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Thread: GFX card for media centre

  1. #1
    Get to da choppa Million's Avatar
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    GFX card for media centre

    Hello all,
    I'm making a simple media centre PC out of spares, and need advice on a graphics card. So far I have an MSI K8N mobo, 1gb RAM, athlon 64 3000+, HDDs etc. It will be running on a 36" HD ready TV.

    AFAIK, I want a quiet (ideally fanless) card, for PCI or PCI-E slot, cheap, but will pay a bit more if it's worth it. Not playing games on it, just for videos and browsing

    Thanks in advance

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    Moosing about! CAT-THE-FIFTH's Avatar
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    Re: GFX card for media centre

    An ATI hd3450 should be more than enough for media and web browsing duties.

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140262

    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145831

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    Re: GFX card for media centre

    Passively cooled low end 8 series nvidia GPU will more than do the job you want

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    Re: GFX card for media centre

    3450 or 3470 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=770339) will suffice. However, I would get rid of the motherboard chipset fan and replace it with a passive heatsink or heatsink + silent fan.

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    Re: GFX card for media centre

    ATi 3450 will do you plenty good enough and will let you run sound over HDMI as well as an added bonus. Should cost between £20-30 and will be passively cooled. As already suggested it may be worth getting a fanless northbridge cooler but that is something you could easily do later if the buzz annoys you!

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    Re: GFX card for media centre

    Yeah, another vote for an ATI card. I have an Nividia 8600GTS in my main HTPC and a 2600XT in my (far less powerfull) NAS machine. The 2600XT performs exceptionally well, and works perfectly for all the HD content I've thrown at it, be it sourced from HD-DVD, Blu-ray or broadcast source.

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    Million (02-09-2008)

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    Get to da choppa Million's Avatar
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    Re: GFX card for media centre

    Thanks all round! I think I will go with ATI, prob the 3450, as i've been happy with previous ATI cards

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