Which Hdmi card for 52" 1080p?

[TONYTONE]

Hi ya folks, mi first post.

After much saving up I'm now in the position to do a complete new build. i've choosen the follwoing parts so far but am having difficulty with choosing a power supply and more importantly a hdmi graphics card. Any suggestions or advice would be great.

Monitor: Samsung 52" 1080p plasma (godda be done )
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA P35C-DS3R
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
Memory: 2x1GB CorsairTwin X XMS2 Dominator DDR2 PC2-6400
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate
HDD: Seagate 500GB (sata)
Graphics card: £200 approx ????
PSU (modular): £50 - £100 ????
HD Reader: I'll wait till the prices drop me tinks.
Case: Custom (wood)

Purpose: I'm aiming for a full HDCP system (future proofing) for watching flicks, tintermoochin and being owned.

Cheers Tone

 

[utaka95]

Not trying to rain on your parade, but, I wouldn't go plasma for any type of gaming. They can be ruined by displaying constant images (like games). Just my 2 cents (or 2p to you)

 

[TONYTONE]

Thats a good point. I'd heard that allot of screen burn problems had been resolved but wasn't too sure how well. Ah well plan B on the screen. lol.

 

[Yoosty]

Here are a few graphic cards that might be what you are looking for around the price you listed. From the 3 best e-tailors in UK, you might want to browse there sites in case the cards below do not meet your specs.

1) 320MB EVGA 8800GTS, PCI-E (x16)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=545079

2) Asus EN8800GTS/HTDP/320M 8800GTS 320MB DDR3 DVI-Ix2 HDTV PCI-E
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/126239

3) 640MB Gainward 8800GTS Bliss, PCI-E (x16)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=615603

4) Gigabyte Radeon ATI X2900 512MB DDR3 PCIE
http://www.dabs.com/productview.asp...e=1&NavigationKey=11137,4294953731,4294955174

5) 512MB Sapphire HD2900XT, PCI-E(x16)
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=595228

With any of the cards above you will need a PSU that has (2) 6PIN PCIE graphic card power connectors.

These Brands are what you need to look at, Enermax, OCZ, Seasonic and Tagan U series,of wattage of 700 and up at following links.

http://www.dabs.com/ProductList.asp...s=PSU&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/search/?qfind=PSU#

Hope this helps you out some.

 

[emp]

320MB won't cut it at 1920x1080, you're going to need a 8800GTS 640 or a 8800GTX, and he doesn't need a 700W PSU for a single card setup, maybe for a SLI setup.

EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-017-EA&groupi d=701&catid=56&subcat=927

Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-004-CS

This is what you need, there are brands that offer 8800GTS 640 slightly cheaper, but I prefer eVGA because of their warranty and customer support.

 

[scryer_360]

Ok, let me set this straight:
Samsung does not make a 52" plasma. I work at a major retailer, and I can say with certainty that NO ONE makes a 52" Plasma. Especially not in 1080p.

But, also due to working in Home Theater at Best Buy, I can say with certainty that Samsung DOES MAKE a 52" 1080p LCD. So the screen the OP wants is actually ok. Its an LCD, not Plasma. Really, if this was going to be light use (like a laptop would link up with it every once in a while), a Plasma would be ok. New Plasmas (anything 8th generation or better) are a lot harder to burn in then those first few were. Now, you can still get a lemon Plasma that will burn in quick (long story on how a manufacturers defect can make that happen), but those screens are as common a bad LCD from the factory.

And really a Samsung Plasma (which comes in a 50", near the OP's size) would be nearly as good as LCD: Samsung uses a "Pixel Switching" technology to swirl the gas in the screen around, preventing burn in almost entirely. But, I've still seen it happen.

As to what card he should use, since he is looking for HDMI, I think the Radeon 2900XT is the best bet. Thanks to new drivers its actually better than the 8800GTS in some cases, and (cool feature):
It has the weirdest DVI port I have ever seen. If you use the DVI to HDMI adapter that comes with the card, you can actually get sound output through it! HDMI carries up to 7.1 Channel surround sound, and until now if you used a DVI to HDMI adapter, all you could get through the cable was video.

But thats where the 2900 XT's weird DVI port comes in. The reason sound would not go out through other DVI to HDMI adapters is because DVI does not carry audio: however the port on this card will output audio through an HDMI cable when using the DVI to HDMI adapter. Hence, its like having an actual HDMI port right on the card.

And because digital surround signals will travel through it, the OP can use the fiber optic output on the back of his TV to carry the sound to his sound system. The reason to do this is that Vista drops support for the S/PDIF, which is the fiber optic and digital coaxial outputs on the computer from either the sound card or motherboard. It will only allow digital surround sound through an HDMI connection. If there is no HDMI, he has to use analog 5.1 or 7.1 channel outputs.

So the OP takes his HDMI cable into the TV, and then a fiber optic line from the back of the TV to his surround sound receiver (now or if he needs one later). And then the setup is done. All the surround and all the video is hooked up in the highest possible quality.

 

[emp]

Well remember that many people usually mistake LCDs for plasma, for some reason the average joe decides to call every slim tv a plasma.

 

[TONYTONE]

Geez folks i never expect info like that! Cool. Thankyou very much indeed. I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers

Tone