Recommendation for Video cards on old pc converting to HTPC

[webada]

Hi,

I have an older PC that I would like to hook up to LCD TV in the living room.

It currently has Ti4200 AGP video card, its running on an ASUS P5-533 mb, about 4 years old.

This won't be in a HTPC case (not yet anyways) and will be primary used for watching Videos and general web surfing. The current VGA Fan is way too loud for living room use. So instead of spending $30 on Zalman VGA fan upgrade, I figured its probably better to put it towards a new card.

Budget is not go over $100 and silent heating is preferred.

What would you guys recommend? I'm narrowing down to 7600gs or HD2400 pro or HD2600 pro.... any suggestions?

Keep in mind this is AGP 8x.

Thanks,

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102734

Doesn't having passive cooling,but this card shouldn't run too hot in the first place,so you can drop the fan speed if needbe.

 

[webada]

For almost twice more I can get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121064

or similar money for a 6200gs with silent cooling.

how much of difference is between HD2400 vs 6200GS and 7600gs?

 

[Binky]

2400pro is good

2600pro is great, 2600xt is great, but not required

Any of the new 3xx series cards are also great, but really won't offer much over the 2600pro for pure HTPC use. They may not be available in AGP.

7600 lacks the decoding capabilities of the newer 2xxx series ATI cards and the 8500+ Nvidia cards. I'm a huge fan of ATI cards for HTPC use, so that's my vote. Grab the best 2400 or 2600 card you can for what you want to spend.

 

[webada]

Thanks for the insight, I knew there was video encoding capabilities but all these tech site rating the cards are focusing on FPS and gaming so I'm having a hard time deciding.


I'm almost tempted to go wtih $50 3450 and a $50 MB upgrade to pci-e. This is almost the same money for a 2600pro AGP. Although I think the 3450 is a step down from 2600pro. Any thoughts on that?

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

HD 3450 is weaker than HD 2600Pro,though it doesn't matter much if you're not gonna game,and you mind aswell get a new CPU and RAM if you're gonna get a new board,since i doubt there are any PCI-E Boards that support P4 for Socket 478 or Athlon XP.

 

[bigsnyder]

Check your nearest best buy. Many are reporting that the Visiontek HD2600Pro 512MB DDR2 (both AGP and PCIe) is on sale for $24.99. I found the AGP version for that price, but the PCIe was marked down to $39 at my local store. I am surprised no ona has posted that in the hot deals section here, but there is a thread over at Fatwallet. For pure HTPC use and non-cutting edge gaming, you can't beat that deal.

I will add that you will not find the pricing on their website and varys from store to store.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: Binky
2400pro is good

2600pro is great, 2600xt is great, but not required

Any of the new 3xx series cards are also great, but really won't offer much over the 2600pro for pure HTPC use. They may not be available in AGP.

7600 lacks the decoding capabilities of the newer 2xxx series ATI cards and the 8500+ Nvidia cards. I'm a huge fan of ATI cards for HTPC use, so that's my vote. Grab the best 2400 or 2600 card you can for what you want to spend.

Unless something has changed, the 2400 is underpowered for HTPC use because it has troubles with HD decode quality. I'd think the 2600 would be a better choice. Or perhaps the 3450, but I don't know if that still suffers from the same limitations as the 2400.

 

[webada]

Originally posted by: bigsnyder
Check your nearest best buy. Many are reporting that the Visiontek HD2600Pro 512MB DDR2 (both AGP and PCIe) is on sale for $24.99. I found the AGP version for that price, but the PCIe was marked down to $39 at my local store. I am surprised no ona has posted that in the hot deals section here, but there is a thread over at Fatwallet. For pure HTPC use and non-cutting edge gaming, you can't beat that deal.

I will add that you will not find the pricing on their website and varys from store to store.

Thanks for the info !!!!

I went down to local BestBuy but did not find HD2600Pro 512mb AGP for $25.... out of stock. Instead, I asked for a price scan (wasn't listed) on a HD2600XT 512mb AGP, came out $45!! Hell, the 2400Pro sitting on the next shelf was selling for $80. What a steal!

The sales guy before he opened the glass door (yes, its kept locked) even said some other guy bought this other day for $25 and came back picked up few more.....

AGP 2600XT 512mb for $49 after tax, beats any deal on the net.

 

[lopri]

My 6200 can't even playback 720p Quicktime movies.. I'd avoid 6200.