What r some of the good non-gaming cards?

[talk2me]

hi'yall.....this is wat i ordered direct from HP.
E8400
2gb mem
on board video(which i'm looking to upgrde)
vista premium 32bit
1 x pcie-16
300 psu

Can some1 recomend me a solid non gaming card to watch HD content under 100?
(quiter the better).

PS, although i'm not a gamer but i have read a high praise for 8800GT and i understand that 8800GT is in fact a gaming card? so if i go with 8800GT not to play game per say well mayb a little. anyhow if i choose 8800GT, do u guys think that i need to upgrade my psu?
any help and advice would b appreciated
kevin

 

[talk2me]

need an advice on video card for HD and bluray viewing under 100.

my spec:
vista premium 32 bit
E8400
2gb mem
640HDD
HP 22' lcd

thanks guys
kevin

Dupe thread from the same poster, merged.

-ViRGE

 

[Sylvanas]

Cannot beat this 3450 for $18 AR does all the HD decoding, silent, low power- great card :thumbsup:

 

[talk2me]

thanks Sylvanas.....btw, correct me if i'm wrong on this.....
is it safe to say that nvidia cards r more gear towards the gaming pcs where as ati's r more for u no HD viewing? it seems to me that nvidia's r dominating the market.
and 1 final q's, which nvidia card is comparable to ati 3450 in ur opinion?
or should i just get that card u recomended?

much thanks
kevin

 

[bunnyfubbles]

very incorrect assumptions there.

both companies have competitive solutions for every niche of the market

as far as an nVidia alternative to the 3450, it would have to be the 8400GS...the 3450 has a great feature set, but the trump card has generally been lower price

 

[talk2me]

thanks bunny.....i really appreciate that.

 

[ViRGE]

If you promise not to game on it, get a Radeon HD3450. 3D performance is terrible, but it has AMD's UVD, which means you can offload most video decoding to the card.

 

[Narynan]

Once choice I seem to find all the time is the following
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121219

90 bucks, aftermarket cooler, and a 30 MIR.
60 bucks is pretty slick for that card.

 

[talk2me]

Hey van, yeah i took ur word and ordered me 1 from Newegg for 29 plus 10 in rebate.

thanks van

 

[talk2me]

thanks ViRGE, i ordeered me 1 from Newegg for 29 plus 10 in rebate.