I am looking at getting a new video card for my HTPC.

I am trying to decide on something that has HDMI, is under $200 and has the most bang for the buck.

While looking at some of these on newegg, I noticed that some descriptions (under streaming processors) have processing units vs processor cores.

What is the difference?

I'm looking at these 4 but if you have another suggesiton, post it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102858

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127490

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130562


[Edited on August 18, 2010 at 12:09 PM. Reason : any help would be appreciated]

8/18/2010 12:07:42 PM

You doing "Home Theater PC" or "Gaming PC that's connected to my TV"?

If the former, all of those are massive overkill. If the latter, any of those 5770's are going to be quite sufficient performance-wise. I'd make the decision based on warranty and support, in case it shits the bed for whatever reason.

8/18/2010 2:22:31 PM

^what he said.

all you need is a 5450 (silent heatsink only card) or equivalent for HD playback for a normal HTPC

[Edited on August 18, 2010 at 2:53 PM. Reason : .]

8/18/2010 2:53:24 PM

under 200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102878&cm_re=radeon_5830-_-14-102-878-_-Product

[Edited on August 18, 2010 at 7:14 PM. Reason : ]

8/18/2010 7:14:31 PM

Well I am not trying to play Crysis or anything but just want a decent video card for light gaming but for mainly HTPC uses.

Feel free to throw some suggestions in there.

[Edited on August 19, 2010 at 10:58 AM. Reason : I mean definitely want to spend less than $200, so by all means suggest some.]

8/19/2010 10:56:02 AM

I'll second Prospero's suggestion of a Radeon 5450.

Specifically, what kind of games are you looking to play here? You may really be able to get away with a card that only costs $50, and still does everything you need to do.

For example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102882

It even comes with the half-height bracket, so you can use it in those nice, small HTPC cases.

8/19/2010 11:02:35 AM

Well nothing more than Starcraft, Diablo, Knights of the Old Republic, etc.

No FPS

I don't want to go too cheap. Cost is not really an issue. I am looking for more quality than anything.

8/19/2010 11:10:58 AM

just keep in mind higher end graphics cards require significant cooling and can be loud if the fan picks up... but if cost is not an issue you might as well go for the best bang for buck card right now and that's the 460

8/19/2010 1:54:34 PM

thats what I've been reading but I think you are right, the 460 might be a bit overkill.


What do you think the best card is for around $100-$150?

8/19/2010 2:11:54 PM

5750 or 5770

[Edited on August 19, 2010 at 2:51 PM. Reason : .]

8/19/2010 2:51:28 PM

No NVidia huh


do you recommend a manufacturer?

I've always liked Gigabyte for a number of things.

[Edited on August 19, 2010 at 3:02 PM. Reason : .]

8/19/2010 2:58:14 PM

what about the 5670?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150467

I've never heard of XFX but I am not into PC gaming much or video cards (as you can tell). The description says they have a limited lifetime warranty.

8/19/2010 3:36:55 PM

XFX makes a decent card - I've used a couple of them and not had any problems. Like I pointed out earlier, the major difference between one card and another is really the warranty (and occasionally the cooling/stability), but the chipsets are still the same.

8/19/2010 4:09:36 PM

well my case has two 120 mm fans and one 90mm fan

however, I definitely don't want anything that is going to make it hot.

[Edited on August 19, 2010 at 4:12 PM. Reason : any recommendations Fender?]

8/19/2010 4:11:49 PM

With fans like that, you're moving a lot of air. I wouldn't worry too much about cooling as long as that circulation is going over the video card. Passive cooling is sufficient for the lower end cards, the higher end ones will generally have fans that vent either into the case or out the back. Obviously it is preferable to vent out the back, but you'll have to see how they do it. Usually the ones that take up two slots are the ones that vent outside the case. If you have one that vents inside like I do in my gaming PC, you can use a cooler that sits in the card slot right beside it and use that to redirect the exhaust from the video card's fan to the outside. I use passive cards in all my other systems.

Cooling is a complicated trade-off between efficiency and noise, and in general GPU fans tend to be loud since they are so small and so fast. Given that this is intended to be primarily for HTPC application, I would still recommend looking for a card with a passive, and therefore quieter, cooling system, but you will have to decide if having a "whiny" card is worth the added performance.

[Edited on August 19, 2010 at 4:46 PM. Reason : .]

