Minimum Graphics card with HDMI to pump out XBMC to 55in Panasonic??

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janszoon

53 posts

Master Geek

#101031 23-Apr-2012 15:45

Hey there,
I have been running XBMC on my laptop to my TV, works sweet with the bluetooth PS3 remote to drive it all.

Anyways, so I can check my Trademe while watching Game of Thrones, I want to move the XBMC setup to my spare box. Its a P4 3ghz 2gig ram XP professional box.

I need (want) to get an HDMI-out from it up to the TV (only VGA in current card) so I'm eyeing up a graphics upgrade to allow for this.

I may even throw a bluray drive in as well, dunno.

anyways- I looked at a Radeon HD 6570 - looks like it will easily do the task - but is it overkill? I see a PCI with HD HDMI out for $60 as well.

appreciate your thoughts.

(Use: XBMC play only, possibly a blueray or two if external drive added).

cheers.

garvani

1873 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#613762 23-Apr-2012 15:49

I wouldn't go with the 6570, theres a really good chance the card won't work with your motherboard. Go for a 5570 which will be ample for what you want to do. Even a hd5450 would probably surfice.

EvilSteve

232 posts

Master Geek

#613866 23-Apr-2012 19:03

I have a similar question.

I already have a decent graphics card (Gigabyte 560oc) but you can only have 2 outputs going at once which are tied up by two 24inch monitors.

Is it possible to add another graphics card (like the ones mentioned above) to output to a TV via HDMI?

What is the cheapest card I could get to do this?

My system is capable but not top of the line.
AMD 1055T 6 core CPU
Gigabyte 560OC 1gig
4gig DDR3 1333
90gig OCZ Agility 3
Windows 7 64bit

garvani

1873 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#613873 23-Apr-2012 19:16

halfbaked: I have a similar question.

I already have a decent graphics card (Gigabyte 560oc) but you can only have 2 outputs going at once which are tied up by two 24inch monitors.

Is it possible to add another graphics card (like the ones mentioned above) to output to a TV via HDMI?

What is the cheapest card I could get to do this?

My system is capable but not top of the line.
AMD 1055T 6 core CPU
Gigabyte 560OC 1gig
4gig DDR3 1333
90gig OCZ Agility 3
Windows 7 64bit

Yes you can add another graphics card to get a third screen.. you dont need anything flash to pump 1080p video to a tv, a cheap GT520 will suffice

janszoon

53 posts

Master Geek

#615808 27-Apr-2012 06:43

Oh forgot to state the obvious - need the HDMI to also put the sound out....does this change the suggestion above?

Additonally, having a 'wake up' function over HDMI would be cool. Bit like Wake on LAN but rather when I put it on HDMI channel 1 the PC wakes up form hibernation.

possible?

LookingUp

411 posts

Ultimate Geek

#615841 27-Apr-2012 08:54

janszoon: Oh forgot to state the obvious - need the HDMI to also put the sound out....does this change the suggestion above?

Additonally, having a 'wake up' function over HDMI would be cool. Bit like Wake on LAN but rather when I put it on HDMI channel 1 the PC wakes up form hibernation.

possible?

You could use something like this

http://www.pulse-eight.com/store/products/104-usb-hdmi-cec-adapter.aspx

and have it wake the PC via USB.

Things are LookingUp.... A photo from my back yard :-)

Azzura

603 posts

Ultimate Geek

ID Verified

#615870 27-Apr-2012 09:41

I can only speak for the ATI 4600 I have running to my 50" Panasonic via HDMI.

The PQ is very good...

Something else you may want to consider is being able to control the fan speed on the video card. Some video cards that are on the cheaper end...the fan works at 100% with no built in fan speed controller. I had to hook my 4600 fan to a secondary fan control.

I've always preferred ATI over the yrs for HTPC due to the ATI PQ vs Nvidia PQ, but I am sure Nvidia is just as good (today..I think?).

kiwijunglist

2981 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#616078 27-Apr-2012 15:10

Does your motherboard have PCI-E video card slot?

If so I'd recommend either HD5450 , HD5670 , or HD6450

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4263/amds-radeon-hd-6450-uvd3-meets-htpc

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/radeon-hd6670-hd6570-hd6450_7.html

The HD 5450 uses hardly any power and is the cheapest.
The HD 5670 slightly more power than the 5450/6450, but is best if doing any gaming.
The HD 6450 is probably the better buy if you don't game, as it's only $5-10 more than the older HD5450

All 3 cards will do sound over HDMI.

The best HD 4XXX card would be the HD4670, however it will probably cost more than an HD5450 (slower, but cooler + less power useage) and about the same as an HD5670 (faster)

If your motherboard has AGP video card slot, then your choices are severely limited and it would advise to stick with what ever current video card you are using, as a new AGP video card is unlikely to speed up multimedia, as there are only a few rare cards that support hardware decoding (speeding up multimedia/video)

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.