Videocard musical chairs

[imported_browsing]

I'm thinking about building a HTPC and I don't know if I'll need to get a new card for regular blu-ray playback and light gaming (nothing newer than oblivion). I currently have two builds that I'd like to clean up and keep running in addition to this new build and I don't know what will be the best bang for my buck.

I have a x1900xtx and a HD 4850 right now in my other systems. How do these stack up to current cards? Would I be better off getting a relatively cheap card for just the blu-ray hdmi output or should I use one of these and replace it with something with more bang in my main system?

My main concern is that I stopped paying attention to graphics cards when that x1900xtx was pretty hot and I can't grasp what is a good bargain anymore. I'm willing to buy another card but I don't want to overpay or waste a decent card I already have.

 

[ther00kie16]

Both your cards can handle Oblivion pretty well. So you could just use the 4850. Though what would you use in the system you take it out of? If you have to end up buying a card anyway, I'd say, for a HTPC, get something like a nvidia 8200/8300 board that can be used with a 9800gt in hybrid power so that when you aren't playing games, the dedicated card can be shut off.

 

[imported_browsing]

I've got two identical motherboards (P5W DH Deluxes) and I was thinking that if the x1900xtx could cut it for blu-ray playback and some larger scale gaming (it's going to be attached to a 42" 1080 lcd) I might move it over into the HTPC, replacing the graphics card on my main system and also upgrading the cpu. Right now I've got two E6600s and I'd toss one of those into the HTPC then find a new core 2 for the main.

Also, any guesses on the percentage gains on my cards? I'm assuming the 4850 is better than the x1900xtx but I don't have an idea of how much better it is.

 

[AVP]

Check here

 

[imported_browsing]

Thank you for the link! That should help out a lot. Anyone know the cutoff point on those cards for seamless blu-ray playback in full 1080? It looks like my 4850 512mb is decent enough to not need replacing as a main graphics card and I could get a cheaper one for the blu-ray. Just don't know how inexpensive I can go before I start messing myself up.

 

[imported_browsing]

I can't find any examples of it being done but can you crossfire the x1900xtx with a x1950xt crossfire card? Would it be better than crossing it with a x1900xt crossfire card? Can you crossfire the x1900xtx with another of the same or does it require a master crossfire card still? It seems like the new ones are only one model that can be duplicated but I didn't think that was the case for older crossfires. I just don't know anything about these cards anymore it seems.

 

[ther00kie16]

Any hd3000 series or higher card will do 1080p just fine if you have software that will utilize hardware acceleration. Otherwise, the e6600 should be plenty fast enough to decode anything you throw at it.
Why do you want to crossfire? It'd be difficult and probably expensive to get a crossfire card to match your current card. Also, if you get a cheap ($20) 3450, it probably won't be able to play games like oblivion too well. A 4670 should fit the bill well if you want a HTPC card that can handle moderate gaming. Otherwise, just try out the x1900xtx first.

 

[imported_browsing]

I've already got a x1900xtx and I've seen a few used x1900 series cards running cheap. I figured that throwing that in there as well wouldn't hurt if the upgrade was less than $50. My power supply could handle it as well.

 

[ther00kie16]

I see... I didn't expect it easy to find crossfire master cards, let alone for as cheap as $50 on ebay. But yea... I suppose if you want super smooth gameplay at 1920x1080, then you might need to crossfire the x1900xtx. I'd recommend trying just the 1 card first though. It's a pretty fast card and my friend ran HL2 and Source on 2560x1600 with it.