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Thread: REally, really dense question

  1. #1
    isn't trying to wind U up Shooty*'s Avatar
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    REally, really dense question

    Hey,
    I know the answer to this, deep down*, but would appreciate some views.

    Installed W7 on my HTPC last night after a few years of running it on Vista. So far, so good. Only problem is some video "tearing" when swapping between MediaCentre and Desktop. And, like, on boot up and stuff. I'm running the onboard graphics on a Asus M3A78-EM mobo, which are, I believe, Radeon HD3200. It's running through my 32 inch samsung telly.

    I'm NOT using HDMI as the drivers don't seem to get on with the onboard graphics, or there's a handshakeissue, or something which causes stutter to all videos played. Also, under/ overscan was ugly, and I generally prefer DVI.

    So, anyway, I'm thinking of getting a proper GPu. I've got my eyes on the Geforce GT520, which is low profile and looks good and also, cheap.

    So, the million dollar question: Is the GT520 better than the onboard?

    (main use is videos, DVDs, Bluray, no real gaming).

    *the answer, I believe is "Yes, you idiot, upgrade".

    Thanks
    My HTPC: Linky

  2. #2
    root Member DanceswithUnix's Avatar
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    Re: REally, really dense question

    It would, but Anandtech recommend the GT430 as having a bit more grunt to properly do de-interlacing.

    http://www.anandtech.com/show/4380/d...us-shootout/10

    or skip to the end page if you don't want to stare at all the graphs

    http://www.anandtech.com/show/4380/d...us-shootout/16

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    Shooty* (25-04-2012)

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    isn't trying to wind U up Shooty*'s Avatar
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    Re: REally, really dense question

    But... but... but... how does that work? The 520 has a higher number, so must be better, surely!

    Thank you, DWU. That's extremely helpful.
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    Re: REally, really dense question

    err....... onbord vs gt520 defently gt520

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    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
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    Re: REally, really dense question

    Not sure what the video decode tech on a GT520 is like tbh, but I run a 785G mobo as my HTPC and I haven't had any issues at all. That said, I only play DVDs, not Bluray, so I don't know if that has any impact: from memory the 780G has UVD2, whist the 785G has UVD3, so that might make a difference.

    Any particular reason you're not looking at AMD discreet cards? My impression of the recent low-end GeForce cards is that they've been lacklustre, power-hungry and overpriced...

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    Seriously casual gamer KeyboardDemon's Avatar
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    Re: REally, really dense question

    Quote Originally Posted by Shooty* View Post
    But... but... but... how does that work? The 520 has a higher number, so must be better, surely!

    Thank you, DWU. That's extremely helpful.
    I can't be exact here but the x30 indicates a higher model in a series of cards and the 5xx represents a later series of cards than the 4xx range of cards. It is possible for a higher model of an older series to outperform a lower model of a newer series. In terms of media use I don't think that there is that much more that a 5xx series card could offer over a 4xx alternative, but for gaming you might find the 5xx would offer better DX11 features.

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    isn't trying to wind U up Shooty*'s Avatar
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    Re: REally, really dense question

    Ah. Ordered the 430gt from Scan today. Have read around, fairly confident it'll work for what I want (Media Browser).

    Thanks all, will keep you informed.
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    isn't trying to wind U up Shooty*'s Avatar
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    Re: REally, really dense question

    It's good. It's quiet. It's made a fantastic difference to MediaBrowser performance. Nice.
    Only problem: my HDMI cables are quite chunky, and the HDMI port is near the top of the card, so I can't put the cable in all the way coz it bumps against the case. Not a massive problem as I'm a DVI guy really, but I did want to see how HDMI performed. Ah, well. Can buy a skinny cable, I suppose...
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