8/19/2010 4:44:50 PM

well there's just not an nvidia card that's competitive in that price range

for ATI brands i recommend Sapphire, Gigabyte, ASUS, HIS, XFX those are the ones I've owned

the 5670 is only 400 SPU's, the 5750 is 720 SPU's and only $15-25 more.

[Edited on August 19, 2010 at 5:02 PM. Reason : .]

8/19/2010 5:00:28 PM

This is the mobo that I have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128432

It has an onboard Radeon HD 4200.

If I went with something like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102882

as Fender suggested, would performance improve much?

[Edited on August 19, 2010 at 5:18 PM. Reason : .]

8/19/2010 5:18:36 PM

most certainly. but not so sufficient for gaming. it's your call, is a little noise worth it so you can play games at a decent graphics level, or do you want a silent HTPC for movies. it's kind of one or the other

[Edited on August 19, 2010 at 5:31 PM. Reason : .]

8/19/2010 5:30:47 PM

I want the ability to do gaming in the future...


This is the case I have:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129054&cm_re=antec_htpc-_-11-129-054-_-Product

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-785GMT-USB3 AM3 AMD 785G USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Processor: AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor
Memory: GSkill 4GB DDR3 1600
DVD Drive: Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM

With any substantial upgrade, I will have to get a new power supply as well.

I've been looking at this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152036
RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-730SS 730W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Modular LED Power Supply

I dont think I'll need more than 600W but I figure, since this is on sale, for the same price as most 600W PSUs, then why not.

Thoughts?

[Edited on August 19, 2010 at 5:45 PM. Reason : .]

8/19/2010 5:39:25 PM

bump

8/20/2010 9:48:25 AM

What power supply do you have currently? You might need less than you think.

8/20/2010 11:20:27 AM

Antec 350W

[Edited on August 20, 2010 at 11:26 AM. Reason : most of those vid cards require at least 450W]

8/20/2010 11:25:57 AM

If your video card is pulling 450 watts, you better grab a fire extinguisher. The bus and the aux connector are only rated for 75W each. A *good* 600W supply will serve you better then a mediocre 750W supply, and easily drive anything you could fit into an HTPC case. If you want a gaming PC, build a gaming PC, but there really is no good compromise between that and a HTPC. It's going to be either be good at one and crappy at the other, or just crappy at both.

The only application for a supply bigger than 700W that is if you're driving some huge Crossfire/SLI cards that draw 150W apiece + an OC'd quad and a bunch of fans. "Gaming" component manufacturers sell a bunch of hype when it comes to pushing their obscene "1.21 Jiggawatt N3rdR4ge III XXX Triple-Modular Gaming PSU Crossfire-SLI-Certified Power Supply" and other useless nonsense. Fortunately for you, we're here to try and talk you out of it.

8/20/2010 12:07:48 PM

I like the 1.21 Gigawatt reference there. Good one

What I meant was that most of the graphics cards in teh 5770 range suggest a 450W power supply as the minimum.


Do you think the Raidmax (link above) is a bad buy? Its the same price (bc its on sale) as most of the 600W. I just figured, that my system, overall would need about 550-600W powersupply.

I then used Antec's power supply config tool and it was right in that range as well. I figured the 730W would be more than sufficient if I ever decided to get a better graphics card.

Antec PSU Calculator - http://www.antec.outervision.com/

[Edited on August 20, 2010 at 12:40 PM. Reason : .]

8/20/2010 12:38:18 PM

this one is 80 plus bronze for $10 more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152042

8/20/2010 12:45:08 PM

A 450W is a good enough PSU for a well configured gaming rig, I thought you had seen something about the card itself using 450W. A 550 or 600 supply will give you plenty of headroom in a single CPU/GPU build.

600W is still very generous for any build. You will have a very expensive time maxing out a supply rated for 600W continuously. Neither of the supplies you listed are bad, really. They're just not a brand I have experience with, so I could not recommend them without more experience. Strictly my personal opinion, but I would drop a little extra on a good Antec or Corsair supply. I've been very impressed with the construction quality and reliability of both of those, and their 550W's are <$80. A nice clean, stable 550w of output will work better than an unpredictable or dirty 750W supply unless you are really pulling more than 550W continuously.

8/20/2010 1:38:18 PM

So you think this one would be better?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

8/20/2010 2:09:26 PM

Yep, that one would work very nicely.

8/20/2010 2:34:00 PM

Alright. Thanks for everyone's help.

8/20/2010 2:51:22 PM