Anyone out there using a 9400GT to successfully decode TV3 on FreeviewHD?

Forums › Home Theatre (incl HTPC) › Anyone out there using a 9400GT to successfully decode TV3 on FreeviewHD?

HTPCnewbie

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Master Geek

Topic # 29941 23-Jan-2009 20:20

Am keen to buy a 8500GT Silent, but am finding it hard to track one down.
Anyone seen one for sale recently?

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Reply # 191654 23-Jan-2009 20:27

Looks like the 9400 has replaced it... http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=84&TopicId=29857

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

1gkar

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Ultimate Geek

Reply # 191692 23-Jan-2009 23:21

I see your point. Have just checked & it seems ludicrous but, unless the manufacturers are misidentifying their cards, it seems silent cards are on their way out. Looked at Pricespy: 8500GT; 8600GT & 9500GT & their aren't very many silent cards, at all. Being on a bit*h-speel tonight, maybe Vodafone have bought up ALL the budget silent cards & scrapped them

(aimed @ VP not you)

I noticed one respondent to another thread stated he recommended a Palit 9400GT passive card.

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HTPCnewbie

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Master Geek

Reply # 191715 24-Jan-2009 01:24

Anyone out there using a 9400GT silent and successfully getting it to decode TV3 on FreeviewHD?

RustyGonad

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Reply # 191803 24-Jan-2009 14:08

HTPCnewbie: Anyone out there using a 9400GT silent and successfully getting it to decode TV3 on FreeviewHD?

Yep - it works just fine. I have a Palit 9400 GT, which replaced my XFX 8500GT. As mentioned in the other thread its single slot, with passive cooling. It decodes all h.264 incl 1080p without issue.

HTPCnewbie

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Master Geek

Reply # 191809 24-Jan-2009 14:26

RustyGonad:
HTPCnewbie: Anyone out there using a 9400GT silent and successfully getting it to decode TV3 on FreeviewHD?

Yep - it works just fine. I have a Palit 9400 GT, which replaced my XFX 8500GT. As mentioned in the other thread its single slot, with passive cooling. It decodes all h.264 incl 1080p without issue.

Do you know what temperature it runs at while decoding FreeviewHD? I have seen reviews saying that many passive video cards get dangerously hot and when doing this (ie >90 degrees)

Nety

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Reply # 191814 24-Jan-2009 14:44

RustyGonad:
HTPCnewbie: Anyone out there using a 9400GT silent and successfully getting it to decode TV3 on FreeviewHD?

Yep - it works just fine. I have a Palit 9400 GT, which replaced my XFX 8500GT. As mentioned in the other thread its single slot, with passive cooling. It decodes all h.264 incl 1080p without issue.

Rusty why did you replace the 8500GT? and has it worked?

RustyGonad

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Reply # 191821 24-Jan-2009 15:14

I replaced the 8500GT because I needed another one for another machine. I was going to buy another 8500GT - but as everyone has discovered they have gone EOL.

I searched high and low to find a single slot passive replacement and stumbled upon the Palit 9400 - which is the only single slot passive I could find at the time (early Jan 09).

As for the temps - funnily enough I just went through a temp monitoring exercise:

My case sits inside a home entertainment cabinet - with virtually no airflow
Case - Crap ATX bad airflow
Asus M3N H/HDMI Motherboard (NVidia 8300 Onboard)
CPU AMD X2 4600
2GB RAM
500GB Samsung HD
1 x HVR4000 PCI
1 x HVR3000 PCI
1 x HVR2200 PCI-e

All done this year, hot muggy days in Auckland (30 ish), using Everest to monitor temps.

State 1
No case cooling other than power supply fan. Case in open air
9400GT temp 83 C

State 2
No case cooling other than power supply fan. Case inside entertainment cabinet with door closed (exit duct out the back, fully closed front)
9400GT temp 94 C

State 3
2 x 80CM Fans (1 x intake, 1 x exhaust). Case in open air
9400GT temp 53 C

State 4
2 x 80CM Fans (1 x intake, 1 x exhaust). Case in entertainment cabinet
9400GT temp 61 C

State 4 wins - thats how its running now...

It still didn't blow up at 94, which is kinda funny cause my XFX 8500GT ran in the same case state for 6 + months without blowing up either. It was probably at similar temps, but I never used to look at it.

I read a review that mentioned the Nivida 295's are running at a constant 95 C with good cooling - so I think its all relative. Past experience has told me they tend to go pop before they catch fire... Going pop rapidly solves any temperature issues - it tends to immediately dissipate the heat along with $100 out of your wallet...

BTW - the 9400GT works great, it does the exact same job as the 8500GT, no better, no worse...

eXDee

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Reply # 191841 24-Jan-2009 18:53

Graphics cards regularly handle running at around 90'C, my stock cooler HD4850 runs up to 90'C under full load. Hooray for good cooler design.

limegreen

103 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 192122 26-Jan-2009 13:45

I have ASUS 9400GT and it's working fine, not too hot. It sits next to the TV in a stack with the amplifier, so has better breathing. Interestingly, not a lot of airflow through the case. The PSU has an intelligent fan (which mostly means its off or so slow that there appears to be no air coming out!!). The silverstone case has two 80mm exhaust fans, and I've only got the speed controlled one plugged in. All seems fine. I think maybe the trick is to generate as little heat as possible in the first place (eg very good PSU and the western digital green drives supposed to run cool).

ShaneT

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Master Geek

Reply # 192215 27-Jan-2009 09:18

HTPCnewbie: Anyone out there using a 9400GT silent and successfully getting it to decode TV3 on FreeviewHD?

Yep! ...see my post from November ...and has been running awesome ever since... no over-heating problems either

nofam

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Reply # 192269 27-Jan-2009 14:28

Can anyone please confirm that the EN9400GT will do:

a. DVI-to-HDMI output
b. Audio for the above with an S/PDIF passthrough

Nety

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Reply # 192278 27-Jan-2009 14:50

nofam: Can anyone please confirm that the EN9400GT will do:

a. DVI-to-HDMI output

Any card that has DVI out will do HDMI. It does not need anything special.

nofam:
b. Audio for the above with an S/PDIF passthrough

Sorry can't help with this bit... It should but with the full heatsink the pins may be covered. I cannot find any images that help.

limegreen

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Master Geek

Reply # 192280 27-Jan-2009 14:56

I can provide further confirmation about DVI>HDMI. You can either buy an adaptor for the the back of the card, and then use an HDMI cable, or purchase a DIV>HDMI cable (I've done the latter for under $20)

Haven't done anything flash with the audio yet.

ShaneT

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Master Geek

Reply # 192286 27-Jan-2009 15:20

nofam: Can anyone please confirm that the EN9400GT will do:

a. DVI-to-HDMI output
b. Audio for the above with an S/PDIF passthrough

a. yes, it comes with a DVI to HDMI adaptor
b. I haven't had a thorough look for it (I'm using an SPDIF riser card), but I dont believe the card has SPDIF passthrouh pins ...probably wont due to the heatsink covering everything - MSI have a passive 9400GT with SPDIF passthrough pins, although not sure how good the smaller heatsink would would be... someone else may have info on this

nofam

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Reply # 192288 27-Jan-2009 15:21

Thanks Nety/Limegreen

Is there any reason why you can't just use HDMI for video only, and use the S/PDIF coax/optical out on the MoBo for the audio instead of getting both video & audio through HDMI? Is would there be an issue with the two getting out of sync?

And does DVI-to-HDMI mean the picture is lesser quality than if the card had a native, inbuilt HDMI port?

So many questions!!

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