HTPC... Why Did I Wait So Long

[SCOOTERDOG]

I have not used the remote that comes with MCE However I believe they are all pretty similar.

I will take some pics for you tonight when I get home.

Dr Who is suggesting the ATI cards I think they are fine as I have owned both ATI & Nvidia.

I happen to like the nvidia cards better for DVD playback because of the use of Pure Video Technology. Keep in mind you also need the Pure Video software wich in my case is built into Theatertek. I also use mine for gaming as well and nvidia seems to have the edge here. Although my card is not extremely high end if you look at the benchmark test that have been run against the ATI equivlent the nvidia beats it hands down. Does that mean I am right and he's not...no

it's all a matter of preference and use. For me I went with nvidia.

[DrWho]

Well I'm certainly not up to date on the most recent product offerings, but in the past I've had far superior video quality with ATI...but the better game support by nvdia made be go that route on that last purchase I made (6800 GT). Either way you go, you're still going to get superior performance to any DVD player, especially if you do that upsampling stuff.

[el jopez]

There was a review that compared at the time, the two top offerings between ATI, nVidia and the a reasonably high dollar DVD player. Ill try to dig it up as it was a very enlightening. To spoil it for you though, the researcher came to the conclusion that a high dollar HTPC will now outperform a high dvd player hands down.

[SCOOTERDOG]

I saw that review too. For the last 2 years I have been watching and waiting to get into an HTPC. Now that I finally have I am just amazed at the pq I get from DVD's. The great thing is cpu's and the likes have come down so much in cost you can now build a great HTPC for the cost of a high end dvd player and still come out ahead.

scooter

[tigerwoodKhorns]

How about this one, the XFX Geforce 6800 xtreme:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1828833&Tab=11&NoMapp=0

I want to be able to hook up a projector, a monitor and my TV. I assume that I can use the DVI for a monitor or for a projector.

Is this a good one to go with? I don't want to spend much more than this on a video card.

[redtop]

Guys,

If you are looking for info on quiet components check out SilentPC Review http://www.silentpcreview.com/ I have hung out at the site for 3+ years. They review components based on their "quietness". The reviews and the suggestions on the forums are solid. NO BS allowed. They have reviewed several HTPC cases suitable for "silent running".

I have 3 AMD Athlon64 mid-tower PC's I built with suggestions from the forums. They are cool (as in temp), quiet, and best of all not expensive. Great source of information.

Hope that helps someone looking for info sources...

[SCOOTERDOG]

Go for the 7600 instead for just a few bucks more.

As promised here are some pics. I just happen to have this opened up to install my new cpu cooler.

[SCOOTERDOG]

second pic

[SCOOTERDOG]

last one

[j-malotky]

I run an ATI in my HTPC. At the time I built it (2 years ago) the reviews said the color was better in the ATI. It is the only ATI card I have at this time. I run Nvidia in all my normal PCs.

The only word of warning in running ATI vid cards for HTPC. Download and run the Omega drivers, not the ATI drivers off of the ATI web site. The Omega drivers are much more stable. I have had many issues patching video drivers where they kill something else in my system. Usually they kill FFDshow and conflict the parts of Windows media player that Theatertek uses.

JM

[el jopez]

And I found it. If anyone is interested in a pretty technical perspective on the high end PC cards and dvd players ranging up to $2000 enjoy!

http://www.hardware.info/en-UK/articles/am9nY2pqZA/ATI_and_nVidia_crush_highend_DVD_players/1

Note the hardware reviewed is about a year old, and of course technology keeps improving, especially with the new DX10 cards due out soon.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

And I found it. If anyone is interested in a pretty technical perspective on the high end PC cards and dvd players ranging up to $2000 enjoy!

http://www.hardware.info/en-UK/articles/am9nY2pqZA/ATI_and_nVidia_crush_highend_DVD_players/1

Note the hardware reviewed is about a year old, and of course technology keeps improving, especially with the new DX10 cards due out soon.

They used a pretty expensive card for the update. An Nvidia GeForce 7900 GTX.

Here is what the Nvidia website says:

Extreme HD

Go beyond standard high definition (HD) and experience Extreme High Definition (XHD), the ultimate widescreen, ultra-high-resolution PC experience made possible by NVIDIA® GeForce® graphics processing units (GPUs). XHD has over 4x the picture clarity of native 1080i HD televisions and 2x the picture clarity of 1080p HD televisions on todays hottest PC games.

Seems a little overkill if it has 4 times teh resolution of my TV.

What do they have for about $100 to $150 that works with a Pentium 4?

[el jopez]

This time last year "the" bargain graphics card was the nVidia 6800 GS; the price point with its offerings were unbeatable, even by ATI's standards. Anything above that and below their flagship model should work. Like audio it boils down to what you want. If your not a super gamer I would suggest you go out and purchase a card today, with no real remorse. However, if you do game on PC's, save the money and wait until the new DX 10 cards from ATI and nVidia roll out; it will be a new standard for all PC games from here on out.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

I am having a real hard time finding the Nvidia card that I need on the Tigerdirect website. I was told to get the 7600 in this thread. But NVidia had so many models an dthey all sound like the same. There is a GT, GTX, the seville, and the eldorado.

