Best Nvidia card for HTPC?

[Tsavo]

What's the best Nvidia card for HTPC? I want the best image quality, and cooling isn't a concern.

 

[tviceman]

What's the best Nvidia card for HTPC? I want the best image quality, and cooling isn't a concern.

Depending on your clearance, if you don't need a low profile card then in a cramped case the gtx460 would be best.

 

[bryanW1995]

gtx 460 is definitely the perf/watt mid/high card to get from nvidia right now, but as mentioned it requires 2 slots. depending on your res the 768mb card is probably the way to go, but if you're at 1920x1080 or higher then I'd go with the 1gb card instead.

 

[v8envy]

For an HTPC that doesn't play games, it's a tossup between the GT220 and GT240. The 210 is not quite powerful enough to hardware decode all bit rates of all HD codecs. But 220s lack the quieter cooling found on SOME GT240s, which in turn use more power than is needed on a playback machine.

For an HTPC with gaming aspirations and absolutely no concerns about cooling, power usage or noise you're in the same boat as the non-HTPC guys. GTX480 is best, 470 next best, 460 1gb third best.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

GT240 is good. My friend thinks it's a high-end card, though to be fair, compared to G45 IGPs, it is.

If gaming, and by gaming I mean serious gaming, is a concern, then the 768MB 460 is good.

 

[Tsavo]

No gaming at all. I don't have any games installed on that PC.

The playback software I have uses CUDA to upscale, sharpen and other goodies, so I want a card that will handle that. 240 should be more than adequate to handle that?

 

[tviceman]

No gaming at all. I don't have any games installed on that PC.

The playback software I have uses CUDA to upscale, sharpen and other goodies, so I want a card that will handle that. 240 should be more than adequate to handle that?

yes.

 

[Grooveriding]

If you only want nvidia then the GTX 460 is really the only choice for HTPC. It's the only card they have that can do full bitstreaming.

Which is a shame, as for HTPC you generally don't want a dual-slot, fairly power hungry, hot and noisy card.

Maybe the 450/455 will be able to as well, no idea. But right now only the 460 can.

Any current 5 series AMD card can do full bitstreaming though.

 

[Caribbean Geek]

The GTS 450 should be more adequate for HTPC functions than the GTX 460 thanks to its lower footprint, the GT240 should be enough too but it lacks from full bitstreaming. Wait for the GTS 450 if you aren't in a hurry, if not, then get the GTX 460 which is too overkill for HTPC functionality.

 

[Tsavo]

Good points on bitstreaming, but this is in my office and my sound system is pretty basic, so I won't be missing anything if the video card I pick doesn't have it.

 

[tviceman]

If you only want nvidia then the GTX 460 is really the only choice for HTPC. It's the only card they have that can do full bitstreaming.

Which is a shame, as for HTPC you generally don't want a dual-slot, fairly power hungry, hot and noisy card.

Maybe the 450/455 will be able to as well, no idea. But right now only the 460 can.

Any current 5 series AMD card can do full bitstreaming though.

Except that a gtx460 is not hot or noisy.

 

[Grooveriding]

Except that a gtx460 is not hot or noisy.

In an HTPC scenario, it completely is.

 

[darkewaffle]

GT240, that's what I went with. Excellent value card with the deals you can get on it after rebate.

 

[nenforcer]

You need to wait only a few more days until September 12 / 13th when the GTS 450 is released, it should outperform a GT 240 at around the same power requirements and include the bitstreaming.

GT 240 GDDR5 is a good single slot card, however.

 

[Binky]

GTX460 is terrible advice for a non-gaming HTPC that doesn't need anywhere near that amount of graphics power. HTPC cards are in the $20-$99 price range. Even the $20 versions will perform prefectly for most users.

 

[Tsavo]

You need to wait only a few more days until September 12 / 13th when the GTS 450 is released, it should outperform a GT 240 at around the same power requirements and include the bitstreaming.

GT 240 GDDR5 is a good single slot card, however.

Probably not a bad idea. Any idea what price it may be? :hmm:

 

[nenforcer]

Probably not a bad idea. Any idea what price it may be? :hmm:

They are suppose to come in around $140 which is obviously still below the GTX 460 768MB but well above the GT 240 1GB GDDR5. It is much more powerful than that card and takes dual slots.

You will have to wait until October I believe before GF108 based Fermi cards are available, which are the true DirectX11 replacements to the GT 240 cards.

BTW I run a 512MB GDDR5 GT 240 card as my PhysX card in my gaming PC and they are great for a single slot passively cooled card.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Some etailers in NZ already have the GTS450 in stock. I don't know if it's been properly launched yet. But they're selling it for NZ$250, whereas the GT240 is NZ$130 - so double the price.

 

[tweakboy]

Any of them that support HTCP is a winner.

 

[extra]

Wait a little bit to see what price point the 450 hits. And yeah, you may not want bit streaming or gaming now, but if you can wait about a week and maybe get a card with those features and more performance, it's prolly worth the short wait. Imho. If you hafta buy now, 240 prolly.

 

[bryanW1995]

Except that a gtx460 is not hot or noisy.

compared to a gt 240 it is.

 

[Binky]

Cna I ask the OP, why Nvidia?

AMD/ATI is a great choice for an HTPC and the 5450-5550 cards in the $50-$75 range are fantastic for HTPC use. Hell, any 3450 or 4350 (~$20AR) would also do just fine for most HTPC uses.

 

[Tsavo]

Cna I ask the OP, why Nvidia?

AMD/ATI is a great choice for an HTPC and the 5450-5550 cards in the $50-$75 range are fantastic for HTPC use. Hell, any 3450 or 4350 (~$20AR) would also do just fine for most HTPC uses.

Playback software I have uses CUDA to juice up the picture. I'd grab a 5570 if it weren't for this.

 

[Slugbait]

GTX460 is terrible advice for a non-gaming HTPC that doesn't need anywhere near that amount of graphics power. HTPC cards are in the $20-$99 price range. Even the $20 versions will perform prefectly for most users.

Agreed.

I've got an old 8600GTS in my HTPC (Win7 Pro). It's HDCP (although I don't have an HD optical drive yet...) and drives my P54G25 at 1920x1080 over MCE beautifully. HD football looks awesome, Windows text perfectly readable, and HL2 advanced video recommendations at this rez are all primarily on the "High" side...it would choke on the L&G games, but you're not gonna game with yours (a shame, really...)

I have an ES receiver driving DefTech and Klipsch, but hear no need for bitstreaming.

You can spend more money, but I'd hit up the sale/trade forum, craig's, a neighbor, etc

 

[Tsavo]

GTS 450 up on the Egg now. $129 and up.