Need New Video Card?

[nwboater]

I finally have my HD PVR working with SageTV. Only problem is on HD channels my Clients CPU is maxing out, but is okay on SD. It has been suggested that a video card upgrade from my Geforce 8400 would unload a lot of the work from the CPU. So first question - should it?

I don't need HDMI or SPDIF audio pass through. All audio is being handled with my Asus Essence ST soundcard for 5.1 straight to our amps. TV is a new Panasonic 50" Plasma presently being fed from the DVI out on the 8400 card.

The computer is a Dell GX280, 3.0 Ghz P4 w Hyperthreading running XP SP3. It's power supply is only around 300 watt.

Three of the cards I'm considering are:

1. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...MSI-_-14127523 MSI R5670-PD512 Radeon HD 5670 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card with Eyefinity

2. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814102870 SAPPHIRE 100287L Radeon HD 5670 (Redwood) 512MB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

3. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814134099 ECS NBGTS250E-1GMU-F GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

I'm leaning towards the first card as it's the lowest price. Should all of these cards work more or less equally well in my application, or is there a good reason to consider more expensive ones or any others?

Thank you very much.

Rod

[SWKerr]

Unless you plan to do any gaming I would go with a passively cooled 5570. Sooner or later the fan will start making noise.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161342

I have been very happy with my HD4550 cards and they are only $40 at this point. (Also passively cooled)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102819

I am thinking of replacing a HD4550 with a HD5670 on one machine but that is only for a little better gaming performance. My son has recently started some PC gaming on Steam in addition to the XBOX360. The HD4550 actually does an ok job on most games but struggles at higher resolutions. This is a HTPC so noise is a major concern.

[nwboater]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

Unless you plan to do any gaming I would go with a passively cooled 5570. Sooner or later the fan will start making noise.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161342

I have been very happy with my HD4550 cards and they are only $40 at this point. (Also passively cooled)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102819

I am thinking of replacing a HD4550 with a HD5670 on one machine but that is only for a little better gaming performance. My son has recently started some PC gaming on Steam in addition to the XBOX360. The HD4550 actually does an ok job on most games but struggles at higher resolutions. This is a HTPC so noise is a major concern.

Thanks very much for your card suggestions. If I do end up needing a new card your recommendations make sense. And especially about not using a fan in a HTPC. And no , I don't do any gaming. This PC is just for HTPC duties.

I'm finding that Hardware Acceleration is probably not working with our card and that's probably why I have such high CPU usage.

I've started a new thread in this Hardware Forum about Hardware Acceleration with HD PVRs and the Arcsoft Decoders. It's here http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51797 Perhaps you might have some ideas about it?

Thanks for your help.

Rod

[Polypro]

GT430 The Gigabyte one is silent, despite 2 fans (I use it), but there is a passive version. It's future proof as it bitstreams all HD audio to a receiver (with ffdshow helping).

P

[nwboater]

Polypro - Thanks for the card recommendation. I'll sure keep it mind if I need to upgrade later. I'm not bitstreaming to an AVR, just going to an onboard 5.1 soundcard.

As I mentioned in my thread about Hardware Acceleration and HDPVR in this forum I have found that using the MPC-HC Player on an HD file that my CPU runs 8-12%. So it's telling me that my card is capable of running HA and decently playing HD files on my old P4. It just seems that the Arcsoft Decoders are not enabling HA.

Several people have recommended upgrading to Win 7 and using the Microsoft DTV/DVD Decoders. They say it 'Just works'. So tomorrow I'm going to order Win 7. Hopefully those decoders will enable HA on my card and life will be good. Dream on, eh!

Rod