Which card for a HTPC for h264 decoding?

[flexy]

I have this "old" PC which serves as a HTPC, and it has a very old Radeon X850 in it.

I want to update the PC with a modern card, the PC is ONLY used for watching movies, so it can be a "el cheapo" card.

Here is a list of what current cards can do in regards to h.264 decoding

http://www.missingremote.com/index....=view&id=2564&Itemid=230&limit=1&limitstart=1

Now i am torn between a simple Geforce 210 and a Radeon 2400. Possible getting the Geforce because of Cuda and the fact that i use CoreAVC codec to decode h.264

What do you think?

 

[ZetaEpyon]

Unless you're really stuck on using CoreAVC for some reason, I'd recommend just using DXVA. It's faster than CoreAVC with CUDA even; I'm using a cheap 8500GT in my HTPC for it.

 

[lopri]

Why do you consider HD 2400? That card is now 3 generation old. If you can find a good deal on GT 220/210 series they are pretty much even with HD 4000 series when it comes to H.264 decoding. From what I hear, however, GT 220/210 run hot and loud so if you want an NV solution you may want to look at 9400/9500 series instead. You'll lose 8 channel LPCM but if you don't need it then it obviously doesn't matter.

CoreAVC itself didn't use GPU but now it does with NV GPUs via CUDA, but as ZetaEpyon commented above I found it generally more CPU-hungry than plain DXVA. Some people say you get better visual quality but for me it was a toss-up. If anything I felt AMD's UVD2 gave better default images.

Then there are hard-core anime/cartoon crowd who can't have enough reference frames - for those, NV's PureVideo is the only option for now.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121310

That should work for 25 bucks

 

[Marty502]

Hard to beat a Radeon 4350 for that price. Those carry the latest UVD version and everything. Perfect for an HTPC.

 

[flexy]

Great, thx!! Those 4350 are even cheaper.
Edit: Just ordered...thanks for tip. That list i posted seems to be older anyway.