Which GPU in an HTPC that also runs F1 2010?

[rachidfinge]

(It's my first post here, although I've been reading a lot. Looking forward to a great time!)

I'm currently selecting components for a new HTPC build. The base of the system will be an Asus P8H67-I Deluxe M-ITX mainboard with Intel's new Sandy Bridge Core i3 2100 CPU.

Normally, when it comes to graphics, one would probably use the Intel HD Graphics integrated in the CPU, but that's where the problem lies: my HTPC must be able to run Codemaster's F1 2010 (similar to DiRT 2 when it comes to requirements) smoothly with high detail in 1920x1080.

What advice would you give me? The GPU must have sufficient performance to run the above smoothly, but also mustn't be noisy and obviously must fit into a relatively tiny HTPC case. Also, it should have at least a HDMI output.

I'm mainly looking at AMD, rather than NVIDIA, because of the audio bitstreaming capabilities over HDMI that AMD offers.

I've considered the Radeon 5570, but it is way too slow for the game. Radeon 68xx seems right but apparently it's likely to be physically too large to fit into an HTPC case (although I'd like to be proven wrong).

Hopefully someone will be able to help! Thanks in advance.

BTW: still didn't decide on a HTPC case yet; if you have a suggestion (although, I concur, that would be slightly off-topic, I'd like to hear it).

 

[Rifter]

For that game at that res in high detail i would go with a 6850 as the slowest card to look at.

You will likely have to buy a larger case that can propley fit and cool a full sized double slot card. Which will make the point of going ITX useless, you might want to just go with a mATX mobo/case. Or just live with the fact that gaming and ITX do not go together.

 

[correct]

i have a hd 6870, and play f1 2010 (highest settings, 8 x af, and 4 x aa) at 1920x1080 with vsync on. every now, and then the game will dip to 55 fps, but for the most part, the game plays smoothly at 60fps.