Minimum ATI onboard video chipset for HTPC blu ray playback

Hey, I'm looking at building an HTPC system on the cheap soon and was wondering what is the minimum ATI chipset/onboard video needed for hardware accelerated Blu Ray playback and 1080p output through HDMI. Onboard video is the preferred choice as I am planning on using a slimline case and 90% of the add-on video cards will not fit in the case. I am planning on using an AMD dual core CPU due to keeping costs down and the ability to use DDR2 memory and an AM3 chipset. NVIDIA chipsets are not an option due to the issues I had with their defective videocard in my $2500 laptop and have permanently sword off anything NVIDIA at this point. 3D gaming is not a concern whatsoever as I have a dedicated desktop for that.

The chipsets I was looking at on newegg are as follows:
AMD 740G with an ATI 2100 onboard
AMD 760G with an ATI 3000 onboard
AMD 780G with an ATI 3200 onboard
AMD 785G with an ATI 4200 onboard
AMD 790GX with an ATI 3300 onboard

The lower 2 boards are around the $50 range from what I've found. The last 3 start at around $70 on up. Again, price is a big factor as overkill is not needed due to the specific task given for the computer. Re-encoding is not an issue either as I have faster machines in the house to do the job for me.

I know that the 780G on up will handle Blu-Ray without a problem, but I am not sure about the 740G and 760G chipsets. I am planning on using Windows 7 once it is released along with 4gig of memory, so that may also be another concern in regards to compatability with the chipsets along with audio over HDMI and 7.1 surround sound.

thank you in advance

If you actually want a low-profile graphics card with no fan (less noise) and good processing power, look at cards based on the ATI HD 4350 chips. We just bought one from XFX who have several. Ours has an S-video out and no HDMI, but they have HDMI available either as an on-board connector or via an adapter plugged into the DVI connector. The card is low-profile but arrives with a full-size end mounting plate, plus a low-profile plate you use to convert it - takes 5 minutes tops. The only wrinkle is that the conversion means there's no place on the new smaller plate for the VGA outlet, and no second plate to mount it. So you just don't use VGA, or you make your own plate, or you buy an adapter plate set from XFX to re-mount the VGA connector.

Many other card makers also have HD 4350-based cards with various features, so read the spec's carefully to ensure you get the features and outputs you need. Here's one example listing that includes HD 4350 cards with HDMI outputs, either by direct connectors or via adapters on the DVI port.

http://search.zipzoomfly.com/search.aspx?Key=hd%204350

Here's an example of the adapter that converts a DVI OUt to an HDMI Out connector

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] CatId=3667

Just found a highly relevant post about this issue of using an adapter to get HDMI from an AVI portn- works with ATI cards if done right, but not always with other cards. Details:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messag [...] erthread=y