video card question

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steakman1971

2[H]4U
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Nov 22, 2005
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Over Xmas, I put my HD TV on the wall in my family room and ran 2 HDMI and some composite cables down the wall to my basement. My goal was to have the TV with no visible wires or components in the family room. This has been working OK so far.
So, my "HTPC" is in the basement where noise and heat are not an issue for me. I just wanted to explain my situation before getting some advice about possibly upgrading my card.

I've had to drop my resolution to 720p - things being to stutter a lot when I move up to 1080p. I'm guessing this is my current graphics I'm using.

Current system: Gigabyte GA-MA785GPM-UD2H, 2GB DDR2 ram, Athlon II 620 (not overclocked), using integrated ATI graphics, Vista (32 bit).

Any advice on a lower cost video card (hoping to stay under $100) with HDMI out? This system will not be used to play any games - just watching video (Boxee, Amazon, iTunes, Hulu, etc). I will likely get a BluRay for this in the near future as well.
 
The onboard video should be able to handle 1080p with ease. How long is the HDMI cable you ran to your basement? Anything over 50 feet will require a signal booster.

If you are dead set on a new card then you can get a ATI 4350 to a 4670 for under a $100 if you really want to get a new vid card. I would wait a bit though and get a ATI 5500 series or 5400 series coming out next month. They can handle DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD (7.1 audio) and should fall under your budget.
 
ejlamb said:
The onboard video should be able to handle 1080p with ease. How long is the HDMI cable you ran to your basement? Anything over 50 feet will require a signal booster.

If you are dead set on a new card then you can get a ATI 4350 to a 4670 for under a $100 if you really want to get a new vid card. I would wait a bit though and get a ATI 5500 series or 5400 series coming out next month. They can handle DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD (7.1 audio) and should fall under your budget.
Click to expand...

This would be my advice as well.
 
My HDMI cables are 40'. I had not considered checking into a booster.

I'm find using the integrated graphics as I don't play games on that system. Any recommendations on a booster (if that is what I need)?
 
If the video signal transmits just fine then you don't need a signal booster.
 
I was using my 2600xt with a 50' hdmi cable, no issues.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
Do you have that cable running close to any power wires, especially Romex.

delvryboy said:
I was using my 2600xt with a 50' hdmi cable, no issues.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
Click to expand...

Interference is a fickle bitch. Just because it works fine for you doesn't mean it does everywhere.
 
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