mixed card for HD movie and gaming??

themisfit610

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2006
1,352
2
81
Hey folks

Just wondering if anyone knows if its possible to install (for example) an 8500gt along with an 8800gts, and switch between them for movie watching and gaming respectively?

~MiSfit
 

Slugbait

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
3,633
3
81
My gut response is you can't install them at all...unless one of those cards is PCI. I may be out of the loop on this, but I don't think two different families can co-exist on an SLI mobo.
 

mpilchfamily

Diamond Member
Jun 11, 2007
3,559
1
0
If your motherboard is SLI ready then you can plug in both card and run 2 different monitors. When you want to watch movies then you put the movie on the second monitor for veiwing.

Is the 8500 really that much better at movies then the 8800? I would think the 8800 would handle both perfectly fine. I think the differnce in the 2 cards 2D abilities is marginal at best.
 

bryanW1995

Lifer
May 22, 2007
11,144
32
91
yeah, that's amazing. Of course, not many people want to put an 8800 gtx in their htpc, either...
 

swtethan

Diamond Member
Aug 5, 2005
9,071
0
0
In a HTPC you only need a cheap single or dual core cpu with a GFX card that will decode video well (8500GT) save the rest of the $$$ for a gaming rig!!
 

Cookie Monster

Diamond Member
May 7, 2005
5,161
32
86
8600GTS is your best bet (if playing games AND watching movies).

But like the above post said, cheap video card e.g 8400GS or 8500GT for the HTPC and 8800 series for the gaming rig will make more sense.
 

ViRGE

Elite Member, Moderator Emeritus
Oct 9, 1999
31,516
167
106
Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
8600GTS is your best bet (if playing games AND watching movies).

But like the above post said, cheap video card e.g 8400GS or 8500GT for the HTPC and 8800 series for the gaming rig will make more sense.
Except that the really cheap 8 series cards apparently have worse video quality than the higher end cards due to a deficiency in shader power. It looks like you need at least an 8600 series card to get the best quality.

On that note, mixing two cards seems wasteful. The 8800 series offers the same video quality as the 8600 series, the only difference is that it uses more CPU power in doing so (and I'm going to guess if you're gaming, you have more than enough CPU power for the extra decoding work).
 

imaheadcase

Diamond Member
May 9, 2005
3,850
7
76
Well you don't need a certain video card anymore, CPU speeds are enough to warrant not buying a card based on just HW acceleration (unless you just got a vid card just for media center of some sorts naturally).
8800GTS is the perfect mix, I watch 1080p movies and game on it fine on 24inch dell monitor.

Now if he is talking a weak CPU thats a different story. But any modern PC does not need 2 video cards for that task anymore.
 

PCTC2

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2007
3,892
33
91
Just quick Q.

Does only the 8500GT have the hardware acceleration/decoder or does the 8600 series have it as well?
 

heyheybooboo

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2007
6,278
0
0
Originally posted by: themisfit610
Hey folks

Just wondering if anyone knows if its possible to install (for example) an 8500gt along with an 8800gts, and switch between them for movie watching and gaming respectively?

~MiSfit


Should work without a problem. Hook the 8500gt up to your hdcp-compliant flat panel and that h264/vc1 content should look great (of course I would prefer a HD 2600xt :) )

I've used Fusion, Hauppauge & ATI ATSC tuner cards with everything from an agp FX5500 & up (even on socket As) and never had an issue with video quality from ota HiDef or DVD movies. What issues of quality I have seen involve improper codecs and crappy panel calibrations. Anand seems to be the only site that has rated the Geforce 8600/8500 over the Radeon HD 2600/2400 in vc1 & h264 vid card acceleration.

That said, at this point I'm too cheap to cross over into HD DVD. STILL too many unanswered questions going forward over the next few years on those AACS keys. I'm afraid what works today may get the DRM boot in 12-24 months.
 

Slugbait

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
3,633
3
81
OK, so the gut check is apparently wrong. However, several have talked about the 8500 as if it does movies, etc. As I understand it, this answer is it depends on the manufacturer.

For example, all of the 8-series and 7-series GPUs, and most of the 6-series, supports HDCP. However, that where it ends: support. The GPU doesn't decide if you can watch an HD-DVD or Blu-ray disc at full, glorious HD resolution, it's the card's manufacturer who makes that decision. As a result, all cards on the market based on the 6-series and 7-series, and most 8-series, will play back HDCP films at a 75% loss of pixel density: it will look OK on your 10-year-old SDTV, but absolutely horrid on your new high-def plasma/DLP/LCD/laser, or your HDCP-supported computer monitor. Yes, this includes all flavors of the 8800.

