Looking to spend ~$200 New/Used.

[Zodiark1593]

It's more annoying to me to see a bunch of desktop gamers give htpc gaming advice though lol. Most of the arguments against the amd card for htpc gaming just prove people have no idea about htpc gaming.

Also it's mind boggling to me how few gamers use dsr/vsr and instead just game at their resolution. I'd never game at 1080p on my 1080p screens ever again. Ever. 2 gtx 980ti sli is justified on 1080p if you use dsr (and hopefully plan to upgrade your monitor/tv).

With being able to easily render at the resolution you want, no one is resolution locked and picking the fastest gpu you can for your money becomes even more important than ever before.

Well said. DSR/VSR is a godsend for my 768P TV.

 

[tential]

ive just splurged on a x4200w,the online manual is making my brain ache..This is way off topic i apologize beforehand.what are your thoughts on dynamic eq?do you use it?.

Don't use it if you don't need to. If you have neighbors that's the point of dynamic eq. Otherwise, you just should really eq it first to be flat using the equipment you're given. Buy a mic stand for the mic or it won't setup correctly.

Once you have a flat response. Then adjust to your personal liking.

I personally push up treble and bass and center channel. Because I want to hear people talk I love big booms, and the high end is just never loud enough for me. Screw with the eq though see what you like. You should be allowed to do this is audyssey after you run a setup.

However all of this changes if you're in an apartment and have to be wary of neighbors like I am now. Now, I just try to keep my sub from rocking the whole building as well as my tower speakers.

I suggest heading over to avsforum.com for help on setting up your Avr correctly as I'm sure there is a ton I've left out.

I miss using my speakers, but alas, they're just too powerful for apartments.

 

[Noo]

Not that I'm getting a 4k tv anytime soon but if a TV and monitor are both 4k 60hz, I'll get the TV for 1/2 the cost. I don't play twitch games anymore as they require a good keyboard and mouse combo and a decent high refresh rate (and costly) monitor, pretty hard sitting on the sofa and play twitch style games.

In any case, thanks all for helping me out in deciding which card to get (gtx 970).

I have the dynamic eq off after the initial adjustment done by using the microphone that came with the receiver. Make sure to connect am ethernet cable to the receiver to take advantage of apple airplay, far superior to Bluetooth, even with the receiver of, it will turn the receiver on when you play music on your phone. Also if you're within range of your WiFi, it'll work. Bluetooth you have to be pretty close as far as range goes.

 

[Zanovar]

Im undecided tbh.i hate it one minute love it the next.more testing.

 

[Noo]

Sorry, typing on the phone and dealing with auto correct six

 

[btmaximus]

I think people are underestimating the importance of GPU size also for an HTPC or modest case/motherboard. The only decently powerful AMD card you can get under 10 inches is the Nano at around $450. I think $400 is a big psychological price barrier for enthusiasts not looking for the absolute fastest performance. That's why I ended up getting a Zotac GTX970 for $230.

 

[AtenRa]

I think people are underestimating the importance of GPU size also for an HTPC or modest case/motherboard. The only decently powerful AMD card you can get under 10 inches is the Nano at around $450. I think $400 is a big psychological price barrier for enthusiasts not looking for the absolute fastest performance. That's why I ended up getting a Zotac GTX970 for $230.

Well there are some R9 380X smaller than 10 inches like the Gigabyte and Sapphire cards and very close to the OP budget.

Where did you get the GTX970 for $230 ?? thats an amazing price for that GPU.

 

[Snarf Snarf]

Newegg on Ebay has had that same Zotac 970 for ~250 range multiple times over the last 4-5 months. For $50 over what 960 is going for normally it's a no brainer. If you aren't buying today OP you can lurk on Slickdeals for the $250 970 deal for a week or so then just buy if it doesn't show up.

 

[Snarf Snarf]

http://slickdeals.net/f/8476871-zotac-gtx-970-254-99?src=SiteSearchV2_SearchBarV1

If you haven't bought anything from Jet.com before you can use the promo code in that thread on your first purchase which brings the car ddown to 254.99

 

[sm625]

A 4gb gtx960 with a 27% overclock is not even near obsolete @ 1080p.
With some games you might have to dial down a setting or 2 but overall the gtx 960 with a good overclock does just fine especially if you only paid 170$ for it.

Its "good enough" till the next wave of gpu's hit.
After that I'll just retire it to a full time 4k htpc box.

Let's not distort reality. A 25% OC on a 960 gives it about a 10% fps boost. That is not enough to displace its position on the charts. It still wont beat a stock 7970 and wont touch a 280X either.

 

[tential]

Not that I'm getting a 4k tv anytime soon but if a TV and monitor are both 4k 60hz, I'll get the TV for 1/2 the cost. I don't play twitch games anymore as they require a good keyboard and mouse combo and a decent high refresh rate (and costly) monitor, pretty hard sitting on the sofa and play twitch style games.

In any case, thanks all for helping me out in deciding which card to get (gtx 970).

I have the dynamic eq off after the initial adjustment done by using the microphone that came with the receiver. Make sure to connect am ethernet cable to the receiver to take advantage of apple airplay, far superior to Bluetooth, even with the receiver of, it will turn the receiver on when you play music on your phone. Also if you're within range of your WiFi, it'll work. Bluetooth you have to be pretty close as far as range goes.

