Need recommendation for Vista compatible HDMI PCI-Express card

[BorgmanJayce]

I'm looking at buying a PCI-Express graphics card that would be compatible with Windows Vista Ultimate and have HDMI connectors as supposedly the picture quality would be better on a plasma or LCD when outputted via that type of connection instead of a DVI connection and I need some recommendations as I was looking at buying a EVGA 8800 GTS Superclocked graphics card but I'm a bit concerned as it only has DVI connectors altho it is HDTV compatible.

[edDV]

Nvidia 7000/8000 series or ATI x1xxx.

None of the cards are optimal for HD/BD DVD playback (VC-1/H.264). The top end of the range comes close when used with a powerful CPU. HDCP compatibility is still a risk until we see more independent testing.

I'd advise getting a card that meets your needs today with the idea that it will be replaced in 1-2 years with the real HTPC solution.

[Soopafresh]

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/vga/vga/pro_vga_detail.php?UID=758

1/3rd the price of the card you mentioned, and as edTV mentioned, it'll tide you over quite nicely until the dust settles.

HDMI will eventually be a requirement for HD-DVD playback, but not for a few years.

Is it just me, or is Vista's hardware requirements for a 3D Looking GUI absolutely silly....

[BorgmanJayce]

Soopafresh, I've checked out the specs for that card you mentioned and it doesn't sound too bad so I will definitely buy that one for my HTPC system which I'm planning on building ["Kawaii Ami-chan" and which is named after Ami Mizuno from Sailor Moon] and I can use the other card that I was planning on using for my main system ["Kawaii Mako-chan" which is named after Makoto Kino from the same show].

[sync]

My understanding is that DVI and HDMI are identical as far as PQ is concerned.

[edDV]

My understanding is that DVI and HDMI are identical as far as PQ is concerned.

HDMI adds audio and bidirectional control. It does not include the analog the VGA pins found in DVI-I.

HDMI is good for feeding 720p/1080i/1080p.

Most HDTV sets want desktop computer video over VGA (Vesa resolutions with no overscan).

[sync]

[quote="edDV"]

Most HDTV sets want desktop computer video over VGA (Vesa resolutions with no overscan).

My tv can take HDMI at 1:1 so I don't think there would be overscan issues with my set. I'm currently feeding it VGA from a computer but I get occasional tearing which other owners of this set have noticed also. So I'm thinking of switching to the HDMI input which doesn't have the tearing issue.

[FulciLives]

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/vga/vga/pro_vga_detail.php?UID=758

1/3rd the price of the card you mentioned, and as edTV mentioned, it'll tide you over quite nicely until the dust settles.

HDMI will eventually be a requirement for HD-DVD playback, but not for a few years.

Is it just me, or is Vista's hardware requirements for a 3D Looking GUI absolutely silly....

This is a good recommendation as I have been thinking of getting this card myself (or one like it). This card is a Nvidia GeForce 7600GT and it is the cheapest of the Nvidia cards that fully support Nvidia's PURE VIDEO which is a must if you want quality output to a HDTV set.

So like everyone else is saying ... get a 7600GT card now ... then something better later on once the computer video card companies figure out how to handle HDCP HDMI properly.

Oh wait ... I see this model does have HDMI output. I've seen other 7600GT cards that only had DVI output. Hmmm ... so this is very interesting!

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[edDV]

A true HTPC needs both hardware h.264/VC-1 decoding (no CPU load) plus hardware h.264/VC-1 encoding/transcoding from analog and DTV MPeg2_TS inputs. Eventually this will all fold into a single card with tuner (like a ATI AIW). Power HTPC systems will need multiple tuners and encoders to record multiple channels.

[Soopafresh]

Some really interesting info here:

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=328&type=expert&pid=3

[MJA]

I'm looking at buying a PCI-Express graphics card that would be compatible with Windows Vista Ultimate and have HDMI connectors as supposedly the picture quality would be better on a plasma or LCD when outputted via that type of connection instead of a DVI connection and I need some recommendations as I was looking at buying a EVGA 8800 GTS Superclocked graphics card but I'm a bit concerned as it only has DVI connectors altho it is HDTV compatible.

The price of the EVGA 8800 GTS is down to $286.88.

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=CA9606886&cmp=OTC-Adwords