HTPC Client - Video card options

[sixdoubleo]

I'm looking to update my HTPC with a MB, CPU, RAM, and Video. I will be using it for SageTVClient SD and HD content. Theatertek, Meedio. That's about it. No games or anything.

What is the best choice for video card here? I understand that essentially my options are 2400, 2600, 8500, 8600.

I've done a lot of research here and AVSForum and I know these cards have strengths and weaknesses that probably matter more if I were gaming....but in terms of simply viewing HD content, which one gets the job done silently, with the least amount of heat? Would any of them be OK? In which case maybe I'd just go for the cheapest, quietest one.

In terms of viewing HD content is there any benefit of the 2600 over the 2400...or the 8600 over the 8500?

If there really isn't a benefit with HD content, I am leaning towards this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102100

Also, does anybody have opinions on the Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H motherboard with on-board video? Many at AVSForum love this board but I can't tell if they're using it for HD content. Doesn't seem like it'd have the oomph for that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128056

[Djc208]

Considering my Sage system's specs I don't think the Gigabyte board would be too bad. I'm using an nVidia 6200LE for playback and while HD isn't perfect (fast motion get's a little jittery) it's usually fine. A dual core CPU and 2GB of RAM and I think it would be a fine client and the HDMI connection is icing on the cake.
The big advantage of the 2000/8000 series is their HD decoding ability. If this is something you want or will want then I'd go for the separate video card. However I'd look higher than a 2400, check out this article.
HD Video Decode Quality and Performance Summer '07
It's a little old, drivers may have helped some of this, but it looks like the low end of these series just don't have the power to really do onboard h.264 decoding. I'd also make sure that it supports HDCP, right now it hasn't been required for HD movie playback but that could change.

[reggie14]

Well, I've had some problems getting HD working well consistently with a 6600GT. That card is a little slow for gaming, so I've been thinking about upgrading it. I think I'm going to get an HD 2600XT, since they're only about $100. My last non-Nvidia card was a Matrox G400 Max (I loved that card!), which was a while ago. I'm going to give ATI a try, especially since 2600s are pretty cheap right now.

Unless you're really strapped for cash I think you should avoid integrated graphics. I'd probably get a 2600 Pro if I were you. It might be a bit overkill, but it sounds like some people are having problems with HD on the 2400. Also, I read a lot of complaints about overheating on the passively cooled cards on Newegg.

Something like might work better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121087

[stanger89]

The benchmarks/tests I've seen have shown the 8600/2600 to have better deinterlacing/post processing than their "weaker" siblings.

[sixdoubleo]

Thank you for the opinions. I wasn't necessarily considering the integrated as I'm not really a big fan of them (except for servers)...but that board gets a lot of recommendations over at AVS, so I thought I'd ask what the deal was with it.

Anyway, I went ahead and placed my order...

I went for the Sapphire 100218L Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB. Several people over at AVS have this card and gave it the thumbs up. Reports are that it is really quiet.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102703

While I'm at it, I'll go ahead and list the rest of the hardware I got just for grins.

Motherboard - ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 - I have another one of these and it's rock solid, so I figured it was a safe choice. I almost got Gigabytes nForce 570 board (for about $40 less) but thought I'd stick with what I know.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131013

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Brisbane 2.7GHz - I went with the fastest of the lower power consumption cores in hopes of keeping case temperatures down.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103210

RAM - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - Again, not the fastest or cheapest, but I run this RAM in two other boxes and it's pretty solid.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145034

HD - SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache - I use these drives in just about everything I have. Very quiet and reliable.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152052

P/S - CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX ATX12V V2.2 450W - I have one of these in my development box that I leave on 24/7. Can't even hear it. It was also highly recommended over at quietpc.com
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139003


And for what it's worth, I chose AMD simply because my house is an "AMD shop". I recognize that for sheer performance, Intel is the leader, but I got into AMD's about 10 years ago and am fairly invested into the AM2 platform. All my other systems are AMD, and the systems I build for clients are usually AMD. I like knowing that if something fails, I can yank a motherboard or CPU out of another system that I have lying around.

And obviously, most of my choices were selected simply because I have used them before in other systems.

I'll report back once I get it all put together. Feel free to comment/tell me what I SHOULDA got!

[Djc208]

Originally Posted by reggie14

Well, I've had some problems getting HD working well consistently with a 6600GT. That card is a little slow for gaming, so I've been thinking about upgrading it. I think I'm going to get an HD 2600XT, since they're only about $100. My last non-Nvidia card was a Matrox G400 Max (I loved that card!), which was a while ago. I'm going to give ATI a try, especially since 2600s are pretty cheap right now.

If you're using the machine for gaming I'd suggest waiting another month or so if you can. The 2600/8600 were pretty far removed from their high end counterparts and not much faster than the cards they replaced or high end cards from the previous generation in most cases.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3023&p=5

Plus with the 8800GT and 3850/3870 hitting the streets the whole video card market is drastically changed. The prices aren't bad for the 2600/8600 but that's because they're only weeks from being obsolete as ATI and nVidia fill out the rest of the line.

[reggie14]

Well, pretty much the only graphics intensive games I play are HL2 and TF2. It looks like the 2600XT and 8600GT are fast enough for that. I only have an X2 3800 in this box, so I imagine I'm guessing I'm going to be reaching the limits of my CPU. Mainly whatever video card I get is only meant tide me over for 6 months or so when I build a new PC (at which point my current desktop will replace my current Sage server).

I'm not in a big hurry to upgrade the card though. I'm perfectly willing to wait a month or two, but I'm not going to spend much more than $100. Is waiting until January really going to get me something significantly better for $100?

[Djc208]

Originally Posted by reggie14

I'm not in a big hurry to upgrade the card though. I'm perfectly willing to wait a month or two, but I'm not going to spend much more than $100. Is waiting until January really going to get me something significantly better for $100?

It would probably work fine to tide you over, I don't know that January will bring a big enough change for the short period of time you're looking to use the card for gaming.
From the articles I linked I would expect to see the new versions of the 2600/8600 hit the streets around that time frame, and given the price points of the 8800GT and 3800s they're going to have to put them at about $100~$150 or so. Both of these chips are basically just die shrinks of the current generation, and the 2600/8600 left some large gaps in the linup, so hopefully you'll see smaller, cooler running cards with performance that's between the 2600 and the 3800 for about the same price as now.

If you plan on dumping the system in 6 months I probably wouldn't worry about it waiting, a pasivly cooled 2600 would be grate for an HD HTPC and let you play some games pretty well till then.