The 4K monitors I was linking you are cheaper than current 4K HDTVs. Hence why I was suggesting them. This is irregardless of what GPU you get by the way. The options like the one I was listing are cheaper than HDTVs with the benefits of monitors o bviously so I thought it might be interesting to you. There are other even cheaper models without freesync like the AMH409U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL8V08eomD4

 

[tential]

I think people are underestimating the importance of GPU size also for an HTPC or modest case/motherboard. The only decently powerful AMD card you can get under 10 inches is the Nano at around $450. I think $400 is a big psychological price barrier for enthusiasts not looking for the absolute fastest performance. That's why I ended up getting a Zotac GTX970 for $230.

I have no idea why you assume HTPC = mini card. It's utterly ridiculous.

 

[Noo]

Walmart have a 49" 4k tv for $380. Not that I'm going to buy it but that is 1/2 off everything else. Most of them are LG panel anyway so doesn't really matter to me on brand. Again I'm not shopping for a TV but I'm just saying.

 

[Creig]

It's for my HTPC which I also use as a gaming pc 1080p.

Currently it have:

Intel Core i5 3330 w/cooler master EVO 212 HSF
Thermaltake 750watts, SLI/Crossfire ready modular PSU
16gb ddr3
XFX Radeon 7850 1gb.

I'm looking to spend around $200 new/used and I've been looking @ Nvidia GTX 770, Radeon 280x, Radeon 7970. Not sure which is a better option? GTX 960 is inferior to those right?

You have a large enough power supply and plenty of memory. For dual HTPC/gaming duties, I agree with everybody else who said that a 290 would be your best bet for around $200.

 

[happy medium]

Let's not distort reality. A 25% OC on a 960 gives it about a 10% fps boost

Not if you overclock your gpu memory and use fast ddr4. I get way more than 10% fps boost with my overclock. It also sometimes depends on the game.

 

[Phynaz]

I have no idea why you assume HTPC = mini card. It's utterly ridiculous.

IMHO a desktop pc connected to a tv isn't a HTPC. HTPC has a specific meaning i.e. a case that fits in an entertainment center, ir or bt remote, quite operation etc.

By that definition you need a mini card.

 

[btmaximus]

Yes, Jet.com with coupon and Amex offer. To be fair, I totally would have bought the MSI r390 for about $30 more but it was too long

 

[Gikaseixas]

IMHO a desktop pc connected to a tv isn't a HTPC. HTPC has a specific meaning i.e. a case that fits in an entertainment center, ir or bt remote, quite operation etc.

By that definition you need a mini card.

Wrong

You have HTPC cases of all sizes, shape and form. You just have to pick one that fits on your entertainment center. You even have SSF cases that allow big cards, i think it was Karlitos that shared his projects with a 290x last year.

Edit: It was Lava and here's the post:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=37029560&postcount=1

 

[Gikaseixas]

Not if you overclock your gpu memory and use fast ddr4. I get way more than 10% fps boost with my overclock. It also sometimes depends on the game.

Didn't know DDR4 only gave advantage to your darling GTX 960

 

[AtenRa]

Didn't know DDR4 only gave advantage to your darling GTX 960

Yea i was trying to understand what the system DDR-4 memory has to do with the GTX960 performance.

 

[Silverforce11]

Why doesn't the 960 scale with OC, what is limiting it, bandwidth?

 

[tential]

Wrong

You have HTPC cases of all sizes, shape and form. You just have to pick one that fits on your entertainment center. You even have SSF cases that allow big cards, i think it was Karlitos that shared his projects with a 290x last year.

Edit: It was Lava and here's the post:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=37029560&postcount=1

It's just so clear how little many people know of the HTPC market.

Card size is the LEAST of my worries with HTPC gaming. Power usage, well, just look at the above build....

My worries with HTPC gaming were crossfire builds, and that is now solved with HBM CF cards. And, not being able to have an HEDT platform build. And that's ALSO fixed.

So now, HTPC gaming can handle 4K, and I'm excited. We just need more cases, especially smaller cases/mobos for Nano style cards.

I'm VERY excited for Nvidia to compete with the Nano, because it will finally mean case availability (Nvidia drives the market lets be real no one bought Nano like how Nvidia's competing GPU to Nano will be bought).

Home Theater PC is what an HTPC is. It doesn't mean it's a small PC. It doesn't mean it's a quiet PC. It's a PC for your home theater room. However you need it to get the job done you do it. Head over to AVSForum, Kodi, the HTPC section here, people make all types of HTPC builds.

http://techbuyersguru.com/chris-extreme-4k-gaming-htpc

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/3o4hrh/build_complete_ncase_m1_silent_build_attempt_980/

https://imgur.com/a/xh0lG
Case
NCASE M1

Edit: Also, this is why AMD is always at a weird place entering a party. The Fury X would be amazing if cases like the N1 were abundantly available. It fits that case perfectly IMO and in fact could probably allow a case like that to even be configured better due to the cards smaller size than the case is made for. I'm excited needless to say.

 

[Phynaz]

Wrong

WTF?

I'm guessing you're in such a hurry to attack me that you missed the very beginning of my post.

IMHO - In My Humble Opinion.

Who are you to tell me that what I think of as a HTPC is wrong?

 

[Gikaseixas]

WTF?

I'm guessing you're in such a hurry to attack me that you missed the very beginning of my post.

IMHO - In My Humble Opinion.

Who are you to tell me that what I think of as a HTPC is wrong?

This is a forum, if you don't have a proper counter argument then i suggest you try another topic or just chill.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Why doesn't the 960 scale with OC, what is limiting it, bandwidth?

Memory bandwidth.