Once again- can't decide on video card..

[chaos]

Got my htpc together now but bought a cheaper video to get it up and running. Now that I have the cash, I need to get a good one. I want it to play movies well and I will probably do some gaming. Here are the onen I'm looking at now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127298
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127287
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260142777448&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=016
the 1st 2 are dx10, but don't know how well they will run graphic intensive games. the foxconn is dx9, but I believe it will run games alot better, especially than the 8600 gts card. Don't know much about the 2600xt card. Any oher suggestions maybe??????want it to stay pretty quiet also.

 

[jimmsch]

From what I understand the HD 2600XT will play HD movie content a bit better than the 8600 series, but the 8600 excels in gaming.

I guess you will have to decide what is the primary function of this HTPC and chose a card accordingly.

 

[chaos]

so I shouldn't even bother with thw 7950gt? Don't know if I'll ever upgrade to Vista, well if I don't I can't use dx10 anyway right?..

 

[jimmsch]

so I shouldn't even bother with thw 7950gt? Don't know if I'll ever upgrade to Vista, well if I don't I can't use dx10 anyway right?..

I don't think it is ALL about DX10. The new cards have HD decoding support. When when watching HD content such as x.264 encoded movies and Blue Ray the card does most of the work, leaving your CPU almost idling. Reports have shown that with HD enabled cards a C2D CPU is just at 6% (approx) usage when playing HD video. This is why I went with the HD2600XT for my HTPC. I will only use it for playing HD content and no gaming at all. I also chose a passively cooled card for complete silence, which is essential in HTPC as far as I am concerned.

It is ultimately up to you and what you plan to use it for that will determine the best solution for your video card.

 

[chaos]

for $200 dollars don't think i can pass up the 7950gt with 512mb ram AND overclocked..I can always buy another video card later.