Best Video Card for 200 or less

T

TooncesLives

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 11, 2005
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Here's the deal. I have a $150 credit from Dell that I have to use up by the end of the month. I'm planning on building a new HTPC soon, and right now the big item that I'm lacking is a decent video card. So since I have this credit, and I don't need anything else, I want to put it toward a video card. That being said, can someone recommend me a decent video card for my use from dell? I want to keep it around 150-250 bucks (don't want to have to put too much of my money towards it). I'll go PCI-Express since I'm going to put it in a new system. My uses are below. Any advice or suggestions would be great!

My HTPC is used for watching DVDs and watching/recording tv. I don't do any gaming on it, and never will (not a gamer). Getting the best quality out of these activities is what I'm after. I plan on getting a high definition set prior to building my new rig, so I might do some web browsing on it, but it isn't going to be a priority of mine. I want to get a set capable of 1080p...hopefully I'll find a deal around Thanksgiving! Having the best quality digital signal between the set and the pc is what I want.

For my analog tuners I have a PVR-500, and a Fusion HD tuner. Since I want to try to keep this as a small form factor box, I'll have to find a motherboard with decent audio on it. I was initially thinking of getting a board capable of the video I want, but since getting this credit I've second guessed that idea. My audio setup right now is a kind of cheap Philips 5.1 setup, but you never know when you'll upgrade :) I'd like to get something with 7.1 if possible.

My OS is Windows MCE. Since I work at a state instituation, I can license it for 13 bucks, so that's why I'm sticking with it (plus it does everything I want very painlessly). Once Vista is finally out in all it's "glory" I'll probably upgrade. So getting something that can run Aero would be ideal (256mb).

Well, that's a big run down of how I use the system and what I'm looking for. If you can suggest a vide card, let me know :) I know I've started quite a few question threads on this kind of stuff, but now that I have some extra cash flow, I'm ready to get this thing going!
 
Check out the chart at the top here: http://www.nvidia.com/page/purevideo_support.html

You'll probably want either of these for their full list of HDTV features:

7900 GTX GeForce
7900 GT GeForce
7800 GTX 512 GeForce
7800 GTX GeForce
7800 GT GeForce
7600 GT

Looks like you might be getting a 7600 GT or the 7600 GT KO (not sure what the differences are(?): http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...n&s=dhs&~ck=anav&category_id=6348&sort=-price

You may want to get your hands on a dell coupon to drop the price even further, They're easily found on ebay for around $1, do a search for "dell coupons" or dell coupon codes" there. Or perhaps google will turn up some results...
 
If you don't want to game, a 7300 series will be plenty. Just don't get the really crippled low-end versions. The 7600 would be on the same level as the 7300 for HTPC use, but with a bit more heat/noise to think about.
 
IanG said:
If you don't want to game, a 7300 series will be plenty. Just don't get the really crippled low-end versions. The 7600 would be on the same level as the 7300 for HTPC use, but with a bit more heat/noise to think about.
Click to expand...
As per the chart i linked above the 7300 is missing a feature or two such as inverse tecline etc. I forget what it does exactly but the veterans here have described it as either useful or necessary (?)
 
Thanks for all the fast replies. Dell apparently has cards not listed on their website, so the rep I'm working with is going to see what all is really available. I'll keep you posted on what my options are.
 
IanG said:
If you don't want to game, a 7300 series will be plenty. Just don't get the really crippled low-end versions. The 7600 would be on the same level as the 7300 for HTPC use, but with a bit more heat/noise to think about.
Click to expand...



I 2nd this! Plus it looks like they are coming out with a 7300GT with AGP! For under $100!
 
SJetski71 said:
As per the chart i linked above the 7300 is missing a feature or two such as inverse tecline etc. I forget what it does exactly but the veterans here have described it as either useful or necessary (?)
Click to expand...
If you're doing HD then yes you'd want a card that supports them since not even a lot of HD TVs can do those two things very well at 1080p.