Please help with a link.

[redtop]

Tiger,

Here's a link to a card I recommend at Newegg... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150170 . It's a 7600 GS. Comes with a double lifetime replacement warranty from the manufacturer. I've got two of them and they work great. Not using in HTPC, but I would in a heartbeat...[] The pros and cons of this card IMO are:

Pros:

Silent - no fan - heasink does require extra space.

Low power usage means low heat, easy to cool passively

Nvidia chipset - good driver support - regular updates

Very sharp, clear screen images

Heatsink design will fit in any standard height HTPC case.

Plenty of horsepower for most of today's games - My son uses one without complaints on many action games on a 1600 x 1200 flat panel monitor.

Great manuafacturer warranty. Can be sold and is still covered under warranty.

SLI card, so you could run two if you wanted and your system board supported it.

Good price/performance - less than $125 for 95% of the performance of the $300 cards.

Did I say silent? Most important feature for a HTPC IMHO.

Cons:

Not top of the line performance. If this is you number one goal, you will have a noisy system. The current 7000 series technology does not allow for both top of the line performance and cool, quiet operation. Actually, it neither did the 6000 series or previous generations. It has has always been a compromise...[]

Does require attention to airflow. You need to have air from your case pulled across any passively cooled card. Just the nature of the beast.

As you might guess, I think the GT, GTX, and all those other fancy names are probably overkill...unless you are some kind of "ultimate" gamer. If that is true you will probably want to wait the DirectX 10 cards anyway.

Good luck in your search...

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Tiger,

Here's a link to a card I recommend at Newegg... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150170 . It's a 7600 GS. Comes with a double lifetime replacement warranty from the manufacturer. I've got two of them and they work great. Not using in HTPC, but I would in a heartbeat...[] The pros and cons of this card IMO are:

Pros:

Silent - no fan - heasink does require extra space.

Low power usage means low heat, easy to cool passively

Nvidia chipset - good driver support - regular updates

Very sharp, clear screen images

Heatsink design will fit in any standard height HTPC case.

Plenty of horsepower for most of today's games - My son uses one without complaints on many action games on a 1600 x 1200 flat panel monitor.

Great manuafacturer warranty. Can be sold and is still covered under warranty.

SLI card, so you could run two if you wanted and your system board supported it.

Good price/performance - less than $125 for 95% of the performance of the $300 cards.

Did I say silent? Most important feature for a HTPC IMHO.

Cons:

Not top of the line performance. If this is you number one goal, you will have a noisy system. The current 7000 series technology does not allow for both top of the line performance and cool, quiet operation. Actually, it neither did the 6000 series or previous generations. It has has always been a compromise...[]

Does require attention to airflow. You need to have air from your case pulled across any passively cooled card. Just the nature of the beast.

As you might guess, I think the GT, GTX, and all those other fancy names are probably overkill...unless you are some kind of "ultimate" gamer. If that is true you will probably want to wait the DirectX 10 cards anyway.

Good luck in your search...

Thanks. Right in my price range. I have not played video games since Nintendo Mario Brothers and I remember the first Pong games.

There are so many variations it will make yoru head spin and I don;t feel like doing teh research.

Thanks again.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Tiger,

Here's a link to a card I recommend at Newegg... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150170 . It's a 7600 GS. Comes with a double lifetime replacement warranty from the manufacturer. I've got two of them and they work great. Not using in HTPC, but I would in a heartbeat...[] The pros and cons of this card IMO are:

Pros:

Silent - no fan - heasink does require extra space.

Low power usage means low heat, easy to cool passively

Nvidia chipset - good driver support - regular updates

Very sharp, clear screen images

Heatsink design will fit in any standard height HTPC case.

Plenty of horsepower for most of today's games - My son uses one without complaints on many action games on a 1600 x 1200 flat panel monitor.

Great manuafacturer warranty. Can be sold and is still covered under warranty.

SLI card, so you could run two if you wanted and your system board supported it.

Good price/performance - less than $125 for 95% of the performance of the $300 cards.

Did I say silent? Most important feature for a HTPC IMHO.

Cons:

Not top of the line performance. If this is you number one goal, you will have a noisy system. The current 7000 series technology does not allow for both top of the line performance and cool, quiet operation. Actually, it neither did the 6000 series or previous generations. It has has always been a compromise...[]

Does require attention to airflow. You need to have air from your case pulled across any passively cooled card. Just the nature of the beast.

As you might guess, I think the GT, GTX, and all those other fancy names are probably overkill...unless you are some kind of "ultimate" gamer. If that is true you will probably want to wait the DirectX 10 cards anyway.

Good luck in your search...

Thanks. Right in my price range. I have not played video games since Nintendo Mario Brothers and I remember the first Pong games.

There are so many variations it will make yoru head spin and I don;t feel like doing teh research.

Thanks again.

