HTPC silent graphics card for 1080p

[Slinkie]

Hi Folks,

I have just upgraded my tv to a 42" Full HD TV and I think my HTPC is starting to struggle.

Specs are

Gigabyte matx motherboard with onboard HDMI
Dual core amd processor overclocked to 2.6ghz (I think it is a 4200+)
2gb ram.

It was fine running it on my HDready TV but I think the new higher res is making it struggle a bit.

Thanks

I am looking for a silent gfx card to take some of the work from the CPU. The gfx must have HDMI for vision and sound. What can you recommend? Please note no games will be played on the HTPC it is purely for Bluray/ tv playback.

Thanks

Matt

 

[wolvers]

Your best bet is to wait for the lower end ATI 5xxx series cards to appear.

 

[queamin]

Your best bet is to wait for the lower end ATI 5xxx series cards to appear.

Agreed i think they be out in a week or so well i hope as i might get one i don't need the 5850 at the res i play it.

 

[Zarf]

As far as i know, the radeon 5*** series only offers protected audio path as a benefit over the 4*** series (for HTPC matters anyway), so unless this is important to you you may as well just grab one of these:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-112-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1274

VTX Radeon 4650, £37, Cheapest 4*** series with HDMI out that's in-stock.

 

[Slinkie]

As far as i know, the radeon 5*** series only offers protected audio path as a benefit over the 4*** series (for HTPC matters anyway), so unless this is important to you you may as well just grab one of these:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-112-PC&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1274

VTX Radeon 4650, £37, Cheapest 4*** series with HDMI out that's in-stock.

Any idea as to how loud it would be? I was originally looking for a fanless card. It does look ok though. Can it produce sound as well as video via the HDMI connection? It doesn't mention it in the description

 

[Jakus]

I run an ATI HD 3850 512 with the single slot cooler from the 256mb model, It's pretty much silent, Forget passive unless You have a big case with lots of air flow

What case do You have ?

 

[BubbySoup]

Just replace your motherboard with a 785G based board. It's passive and no need for a graphics card. You can recover some of the costs by selling on your old board.

 

[Slinkie]

My motherboard has onboard HDMI which I don't think can handle the 1080p res. That's why I am looking at a seperate card. I am also going to increase the ram to 4gb.

 

[BubbySoup]

You don't need 4GB of RAM if you are just playing back blu-ray/TV. I only suggested the 785G because it keeps everything simple. Does 1080p through HDMI, it's passive and no need for a graphics card so less power is used/less heat generated.

 

[Zarf]

Any idea as to how loud it would be? I was originally looking for a fanless card. It does look ok though. Can it produce sound as well as video via the HDMI connection? It doesn't mention it in the description

No idea how loud it is i'm afraid, but i've just seen these are in stock now, and are passive.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-191-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1274

Yeah, they will do sound over HDMI - the only thing they won't do is pass the encrypted audio stream straight through to your AV Reciever, it decodes it on the computer.
If your just plugging the HDMI into your TV this makes no difference, you have to be a bit of an audio nut to care.

 

[Skeeter]

I have a half height passvely cooled HD3450 in my HTPC and it does 1080p with no issue at all. Would be even better if my TV properly supported PC mode on HDMI so I could use that with combined sound, but hey ho.

So yeah, any low end passively cooled ATI card will do the job nicely.

 

[pax]

I was going to get one of Sapphire HD 4670 Ultimate 512MB, but ended up with a Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB instead. It is quite quiet, and with the TV on I doubt you'll hear it in a closed case, as I can barely hear it in my Shuttle SP35P2.

4670 should do what you need though.

Pax

 

[Slinkie]

Thanks for all the input but I am a bit confused what to do. I think I will get an extra 2gb of memory to take me to 4gb. I think it'll be better with a bit extra for example when I am recording something and watching a blu ray at the same time.

I was only thinking of getting a gfx card to take some of the strain off my CPU (which is not the fastest to begin with) which I would hope would increase the performance a bit.

I don't mind getting a card with a fan on as long as it is quiet. I don't really want to spend more than £50 on it either. No games will be played on the HTPC, I have an i7 sli'd gtx275 PC for games.

Anymore suggestions as to whether or not a gfx card will help with performance or should I just stick with the onboard HDMI.

My motherboard is this (I think!)

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2926

Thanks

 

[Mr.Fantastic]

I use XFI 4650 1GIG for BluRay/HD playback, idles around mid 30ish load is around high 40 low 50ish, the fan is inaudible which is perfect for a media pc, when playing 1080p bluray films the core is only being used around 20/30% so it can handle them fine.

 

[Shakeel]

what about a 9500 gt?

 

[wiak]

Thanks for all the input but I am a bit confused what to do. I think I will get an extra 2gb of memory to take me to 4gb. I think it'll be better with a bit extra for example when I am recording something and watching a blu ray at the same time.

I was only thinking of getting a gfx card to take some of the strain off my CPU (which is not the fastest to begin with) which I would hope would increase the performance a bit.

I don't mind getting a card with a fan on as long as it is quiet. I don't really want to spend more than £50 on it either. No games will be played on the HTPC, I have an i7 sli'd gtx275 PC for games.

Anymore suggestions as to whether or not a gfx card will help with performance or should I just stick with the onboard HDMI.

My motherboard is this (I think!)

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2926

Thanks

that motherboard will decode blu-ray 1080p, you just need the right software player like TotalMedia Theatre, PowerDVD or Media Player Classic Home Cinema