Help me choose a Video Card

[shaurya]

Hello,

I am not a geek and very new in PVR/HTPC. I have a ASUS Motherboard with 8x AGP that I want to use for Video Output. It also has PCI slots. No PCI-x or PCIe is available. I need help in choosing the right video card for the following requirments. My intended use is primarily watching video etc rather than using it for Games. I am not into Games. To be honest, I have only played Solitaire and Prince of Persia (Yea have been living in Stone age so far)

1. To buy AGP 8X card or PCI card (I understand AGP is better than PCI).
2. Passive Cooled. Fan model is not desired (Planning to put 2-3 80mm/120mm fan in the case for intake/exhaust)
3. Compatble with standard NTSC/ATSC capturing card eg..using DVXA tech etc like FUSION HDTV Gold/ATI Theater 650 (comingout soon) etc...
4. Supports 4:3, 16:9, 16:10 ratios and any other custom ratios...
5. Supports all sorts of resolutions upto for HDTV 1080i (planning to use it now in a old Sony CRT TV with HDTV in next 1 yr )
6. Little Gaming capbility is good to have.
7. Supports all sorts of connectivty like composite, s-video, compoent, DVI etc..(more the merrier)
8. Reputable Brand with very good warranty.
9. Budget is more or less $200
10. Sill don't understand the full use of Dual Display, if its good to have for PVR/HTPC then it would be nice..

I spent nearly 2 weeks on ATI/Nvidia websites but got lost in Geforce/Readon jargon.

Regards,
Shaurya

 

[Mike]

I don't have time right now to pull a model for you, but a few brief notes in the meantime:

1. Go AGP, the AGP slot is designed for graphics, PCI is not (and you will typically not find the same level of card in PCI versions).
2. You may want to clarify your reasoning on passively cooled. Typical fans on a video card are not noisy so this might limit your options.

If this is for a media PC, you may want to specify what you are considering.

I used a Leadtek 6800 GS card for my MCE machine (was a little less than $200, but I don't think I have found the card again).

 

[Paul]

There aren't that many options for a new AGP card, most of the new cards are being made PCIe only.

If you want to buy a passively cooled card that will do everything that you've posted there, my professional opinion is that this would be the best card for your money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814150125

Passive cooling, plenty fast for gaming, and as such it will do everything else on your list fine. Off the top of my head I'm not sure what XFX's warranty policy is, but they are a very good brand and have if I remeber correctly, have a very good warranty policy. This card will also support 1920x1080 res (1080i), so that should take care of it.

That, and its less than $90, cant beat that with a stick.

 

[Treetop]

Nvidia 6600GT

A great site to browse for this kid of thing... http://www.htpcnews.com/forums/index.php

Lots of good information there...