HDMI VS DVI & PSU

dvi and hdmi is the same signal but hdmi also audio. Why does the new card have to have a vga output? If your current monitor does not have dvi then the new card will come with a dvi to vga adapter. I definitely recommend a new psu also. 300w is not very much anymore.

You can swap out the PSU for a different one as long as it's the same form factor which is likely ATX.

You should really give a little more detail about your hardware.

I have a Sony HDTV and use the VGA input (3.5mm stereo audio). Pretty much all graphics cards have VGA but usually through the included DVI-I -> VGA adapter.

You have other issues besides video. If you don't have a receiver that uses digital input from our PC you need to have HDMI audio support. I doubt you have that.

I don't know exactly what your needs are though as you didn't say.

There are a lot of devices coming out this fall that are probably better. Among other formats, get one that can playback DVD ISO (images of your DVDs).

Look at the latest MViX and start researching HD Media players. Start with the Western Digital one (okay, but doesn't have full support).

ATI 4350 or ATI 4550 Cards both support HDMI / HDCP / HDMI Audio. They have pretty low power requirements and support Dual ouputs so you could attach the monitor via a dvi-vga adapter and the HDTV via a DVI-HDTV adapter simultaneously. ATI recommends a 300W or greater PSU, but that depends a lot on your current hardware setup

what are you guys talking about and why are wasting David's money??!! He does not need a new PSU!! He is not looking for a gaming card. The only person who accurately replied to him was stuart.

Both the 4350 or 4550 have have HDMI out and support HDMI digital. At peak the 4550 uses 20w, the 4350 even less. Unless you hooked up several HDD and DVD drives (and possibly a toaster oven) to your PC, your current 300w PSU can power either those cards with no issue.

Thanks to everybody, I appreciate stuart's card recomendations and chef is right about my monitor, it has a dvi input that I was unaware of. I am glad I don't have to worry about a new psu, All I want to do is view media from my pc on my hdtv and it supports dlna through my lan so that should take care of the digital receiver problem. The tv has media 2.0 which supports a direct connection to the internet bypassing the pc if I want using internet@tv with yahoo widgets engine. I will let you know how it turns out. I will try tlo pick up one of those cards soon.

Thanks to all who provided input!

Drvndervish

Thanks to everybody, I appreciate stuart's card recomendations and chef is right about my monitor, it has a dvi input that I was unaware of. I am glad I don't have to worry about a new psu, All I want to do is view media from my pc on my hdtv and it supports dlna through my lan so that should take care of the digital receiver problem. The tv has media 2.0 which supports a direct connection to the internet bypassing the pc if I want using internet@tv with yahoo widgets engine. I will let you know how it turns out. I will try tlo pick up one of those cards soon.

Thanks to all who provided input!

While I am at it I am wondering if any of you have experience with streaming netflix and pandora through a blu-ray? Is there any chance that blu-ray is not the technology of the future?

Drvndervish

If I understand you correctly the dvi output will provide the same quality as hdmi but I will need additional wire connections for the audio?

Thanks for your help

If you are hooking it up to surround sound you would need one anyways. Sound on a tv pretty much sucks. Thats where coax or spdif going from your sound card into the surround sound comes into play.