AIW 9700 or 9800 for a HTPC

[BlakkIce]

im building a HTPC that i want to view TV and DVD's on, i have a HD tv and i want to view HD broadcast which one of these cards is better for that, the only thing i will be doing with my HTPC is Watching DVD's, PVR, and MP3's but i need a good video card

 

[chocoruacal]

Either one will be overkill. If you insist though...I think they answer is as simple as....get whichever one you can afford. Anything from a Rad 7000/Gf2 up will be perfectly fine for DVD playback.

 

[tkdkid]

I remember reading that for some reason geforce3 cards had really great tv out.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: tkdkid
I remember reading that for some reason geforce3 cards had really great tv out.

Nvidia cards don't support HD output. If he has an HDTV theres absolutly no use for an Nvidia card. Personally I use a Radeon 8500 and It's awesome.

You need to purchase the HD Dongle adapter for the VC if you plan on outputting component.

 

[txxxx]

Originally posted by: tkdkid
I remember reading that for some reason geforce3 cards had really great tv out.

Yeah I agree, there quite good. So are Geforce4's Ti's. Well my Inno3D Connexant based is quite nice.

I know there's a review going around about TV output chips and review's, although looks like a google time.

 

[bluemax]

When it comes to TV-out quality you have to be picky.
SOME nVidia cards have excellent TV, some suck green hot dogs. :disgust:

You should check for exactly what TV chip is onboard (usually Philips or Conexant) and look it up to see how it fares.
It's usually safe to go with ATI and the Rage Theater chip... there's even a few new cards using the brand new Rage Theatre 200 chip which is supposed to be AWESOME! (Radeon AIW VE PCI, Radone AIW 9000, *Radeon 9600/9800??)
[* not certain if these cards have it... the AIW 9800 will, but lower-end cards may or may not.]

I know ATI has the component video outs... for quality you can't beat that unless you're using a VGA cable! It's much better than S-video or composite RCA.

 

[Lyfer]

You can get a Radeon 8500/9000 AIW for cheap if you don't plan to game alot.

 

[rbV5]

Nvidia cards don't support HD output. If he has an HDTV theres absolutly no use for an Nvidia card

That is simply untrue. There are many Digital sets that support VGA and/or DVI high bandwidth connections making NV cards perfect for HTPC setups. Nvidia cards support HD formats and custom resolutions and timings, and even TV-tool for analog output, right up there with the best cards depending on your setup.

Got to AVSForum for the "real" facts concerning HT and HTPC setups. You already have the display, so make sure you match it with the components that give you the functionality you want.

 

[tart666]

don't forget about power. In HTPC application, an extra-loud fan could be a deal-breaker. 9800Pro dissipates ~10W more than 9700Pro and 40W more than a GF4MX. Heck, you can get a fanless GF4MX personal cinema 2 (with an RF remote), but with a 9800/9700 you are stuck with a whiny fan.

I would try 9700, perhaps the fan will be quieter...

 

[bluemax]

True... if you're not gaming, a fanless Radeon 9000 would sure be nice, too!

And if you ARE gaming, the Radeon 9600 runs nice and cool! There are some without fans, just heatsinks - or you could mod it yourself. Lots of 9600 Pro owners are simply unplugging the fans and running at stock speed or a touch slower. By far the fastest FANLESS solution you can get!

But there's no 9600 AIW... you'd need a seperate TV card which I still think is a good idea, even in a HTPC.
Even if you're not gaming, in which case a TV card + onboard video (if TV is decent) or a cheap PCI or AGP card would do.

Here's another thing... in a HTPC like the ASUS Pundit, you don't get an AGP slot, only 2x PCI.
In such case, the Radeon AIW VE PCI is a super, super deal. It has the awesome TV quality, great TV tuner, PCI, and some half-way decent gaming capability.
Did I mention the awesome visual quality? Maybe not for Doom3, but for movies, DVD and TV it's touch to beat - especially for that price!

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: rbV5

Nvidia cards don't support HD output. If he has an HDTV theres absolutly no use for an Nvidia card

That is simply untrue. There are many Digital sets that support VGA and/or DVI high bandwidth connections making NV cards perfect for HTPC setups. Nvidia cards support HD formats and custom resolutions and timings, and even TV-tool for analog output, right up there with the best cards depending on your setup.

Got to AVSForum for the "real" facts concerning HT and HTPC setups. You already have the display, so make sure you match it with the components that give you the functionality you want.

Well the majority of RPTV and Tube HDTV's don't have DVI. In any case, Component is the industry standard for HD connection from receivers and such. Hence Nvidia has no component dongle that i've seen.

It's true some newer Digitals coming out have DVI, but still the majority of people don't have this if they've already purchased.

Most people on hometheaterspot.com (where i'm a member) use ATI cards and it's considered the standard for HTPC's. I'm not sure about other forums.

 

[rbV5]

Well the majority of RPTV and Tube HDTV's don't have DVI.

The majority of HD displays have multiple connections including high bandwidth such as RGB, BNC, VGA, DVI, firewire and Component inputs and/or low bandwidth connections like composite (RCA), s-video and component (low bandwidth). I think you'll find most of the higher end, latest models do, in fact include HDCP enabled DVI or the ability to upgrade to DVI (mine however, does not )

To say "If he has an HDTV theres absolutly no use for an Nvidia card" outright dismisses the fact that you can certainly use a nVidia card in "most" cases to build your HTPC around quite nicely.

I understand that many folks use ATI cards for their HTPC's, I'm using AIW's in both of mine actually.

 

[Boogak]

If you're not planning on gaming on the HTPC, it definitely is overkill. Plus you wouldn't be able to pickup OTA HDTV broadcasts with either AIW cards. Best bet would be to pick up a fanless ATI 7xxx, 8xxx, 9xxx card (depending on preference and price point), a HDTV PCI tuner card, and a VGA to Component adapter (either ATI's dongle which blows mightily based on personal experience or a 3rd party like Audio Authority) if your HDTV doesn't support VGA or DVI. Don't bother with S-VIDEO tv-out if you have a HDTV, once you've seen computer output at 480p and higher, you'll never want to go back to S-VIDEO.

 

[BlakkIce]

thanks so much guys for the info im going to start putting this together next week now i have to decide on if im going to use a shuttle PC or not also any recs for an HD card, im computer savy but let me get this correct i will have say an ATI card which will output DVD and other computer images via component to say video 1, then i will have the HDTV card which will output VIA component say video 2, is that right?

 

[TheBoyBlunder]

I think there's an AIW 7000 that uses just a heatsink for cooling. It'd probably be ideal because it'd be really quiet...unless you want to use this pc for more than just an htpc.

 

[magomago]

How about an AIW 9000? That seems like a good thing - it isn't the best for gaming though it can hold its own vs the G4mx series and its 199 and uses the theater200 chip...seems perfect for what you want

It provides all the "oomph" you need without overkill