By

teh

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Tiger,

Here's a link to a card I recommend at Newegg... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150170 . It's a 7600 GS. Comes with a double lifetime replacement warranty from the manufacturer. I've got two of them and they work great. Not using in HTPC, but I would in a heartbeat...[] The pros and cons of this card IMO are:

Pros:

Silent - no fan - heasink does require extra space.

Low power usage means low heat, easy to cool passively

Nvidia chipset - good driver support - regular updates

Very sharp, clear screen images

Heatsink design will fit in any standard height HTPC case.

Plenty of horsepower for most of today's games - My son uses one without complaints on many action games on a 1600 x 1200 flat panel monitor.

Great manuafacturer warranty. Can be sold and is still covered under warranty.

SLI card, so you could run two if you wanted and your system board supported it.

Good price/performance - less than $125 for 95% of the performance of the $300 cards.

Did I say silent? Most important feature for a HTPC IMHO.

Cons:

Not top of the line performance. If this is you number one goal, you will have a noisy system. The current 7000 series technology does not allow for both top of the line performance and cool, quiet operation. Actually, it neither did the 6000 series or previous generations. It has has always been a compromise...[]

Does require attention to airflow. You need to have air from your case pulled across any passively cooled card. Just the nature of the beast.

As you might guess, I think the GT, GTX, and all those other fancy names are probably overkill...unless you are some kind of "ultimate" gamer. If that is true you will probably want to wait the DirectX 10 cards anyway.

Good luck in your search...

Thanks. Right in my price range. I have not played video games since Nintendo Mario Brothers and I remember the first Pong games.

There are so many variations it will make yoru head spin and I don;t feel like doing teh research.

Thanks again.

By

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Tiger,

Here's a link to a card I recommend at Newegg... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150170 . It's a 7600 GS. Comes with a double lifetime replacement warranty from the manufacturer. I've got two of them and they work great. Not using in HTPC, but I would in a heartbeat...[] The pros and cons of this card IMO are:

Pros:

Silent - no fan - heasink does require extra space.

Low power usage means low heat, easy to cool passively

Nvidia chipset - good driver support - regular updates

Very sharp, clear screen images

Heatsink design will fit in any standard height HTPC case.

Plenty of horsepower for most of today's games - My son uses one without complaints on many action games on a 1600 x 1200 flat panel monitor.

Great manuafacturer warranty. Can be sold and is still covered under warranty.

SLI card, so you could run two if you wanted and your system board supported it.

Good price/performance - less than $125 for 95% of the performance of the $300 cards.

Did I say silent? Most important feature for a HTPC IMHO.

Cons:

Not top of the line performance. If this is you number one goal, you will have a noisy system. The current 7000 series technology does not allow for both top of the line performance and cool, quiet operation. Actually, it neither did the 6000 series or previous generations. It has has always been a compromise...[]

Does require attention to airflow. You need to have air from your case pulled across any passively cooled card. Just the nature of the beast.

As you might guess, I think the GT, GTX, and all those other fancy names are probably overkill...unless you are some kind of "ultimate" gamer. If that is true you will probably want to wait the DirectX 10 cards anyway.

Good luck in your search...

Thanks. Right in my price range. I have not played video games since Nintendo Mario Brothers and I remember the first Pong games.

There are so many variations it will make yoru head spin and I don;t feel like doing teh research.

Thanks again.

By the

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Tiger,

Here's a link to a card I recommend at Newegg... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150170 . It's a 7600 GS. Comes with a double lifetime replacement warranty from the manufacturer. I've got two of them and they work great. Not using in HTPC, but I would in a heartbeat...[] The pros and cons of this card IMO are:

Pros:

Silent - no fan - heasink does require extra space.

Low power usage means low heat, easy to cool passively

Nvidia chipset - good driver support - regular updates

Very sharp, clear screen images

Heatsink design will fit in any standard height HTPC case.

Plenty of horsepower for most of today's games - My son uses one without complaints on many action games on a 1600 x 1200 flat panel monitor.

Great manuafacturer warranty. Can be sold and is still covered under warranty.

SLI card, so you could run two if you wanted and your system board supported it.

Good price/performance - less than $125 for 95% of the performance of the $300 cards.

Did I say silent? Most important feature for a HTPC IMHO.

Cons:

Not top of the line performance. If this is you number one goal, you will have a noisy system. The current 7000 series technology does not allow for both top of the line performance and cool, quiet operation. Actually, it neither did the 6000 series or previous generations. It has has always been a compromise...[]

Does require attention to airflow. You need to have air from your case pulled across any passively cooled card. Just the nature of the beast.

As you might guess, I think the GT, GTX, and all those other fancy names are probably overkill...unless you are some kind of "ultimate" gamer. If that is true you will probably want to wait the DirectX 10 cards anyway.

Good luck in your search...

Thanks. Right in my price range. I have not played video games since Nintendo Mario Brothers and I remember the first Pong games.

There are so many variations it will make yoru head spin and I don;t feel like doing teh research.

Thanks again.

By the

way