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| GPU for Media Center http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10647 |
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| Author: | didgeman [ Mon Sep 20, 2010 10:13 am ] |
| Post subject: | GPU for Media Center |
I am looking for a passive graphics card for my media center PC- mainly so i can utilise the HDMI input on my panasonic plasma. Its been a long time since I bought a graphics card and TBH I don't recognise some of the brands available. I have pretty much decided a radeon 5450 card will do the job and i obviously want to pay as little as possible. I don't game at all on this PC but i do want to be able to decode bluray. (processor is an amd 3600+ dual core - barton i think .. OS is W7 home premium). So, bearing all this in mind, do i buy the cheapest i can find : http://www.ebuyer.com/product/191533 a make i have never heard of and with iffy reviews or do i go for a make i have heard of such as Sapphire or Powercolor and pay a bit more, OR do i go or a different card altogether. Thanks Didge. |
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| Author: | Spreadie [ Mon Sep 20, 2010 11:48 am ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center | |||||||||
XFX are a very well known make, but focus more on the mid to high range products, so perhaps they don't have as much exposure further down the range. Regardless, that card looks like a reference design and is probably almost identical to others produced by Powercolor or Sapphire. |
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| Author: | didgeman [ Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center |
Thanks Spreadie. As i said it is a while since i looked at GPUs. The last one i bought was an ati 9700pro and before that a voodoo2. I tend to use macs these days. Didge |
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| Author: | okenobi [ Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:37 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center |
That will be fine. A 4350 does that for me with a 64bit Athlon, rather than Barton, but still ample. They're all much of a muchness at £30ish. |
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| Author: | Spreadie [ Mon Sep 20, 2010 1:05 pm ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center | |||||||||
If one card is a lot cheaper than other similar models, compare the memory type and bandwidth in the specs. The old trick was to offer more memory of a slower type and a narrow pipe, to fool people into thinking they're getting a bargain. As James says, they're all roughly the same, and you don't need a lot of power, so might not make a lot of difference anyway. |
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| Author: | didgeman [ Mon Sep 20, 2010 2:51 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center |
Thanks guys. Looks like i am on the right track! Didge |
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| Author: | saspro [ Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:45 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center |
Any 5450 will be fine. The 5450 handles HDAUDIO as well for bluray |
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| Author: | didgeman [ Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:52 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center |
Excellent so 5450 ordered. Next .. have been given a Bluray drive, what software do i need to play movies from within the media center environment? TIA for the help, I am such a W7 novice .. Didge |
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| Author: | okenobi [ Wed Sep 22, 2010 9:56 am ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center | |||||||||
That's a Sas question! Sorry 
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| Author: | saspro [ Wed Sep 22, 2010 10:28 am ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center | |||||||||
Arcsoft Total Media Theatre. |
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| Author: | didgeman [ Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:32 am ] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center | ||||||||||||||||||
Thanks Saspro .. $90 .. not the cheapest plug in then .. I'm starting to think a stand alone Bluray would have been cheaper & easier despite being given the actual drive! Didge |
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| Author: | saspro [ Thu Sep 23, 2010 9:08 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center |
Apparently powerdvd also has a plugin but it's as flakey as anything |
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| Author: | JJW009 [ Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:15 am ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center | |||||||||
Does MPC not play Blu Ray? That's free. http://mpc-hc.sourceforge.net/History.html
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| Author: | didgeman [ Thu Sep 23, 2010 10:42 am ] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center | ||||||||||||||||||
Hmm, it certainly refers to BD support but looks like the WAF is close to zero! I'm prepared to pay to get this thing going but i just think asking $90 is a bit much .. I'm now hunting for discounts on this .. looks like it can be bought from NewEgg if you are on the other side of the pond and prepared to download for $59 which seems much more reasonable. Thanks Saspro for the alternative software .. again buggy software leads to ear ache so i'd rather get the more reliable stuff. Out of interest, I see from other posts that you run a number of media pcs .. do you have bluray support on them? Is it reliable? Didge |
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| Author: | saspro [ Thu Sep 23, 2010 11:04 am ] | |||||||||
| Post subject: | Re: GPU for Media Center | |||||||||
I have bluray on them all. Using arcsoft integrated in to WMC. Works like a charm. Every so often I need to update the arcsoft but it tells me when I fire it up. It passes all the tests the wife has set for usability. |
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