If you want full Purevideo support then get a 7600GT (the KO series is Evga's overclocked cards) but honestly for the sake of future proofing yourself I wouldn't buy a video card in this price range for an HTPC if it didn't include HDCP.

If you're using it with something less then a 720p set then a 7300GS (I would go with the GT here) or a 7600GS (if it was passive) would be just fine.

Personally I would use that money on a moniter or something but I guess thats just my needs getting in the way (using an old CRT with limited desk space :( ).
 
Can someone explain the benefits of HDCP to me in this situation? From what I'm seeing, it looks like content providers won't be implementing this until 2010. Is this something that comes into play with blueray and hd dvds then?
 
TooncesLives said:
Can someone explain the benefits of HDCP to me in this situation? From what I'm seeing, it looks like content providers won't be implementing this until 2010. Is this something that comes into play with blueray and hd dvds then?
Click to expand...
Thats for analog out, HDCP is already working. It's needed for next gen DVD formats and Vista will make it a requirement as well.
 
Umm, what?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP

"HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc players will allow content providers to set an Image Constraint Token (ICT) flag that will only output full-resolution signals using HDCP. If such a player is connected to a non-HDCP-enabled television set and the content is flagged, the player will output a downsampled 960x540p signal. Most high-definition television sets currently in use in the United States are not HDCP-capable, and this would initially negate some of the key benefits of HD-DVD and Blu-ray for those consumers. Movie studios are apparently in agreement to not include the ICT flag on any HD DVDs or Blu-ray Discs until at least 2010, or possibly even 2012.[1]"
 
Yes, thats the ICT. That doesn't mean that, for PCs atleast, HDCP isn't there and checking for HDCP (which it is).
 
So what are you saying? If HDCP isn't there, it won't play the content at all? It seems like they've made a decision not to exclude people without HDCP because almost no one in the general public has it.
 
Yes it won't play. Thumb through the newest Maxium PC mag, it's about building your own HTPC. On page 76 Gordon Mah Ung talks about his experience playing around with the Blue-Ray drive they have for review, in short it was kind of annoying and yeah you need an HDCP video card, moniter AND HDCP enabled drivers for it too work even though theres no ICT enabled (which as I said already only applies to analog out, HDCP is to make sure theres nothing inbetween the digital connections).
 
So are they just playing it safe cause it's a PC? Hackers will always find a way around these piracy protection schemes, seems kind of pointless and annoying, especially when the movie industry isn't pushing to enable this ICT flag for a while.
 
From what I can find, I'm guessing a 7600GT would probably be about the best I can do from Dell. Can anyone confirm if these models are HDCP capable? From what I can find, some models of the 7600's are, and some aren't. I'm also curious about the noise these make. I know there are some people trying to put aftermarket coolers/silencers on them, but I don't see much that is made specifically for the 7600.

http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&c=us&l=en&cs=&cat=prod&k=7600
 
TooncesLives said:
I know there are some people trying to put aftermarket coolers/silencers on them, but I don't see much that is made specifically for the 7600.
Click to expand...
Why would they? The PCB for the 7600 series is the same PCB for the 6600 series so any cooler that will work on a 6600GT will work on a 7600GT.

Also, non of those cards support HDCP. Evga's 7900GS KO does but I don't see that one listed on Dell's site.
 
The MSI 7600GT has HDCP support

MSI NX7600GT-VT2D256EHD
MSI NX7900GT-VT2D256E-HD

The Saphire x1600 Pro
Sapphire X1600 Pro HDMI (model# 100167L)

and the Asus
ASUS EN7600GT/HTDI/256MB

None of which I see carried by Dell.
 
Thanks for the help with all of this. If you can't tell, I have a lot to learn about video cards. It looks like I'll be spending a lot more money than I want to if I get an HDCP capable card from Dell. Thanks for the list of the 7600's that do support it...also for letting me know that the other coolers/silencers for 6600's will work. Hopefully I'll figure out what I want to do by tomorrow so I can get this ordered up!
 
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