FiringSquad referred to this as The Great HDCP Fiasco.

If you want to watch HD-DVD or Blu-ray in high-def, the 8600GTS is guaranteed across the board...I know of no 8600GTS that will not do it. The GT and the 8500s are hit and miss: one manufacturer impliments HDCP while another doesn't...or the manufacturer will support it on the factory-overclocked card, but not the stock-clock version. YMWV.

The master list. It includes ATI cards as well.
 

themisfit610

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2006
1,352
2
81
Well here's my situation. My current rig as you can see is underpowered for watching HD-DVD or Blu-Ray. I've got a second PCIe slot just sitting there, and my BenQ monitor has a HDCP compliant HDMI port, so what would prevent me from getting an 8500gt (with HDCP), using a DVI->HDMI cable, and switching inputs when I want to watch an HD-DVD through the Xbox 360's drive ;) ?

~MiSfit
 

Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
21,209
50
91
Originally posted by: PCTC2
Just quick Q.

Does only the 8500GT have the hardware acceleration/decoder or does the 8600 series have it as well?

I think this depends on the vendor. Some 8500GT's will have it, some won't. Or was that the 8400's ? Got to brush up on this stuff. I'm slacking. ehe
 

Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
21,209
50
91
Originally posted by: Wicked Akuba
I just have read some rewiews and saw that 2600XT is really nice choice :
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3023&p=5
http://www.firingsquad.com/har...ce_preview/default.asp

A more dedicated decoding review that is more recent is here.

One paragraph from the "Final thoughts" page. Use the link above to see it all.

"AMD's UVD does beat out NVIDIA's VP2 in both H.264 and VC-1 decode performance. However, it isn't really enough to make a tangible difference in the viewing of movies. Performance is important, and UVD performance is certainly impressive. But we still have to favor the 8600 for its superior image quality."

For the OP: You have an X2 3800+. As you know, this CPU is a bit weak for today's standards as you have said, so I would tell you to decide what is more important to you. CPU utilization, or image quality. I don't see how anyone would care if the HTPC CPU runs an even full tilt while watching movies. As long as the IQ is there and there are no skipped frames or stuttering. The 2600XT looks like a fine choice. Uses a bit less CPU. The 8600's use a bit more CPU, but seems to get a nod from this AT review for IQ. Tough decision. i think.
 

themisfit610

Golden Member
Apr 16, 2006
1,352
2
81
Well, it's not for my HTPC :) That old dinosaur is a PIII 1 GHz, which is fine for SD content - considering our main TV is a nice 34" Trinitron.

My room on the other hand is well equipped with my main PC (see specs), but with a weak CPU. Maybe I will try getting an 8600, toss it in, and see what happens... I've gotta get that HD-DVD drive too :|

The question is whether or not my 7800gt and the 8600 will play nice ;) If I do it, I will report here.

~MiSfit
 

Cookie Monster

Diamond Member
May 7, 2005
5,161
32
86
HD2600XT definately gets killed in 3d apps. So if your looking to play games, you will suffer here.

Id say the 8600GTS or 8600GT is your best bet as ive already said. Id prefer the GTS in this case since it offers both similiar performance to your EVGA 7800GT OC and offloads ALOT of work from the CPU to the GPU when playing h.264 content for example.

 

heyheybooboo

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2007
6,278
0
0
Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
Originally posted by: themisfit610
Hey folks

Just wondering if anyone knows if its possible to install (for example) an 8500gt along with an 8800gts, and switch between them for movie watching and gaming respectively?

~MiSfit


Should work without a problem. Hook the 8500gt up to your hdcp-compliant flat panel and that h264/vc1 content should look great (of course I would prefer a HD 2600xt :) )

Check that. It might work.

If you hook your 7800gt up via DVI and hook an HD2600XT up via HDMI (using the DVI to HDMI Adapter) you may be able to set up individual user profiles that disable the *other* hardware. My concern is with the 'signaling' to the BenQ - you may have to turn it off when you change profiles and then turn it back on to select the appropriate input.

Other card reviews:

Guru3d: HD-HQV on GeForce 8600 & Radeon HD 2600

Tech Report: Radeon / Geforce HD video playback - H.264 / VC-1