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Recommend a video card please :)

B

bassballboy

Gawd
Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Messages
526
I'm building a computer for a roommate and I'm lost as to which video card to get him, here's what the plan is thus far (not sure on the PSU either):

i5-750
Gigabyte P55
WD black 640gb hd
4gb DDR3


He's more of a console gamer, but would like to be able to play Starcraft 2 when it comes out. According to this page he should be ok with even the 5670, but I still want to get him the most bang for his buck.
http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/starcraft_ii_wings_of_liberty_beta_performance,4.html

The biggest limitation is that he wants it to do audio over HDMI, this is a must (no pass throughs, wants the audio to be carried over the hdmi).


I was at first looking at a 4770, but not I'm possibly looking at the 9800GT's since they're in the $80 range. The question with those is, do they carry the audio over HDMI? I thought only Ati cards did.
 
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I believe, and someone correct me if I'm wrong....only the ATI 5xxx series carries the hi def audio over HDMI. So the 5670 would be a good choice.
 
4x series can carry adio over hdmi and shows up as an audio choice in windows just not all of the formats
 
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dadi38 said:
I believe, and someone correct me if I'm wrong....only the ATI 5xxx series carries the hi def audio over HDMI. So the 5670 would be a good choice.
Click to expand...
I believe that was available since the 2XXX or 3XXX series.
 
bassballboy said:
I was at first looking at a 4770, but not I'm possibly looking at the 9800GT's since they're in the $80 range. The question with those is, do they carry the audio over HDMI? I thought only Ati cards did.
Click to expand...

The only Nvidia cards that support audio via HDMI are the GT 220 and GT 240 cards. ATI's HD 4xxx series cards support 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI while ATI's HD 5xxx series supports bit-streamed audio via HDMI. Bitstreamed audio is better than the 7.1 LPCM audio.

First and foremost:
What's the max resolution of your roommate's monitor?
 
Danny Bui said:
The only Nvidia cards that support audio via HDMI are the GT 220 and GT 240 cards. ATI's HD 4xxx series cards support 7.1 LPCM audio via HDMI while ATI's HD 5xxx series supports bit-streamed audio via HDMI. Bitstreamed audio is better than the 7.1 LPCM audio.

First and foremost:
What's the max resolution of your roommate's monitor?
Click to expand...


Depends if he plays it on his TV or his monitor, let's go with the TV since it's higher: 1920x1080.


I'd like to stay at $100 or less, the 5750's seem vastly overpriced to me at this point: maybe if they were in the $115 range. At $140 they don't offer a very good price/performance level.

I was looking at this card, but I don't think it does audio:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150369&cm_re=4770-_-14-150-369-_-Product
 
i suppose you want to finish with this build and forget it...otherwise i'd wait for a good deal.

last month i got my 4770 for $62 on slickdeals...pretty nice! it is a 40 nm process so it is power efficient and runs cool at idle. carries audio with hdmi adapter. performs better and much better bang for the buck than nvidia's 9800 GT (which is what was originally in my price range until the sale).

i'm not recommending a 5770 because there should be a price drop for it. i won't go anything stronger than it because your friend seems to be a casual gamer.

for the past few weeks there have been no decent deals. let's see if the fermi launch changes that...
 
Danny Bui said:
Bitstreamed audio is better than the 7.1 LPCM audio.
Click to expand...

Only a pure audioholic is going to tell the difference between bit-stream and PCM. If you send bitstream from the audio source player(computer, dvd player, bd player, etc..) to your playback device (surround reciever, tv, all in one deal, etc...), the playback device just converts it to PCM instead of it being converted at the audio source player. There really is no loss of quality unless the source device takes the original and cuts it down from 7.1 to 5.1...although im not sure if any device actually does that.

Regardless of where the conversion happens, the sound you hear out of your speakers is always from PCM. I've never heard a difference with my mid range audio gear but maybe if your in the super high end expensive stuff there is a differance...but not with my busted ass ears, lol.

The only Nvidia cards that support audio via HDMI are the GT 220 and GT 240 cards
Click to expand...

Nvidia's cards will pass audio over HDMI using the jumper cable starting with the 8xxx series i believe...but ive heard they will only pass 2.1, have to ask someone smarter then me for that one.
 
bassballboy said:
bingo, that's what I'm saying. It doesn't say anything about a dvi->hdmi converter or anything like most do that can do audio... If it does I'll have him snag it for sure.
Click to expand...

Yes, all 4 series card does Audio from DVI -> Genuine ATi HDMI adapter.
 
USMCGrunt said:
Nvidia's cards will pass audio over HDMI using the jumper cable starting with the 8xxx series i believe...but ive heard they will only pass 2.1, have to ask someone smarter then me for that one.
Click to expand...

My previous 2 NV cards were a 8800GTS and a GTX295. AFAICR the 8800GTS doesn't have any audio passthrough for HDMI. Heck, it doesn't even have a native HDMI port (you need to use a DVI -> HDMI adapter). The 295 though has a HDMI port (AFAIK the first NV cards with native HDMI ports were the 9800GX2). Anyway you get a cable and you connect one end to the video card (near the PCI-E power connectors) and the other end to the SPDIF FP port on your mobo/sound card.
 
bassballboy said:
...............................
He's more of a console gamer, but would like to be able to play Starcraft 2 when it comes out.
Click to expand...

Minimum I would recommend is a 5770. More would be better if at all possible but its a big jump to the 5850 in price I cant recommend the 5830 at its present price.
 
rUmX said:
My previous 2 NV cards were a 8800GTS and a GTX295. AFAICR the 8800GTS doesn't have any audio passthrough for HDMI. Heck, it doesn't even have a native HDMI port (you need to use a DVI -> HDMI adapter). The 295 though has a HDMI port (AFAIK the first NV cards with native HDMI ports were the 9800GX2). Anyway you get a cable and you connect one end to the video card (near the PCI-E power connectors) and the other end to the SPDIF FP port on your mobo/sound card.
Click to expand...

hmmm...coulda sworn the 8800GT had the audio passthrough cable on the board just like the 200 series...your probably right though. The 260 I know for sure (cause I have 2 running now) can pass it through using a DVI->HDMI cable or adapter.
 
So either way, to be safe with NV cards I'd want to go with a 2xx series card.

Looking at the XFX 4770 it says on tigerdirect that it comes with the dvi -> hdmi connector.... So it should be good I'd presume.
 
I don't understand why nvidia doesn't allow full 7.1 passthrough, I don't imagine it would require much would it?
 
USMCGrunt said:
I don't understand why nvidia doesn't allow full 7.1 passthrough, I don't imagine it would require much would it?
Click to expand...

Nvidia does provide 7.1 LPC audio. But only with their newer GT 210 and GT 220 cards as well as the onboard video of Nvidia's 8200. 8300, 9300, and 9400 chipsets.
 
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