MSI FX5200, MSI FX5600 or PNY Geforce 6200?

[tvmaster2]

Of these three, which one would make the best video card for a Sage HTPC?

I already have the two MSI cards, and picked up the PNY at a sale the other day because it was too cheap to pass up.

From what I can find out on the web, it appears that the 6200 is passive, aka no fan...which is good.

Other than that, would the PNY be superior, as far as S-Video output quality to both the 5200 and 5600 cards?

thanks in advance

[tvmaster2]

Sorry, forgot to mention that the PNY Geforce 6200 was still un-opened and hence the question...is it worth opening?
If anyone here has compared these cards I'd appreciate the advice, cause' I would prefer to not break the shrink wrap if there is no point.

If, however, the 6200 is markedly better than the other two cards...bravo!

[Scriber]

I'm waiting for a 6200 to be delivered that I picked up for my Client box connected to a 32" SDTV via Svideo to replace my 5200. Figured its worth $30. If no one else has around here has an opinion, I will in a couple of weeks after I install and use it a bit....

[tvmaster2]

thanks...it looked like a good deal at $50 with a $20 rebate, mainly for the possibilities of HD output

[lovingHDTV]

You can check on the NVIDIA webpage and the explain what the different cards are capable of with regards to HD content and the PureVideo decoder.

I use a 6200 on my client box to drive my projector for HDTV content. It works well. I use the 6200 because it is the best card I can find in a low-profile.

I have no ideas about a comparison with the other cards you list.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Of these three, which one would make the best video card for a Sage HTPC?

I already have the two MSI cards, and picked up the PNY at a sale the other day because it was too cheap to pass up.

From what I can find out on the web, it appears that the 6200 is passive, aka no fan...which is good.

Other than that, would the PNY be superior, as far as S-Video output quality to both the 5200 and 5600 cards?

thanks in advance

6200 is your best bet. It won't necessarily be better for s-video output. s-video is the limiting factor. But 6200 has better support for some of the purevideo features and DirectX 9.

Gerry

[tvmaster2]

So ... S-Video out should be similar to a FX5200 unless you use pure video? Is that the nvidia encoder software? How does that help?
Do you know if the 6200 card has component outputs to improve the NTSC quality beyond S-video?

thanks

[blade]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

So ... S-Video out should be similar to a FX5200 unless you use pure video? Is that the nvidia encoder software? How does that help?
Do you know if the 6200 card has component outputs to improve the NTSC quality beyond S-video?

thanks

Nvidia has named their mpeg2 decoder software "PureVideo" and it works with any video card; however, the 6xxx and above cards have additional hardware features for mpeg2 playback (also called "purevideo") that the 5xxx and lower cards do not. You have to use Nvidia's mpeg2 decoder software to take advantage of the "purevideo" hardware features of the 6xxx and above cards.

The 6200 has a dongle that connects to the s-video jack on the card that allows it to do component out.

[tvmaster2]

so..i assume the component video outputs are a little crisper?
Or is it merely a dongle to allow an S-video quality signal to re-route to component connectors?

[blade]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

so..i assume the component video outputs are a little crisper?
Or is it merely a dongle to allow an S-video quality signal to re-route to component connectors?

If you're going to be using it on a SDTV then the component will be a little better than S-video. If it's for a HDTV there will be a huge difference because component can do 720p or 1080i where as s-video can't.

[tvmaster2]

Thanks for the help so far...I finally had a chance to demo the pny 6200...silly me; I was under the assumption that you could output from both the s-video and component jacks simultaneously.
Sadly, it appears that you can only choose one or the other.
I also thought you could output SDTV through the component jacks, much like a dvd player could.
Apparently not.
You actually have to select HDTV settings to output anything from the component jacks. Bummer.
Is it possible I am doing something wrong, or have a driver problem somewhere?
Finally, if you leave component cables plugged in at the same time as the s-video cable...a strange discoloration happens that resembles some kind of termination.
Has anyone else had these issues before with a Geforce 6200 card?

[doublebogey]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Thanks for the help so far...I finally had a chance to demo the pny 6200...silly me; I was under the assumption that you could output from both the s-video and component jacks simultaneously.
Sadly, it appears that you can only choose one or the other.
I also thought you could output SDTV through the component jacks, much like a dvd player could.
Apparently not.
You actually have to select HDTV settings to output anything from the component jacks. Bummer.
Is it possible I am doing something wrong, or have a driver problem somewhere?
Finally, if you leave component cables plugged in at the same time as the s-video cable...a strange discoloration happens that resembles some kind of termination.
Has anyone else had these issues before with a Geforce 6200 card?

I've used the 6200 in the past. Had component video to my hdtv, and also used the s-video to a different input on the tv. Mostly I used to to play games at 1024x768, and used the component for tv and such. It worked better with the 84.21 drivers, and I would think it would do ok with the newer drivers as well. I never ran into discoloration issues as you've described.

Hope this helps.

Phil

[tvmaster2]

so the dongle was outputting both HDTV and SDTV (via s-video) simultaneously?

do you remember which card and which drivers....if I could get that working I'd be plenty satisfied!

thanks

[doublebogey]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

so the dongle was outputting both HDTV and SDTV (via s-video) simultaneously?

do you remember which card and which drivers....if I could get that working I'd be plenty satisfied!

thanks

It was the Pny GeForce 6200, 128MB. I was using the 84.21 drivers at the time. I had component video from the dongle to the hd input on the tv, and the s-video going to a separate input on the tv for SD signals, but NOT SDTV. I never tried it with that. I only used the S-video signal for Non-Sage stuff. I may have misread what you were trying to do.

P

[tvmaster2]

apparently it IS a driver issue. I downgraded, then upgraded, and voila; the component dongle option appeared in software. sadly, the red channel is not visually accurate, so I guess they are still working out the bugs. One step forward: two steps back.

ha

[Scriber]

FWIW, I finally installed the 6200 replacing my 5200 on my SDTV via Svideo and the PQ seems better..... and a bargain for a Client box.