Best HTPC video card on budget.. $80-$100

[ctcsoft]

What are some good video cards that have overscan adjustment? I'm using this in a high end HTPC.

I don't game much. So no need to go all out here.

Been out of the video card loop for too long but I know some newer cards have the overscan adjustment.

The overscan adjustment for me is critical because I'm trying to use this in my HTPC with my 1080p Mitsubishi DLP and my Panasonic Projector.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

HD 4550

 

[yh125d]

I think overscan adjustment would be a featureof the driver set (or is it the media player itself?), but I'm not sure. It's probably supported on 4xxx and UVD2 though, so 4350/4550 are good options. No need to spend 80-100 (get the 4550 if you want PIP though, I think the 4350 was sluggish at decoding two HD streams simultaneously)

 

[Red Irish]

Club 3d HD 4850 with the Zerotherm cooler.

 

[crisium]

4550 minimum. If you have even a slight interest in running a game on it though, you're better off getting the 4650. Even the DDR2 4650 offers a big gaming boost over the 4550. Not high quality stuff, but it'll run every game out at reduced settings. 4670 is a decent gaming boost over that, and 4770 is a big improvement over that one. All fit within your budget - just depends on how interested you are in gaming.

 

[Binky]

Any ATI 3450 or higher will do fine. I've just bumped one of my HTPC's up to a 4350 and I can't seem to get the overscan correction working (it worked great with the 3450). Maybe I just can't navigate the nightmarish Catalyst Control Center, or maybe I'm just too lazy to spend much time on the system.

There's pretty much no reason to go higher than a 4550 in an HTPC. If you want 8 channel LPCM over HDMI, you might be stuck with the newer 5000 series ATI cards. Other than that, more powerful cards only mean more heat and HTPC cases are usually small, cramped, and underventilated.

 

[Phynaz]

Originally posted by: Red Irish
Club 3d HD 4850 with the Zerotherm cooler.

Overkill for HTPC.

Also I'm going to assume he wants this to be quiet.

 

[Ashen Shugar]

Actually the 4550 will do 8 channel PCM over HDMI as well. However, on the 5000 series will bitstream Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio tracks in Blurays. So you may want to consider the 5850 when it comes out next week... the 512MB version should sell for $109, so its not much beyond your budget either.

 

[s44]

4670, but the real answer is to wait for the 5750 or 55xx for full protected audio path (bitstreaming, un-downsampled PCM, etc.) over HDMI.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Google 'Radeon Juniper 5750' (I think)

May be coming in November ....

 

[ahenkel]

I have a HIS Iceq 4670 and its whisper quiet. Its been working well for me

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
Google 'Radeon Juniper 5750' (I think)

May be coming in November ....

I think its supposed to be sometime next week actually, unless its a paper launch. Although wide spread availability might not be until November.

 

[ctcsoft]

Thanks for all the input guys. I think I will wait for the new 5k series to come out then.

Sounds like my best option.

 

[Blazer]

the 5k series card will be overkill, the 4670 will fullfill your need with ease.

 

[Fox5]

I vote for 4770.

 

[yh125d]

Originally posted by: ctcsoft
Thanks for all the input guys. I think I will wait for the new 5k series to come out then.

Sounds like my best option.

The ONLY advantage the 5xxx have over 4xxx for HTPC duty is the Dolby and DTS MA bitstreaming, where the 4xxx only had LPCM 8 chan bitstreaming. If the Dolby or DTS is something you use often that's fine, but unless its a big feature for you just get a 4350/4550 instead