because they are all good candidates? or that there is an assumption being made that the receiver of the information knows to look out for this or make sure the video card has that? <= this is why I'm hesitant.

I don't think my original post was very clear in what I was asking. Maybe this helps clarify it?

Anyway, any thoughts are appreciated.

-Han0522

[teedublu]

Be sure the card has S-Video output, some are just Composite video. They usually provide a S-Video to Composite adapter cable -- but check if you need it.
No Fan, most are fanless. Bigger heat sink is better.
I'd stay away from the short cards with ribbon cable jumper to VGA.
I'd get one with a DVI port too -- might come in handy, but in reality, if you move up to HDTV you probably want a higher-end card anyway (but it gives you something to compare it too).

I think 128bit just refers to memory width (maybe an interleaved scheme), possibly a performance booster, but you really don't need much memory bandwidth to do SDTV.

TW

[Toddly]

I think when people recommend the 5200 series they are speaking of the chipset and not so much as the company that produces it. My last system was the equivalent of yours as far as the CPU size but it was to noisy for us in the room where the television was so I got the MVP and use that for output to my SDTV. I like the picture quality better than my video card which was a ATI 9200 SE.
If you are upgrading your system consider getting the PCI express version because the video cards are pretty affordable in that configuration. Do a search at Newegg for video cards using the PCI express bus. They are some good performers.

[han0522]

Thanks for the replies and advice. That pretty much clears up any questions I have.

Thanks!
-Han0522

[rrussell]

Wow, I saw this post a little late.

I was in the "5200" camp, picked up an Apollo nVidia FX5200 PCI card from newegg - PCI since I'm adding it to a mini-itx epia M9000 board that lacks AGP. It cost me about $70.

I thought I was happy with the M9000's TV-out, but the difference between it and the onboard S-video output is like night and day. It looks like I'm actually watching TELEVISION now, not some crappy webcast. As an added bonus, using the nVidia DVD decoders, I am FINALLY also getting SPDIF passthru from my DVD drive to the stereo. WOOHOO! Matrix in 5.1 again!

The only thing I have found wrong with it, and this is unfortunately not fixable as far as I can tell, is that there are issues between "some" nvidia cards, and "some" motherboards with VIA chipsets, that "sometimes" cause windows to BSOD randomly. I am apparently one of those "some," but turned off Direct3D and all is stable. So if you do decide to go the nVidia route, avoid motherboards with VIA chipsets. There are those who would say that's good advice anyway, but there ya go.

Since you're buying an entirely new system, you've got a lot more options open to you than just the 5200, though.

Have fun!