HiDef and DVD Upscaling - Is AMD or NVidia better?

[Dadofamunky]

I'm thinking about a card upgrade in the not too distant future, but I'd like to keep my costs down. We watch a lot of movies on my system and I'd like to get the best possible video quality. I've started playing around with the 3D settings in my player software and while it is sometimes kinda impressive, I wonder if I'm missing out on anything. Performance is not an issue. I get the impression that NVidia handles color, 3D and standard-def upscaling better strictly for video playback. Any thoughts? PLEASE, no flame wars.

 

[Sylvanas]

For watching DVD's there is no difference anyone who says otherwise it's placebo affect. For this task all you need is a cheap 5450 and you're set.

 

[Qbah]

I would go with a GeForce 210:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_210_us.html

Excellent for anything but gaming. Supports everything and with nVidia's recent track record you can be pretty sure they will fully support it in the future.

 

[Emulex]

As long as it has integrated sound hdmi

 

[Outrage]

get a 5450

http://www.kitguru.net/components/g...-benchmark-2-0-analysis-ati-nvidia-and-intel/

It seems that ATI’s background with the production of processing chips for digital TVs still gives it some kind of advantage. Even budget cards like the passively cooled Sapphire HD 5550 generate similar video quality when compared with nVidia’s flagship GTX480. Obviously a lot of this is down to driver development and advancements. For now, KitGuru can state clearly that ATI’s Radeon HD 5000 series cards offer the best HD video reproduction quality available in the market.

 

[thesmokingman]

You get bitstreaming on the 5450.

 

[lopri]

I'd get a GT2xx, too. Image quality between Geforce and Radeon is a wash. You won't pass a blind test. But since audio isn't in the equation and neither is power consumption (we're talking about a $50 card, I assume) then Geforce's versatility would win me over.

 

[veri745]

The suggestions you're getting are purely based on brand preference. You'll be happy current-gen entry level card from either company.

 

[AstonM89]

If you think that passing through audio via HDMI is a possibility in the future, a cheap 5000 series is your best bet as it can utilize all the latest audio formats (lossless bitstreaming), aka Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. Otherwise just get whatever is cheaper (nvidia 200 series or up, ati 5000 series). Good luck!

 

[Dadofamunky]

Dang, answers are appreciated but I'm not getting my questions answered. Maybe it really is completely subjective and comes down to brand preference. In my limited experience over 5-6 card upgrades over the years, I've found NVidia's colors to be more vivid and saturated out of the box, but that stuff can be dealt with in software to some degree. Still hoping for some clearer input, and no, I'm not going to downgrade, which going to a 5450 from my current 4850 would essentially be.

 

[Dark Shroud]

Then get yourself a 5770 or a 5850 and enjoy.

 

[Qbah]

Whoops, missed the part about it also being for 3D (so gaming). Well..

- nVidia - be a bit patient and wait for a ~$300 deal on a GTX470. There was one recently for $296 shipped. Usually goes for ~$340
. ATi - HD5850. Goes for ~$300 usually. There were some promos recently that put it at ~$270

This is all from what people were talking about around here (as I'm not in the US ). But those would be my recommendations. I'd say anything slower (HD5770 or HD5830 or GTX465) is not worth a look as you're coming from a HD4850 and the speed bump won't be significant IMO