Best video card to use

[goobee]

I'm putting together a HTPC from extra parts I have lying around. So far, I've tried an old Hercules GeForce 3 video card and ATI AIW 9700 with my high def TV and the picture quality is terrible. I tried using composite (really bad) and then SVHS (a little better) inputs without too much luck.

Other than buying an expensive video card with hdmi, is there a preferred video card to use? Thanks.

 

[cubby1223]

No hdmi, just dvi. Then get a dvi > hdmi cable.

 

[krotchy]

The ATI Radeon HD2400/2600 series cards are quite nice for HTPC use. Im using an HD2600XT (256MB GDDR3) which is the top of the cards with the full hardware mpeg decoding and it was only 96 dollars when I got it. You can find the 2600PRO and 2400 models for cheaper, although I hear the 2400's dont handle 1080p all that well.

Also my 2600XT passes audio VIA HDMI with the included dongle using a built in audio processor,

 

[goobee]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to try a dvi ==> hdmi cable first and see how it look.

 

[sciencewhiz]

Originally posted by: krotchy
You can find the 2600PRO and 2400 models for cheaper, although I hear the 2400's dont handle 1080p all that well.

What do you mean that they don't handle 1080p well?

I have a 9600 series that ouputs 1080p fine, for desktop work, etc. I don't expect to game on it, but everything else is fine.

Originally posted by: goobee
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to try a dvi ==> hdmi cable first and see how it look.

DVI to HDMI should look great, as long as your video card can output the TV's native resolution on DVI.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Composite and S-Video are both limited to 480i, which is why it looked so terrible.

VGA / Component / DVI / HDMI will all look a LOT better than the connections you tried already.

In some cases, VGA / Component may give you better results than a DVI / HDMI connection due to the particular TV. Does your TV have a VGA input that you could try first before you buy more cables?

If you are buying new cables, try Monoprice or somewhere similar to get them.

 

[goobee]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Does your TV have a VGA input that you could try first before you buy more cables?

If you are buying new cables, try Monoprice or somewhere similar to get them.

Nope, there are 7 inputs, none of which is VGA.

1 x HDMI
2 x Component
2 x SVHS
2 x Composite

Default resolution is 1080i for the tv, not sure if any of my current cards can output that. I may wind up getting one of these HD2400/2600 cards anyway but buying a cable to is a lot cheaper to start with.

I ordered a cable from Monoprice for 12 bux, should be here in a few days.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: goobee

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Does your TV have a VGA input that you could try first before you buy more cables?

If you are buying new cables, try Monoprice or somewhere similar to get them.

Nope, there are 7 inputs, none of which is VGA.

1 x HDMI
2 x Component
2 x SVHS
2 x Composite

Default resolution is 1080i for the tv, not sure if any of my current cards can output that. I may wind up getting one of these HD2400/2600 cards anyway but buying a cable to is a lot cheaper to start with.

I ordered a cable from Monoprice for 12 bux, should be here in a few days.

Are you sure it's a 1080i set? Not that I think you're lying or anything, but a lot of the time manufacturers of 720p / 768p sets will advertise 1080i computability even if the set is actually better described as a 720p set.

Unless it's a CRT of some sort, you probably have a progressive TV.

 

[goobee]

Panasonic CT-26WX15 CRT HDTV. :thumbsup:

 

[themisfit610]

Cool beans. Do 1080i output over DVI then, it will look great

Should be pretty easy to force in the video control panel.

~MiSfit