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Replacement for oldish GFX card

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Replacement for oldish GFX card

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airbedman   09-26-2007 at 01:43:19 PM

Hi

I have an oldish media center PC which I'm not yet ready to replace. It has the following spec:

Biostar IDEQ 200v
Athlon XP2800
Nvidia 128MB FX5200
512MB Ram
Soundblaster USB Soundcard
Hauppauge PVR250 TV Card

I use the PC with a 42" plasma and it has been great for a couple of years. I would like to watch more 720p/x264 media, however the machine stutter slightly and I get annoying sound drop-outs every few seconds. I'm using direct SPDIF out to my AV Amp, so I'm confident the sound is not the problem, but load on the machine is high. I was advised that a GFX card upgrade could solve my problem. As its a media center PC a passively cooled one would be the most sensible option. Can anyone recommend a cheapish card that will take the load off a bit?

I should mention that the Biostar only has AGP


Message edited by airbedman on 09-26-2007 at 01:56:42 PM
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Ilander   09-26-2007 at 02:26:29 PM
- 0 +

Well, the Visiontek AGP Radeon HD 2600 Pro comes to mind, but it is actively cooled...actually, their HD 2400 Pro is actively cooled as well. Those cards would be the best for your setup, though, I think, as they are designed for such use.

Reply to Ilander
runswindows95   09-26-2007 at 02:49:40 PM
- 0 +

Also, you might also want to increase the memory as well. 512MB isn't much in this day and age.

Reply to runswindows95
airbedman   09-26-2007 at 03:21:14 PM
- 0 +

Is there a special driver/codec for the Radeon, like Nvidia has PureVideo?

Thanks for this, I'll price up stuff, it may be throwing good money after bad though.

Reply to airbedman
airbedman   09-26-2007 at 05:00:53 PM
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I cant seem to find the HD 2600/2400 Pro in AGP form in the UK, what would the equivalent Nvidia card be?

Reply to airbedman
spuddyt   09-26-2007 at 05:37:32 PM
- 0 +

8600/8500 gt

Reply to spuddyt
mactronix   09-26-2007 at 11:36:18 PM
- 0 +

So your looking for something like this then
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/130560
Mactronix :)

Reply to mactronix
Ilander   09-27-2007 at 07:31:47 AM
- 0 +

Be warned, I hear some of the higher res people complain about the 2400 series for home theater pc's.

Incidentally, nVidia STILL hasn't released the 8500/8600s on the AGP bus stateside, or anywhere, I think. If you want new, it's ATI only. That said, I think the 2400PRO will actually still be an upgrade from a GeForce 5200.

And, I second the opinion on RAM.

Reply to Ilander
airbedman   10-15-2007 at 10:15:00 AM
- 0 +

I went ahead and bought the HD2400 Pro and it doesn't play ball with either Vista or MCE. I've tried a million drivers and loads of registry hackes etc, but it seems the AGP one at least is known not to work on right in MCE. If I try and use the hardware video decoding at all it crashes too, so its going on ebay I'm afraid. I think I've been put off ATI for life!

I see that I cant get any 8500/8600 cards in AGP, so I think it'lhave to be one of the following:
- Geforce 7600GS/GT (whats the difference?)
- Geforce 6200

Any other suggestions? I'm thinking of building a new HTPC next year, but would really like to have 720p playback working, on a budget, so any suggestions, even if its an older, only on ebay type card?

Reply to airbedman
tlmck   10-15-2007 at 11:05:54 AM
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The 6200 would work, but the 7600GS would work better. Both have passive cooling models. You can also do passive cooling with the GT, but you would have to get an aftermarket cooler. I have one on a EVGA 7600GT card. Works well.
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131149. The link is for the S1 model. I have the S2.

If you get one of the 7600 cards, don't forget to plug in the 1x4 Molex connector from the PSU. If it is a concern, the 7600GS has the lowest power draw of the bunch.

Reply to tlmck
airbedman   10-15-2007 at 01:53:00 PM
- 0 +

Thanks I'll have a look at those, I only hope they work better than the AGP ATI onces.

Reply to airbedman
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