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| Video Card Help I'm looking for advice on a new video card. All I want to do is hook up my computer via HDMI to my Sony Bravia 40" 120Hz LCD TV and was wondering what card would be capable of displaying 720p and 1080p HD video without an issue. I am not using it to play games or anything of the sort. I also use Linux as my OS. I was wondering if a 128-bit memory interface card with 1GB of DDR3 memory, or to be specific, a Radeon HD 5550 128-bit 1GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 video card would be sufficient enough to display at full resolution with no issues on the TV. Any help would be appreciated. As mentioned, this will be for HD movies+TV only, so no game play at all. Thanks!  |
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 rusdiAmerican VPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-28
Flippin, AR
kudos:1 | A 128bit wide bus card will display full HD, but, I would recommend a 256bit wide bus card. Reason being if you intend to watch HD movies, there would be a possibility of freezing video, or artifacts appearing during fast movement in the movie.
If you just want to use the TV as a monitor for computing, and very little video use, then a 128bit card should serve your needs.
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Come fold for a cure with us @ Team Helix.
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| reply to xQim
For HD video use the 5550 should be fine. |
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| reply to xQim
The 5550 will do it, as will a 6450. Just go with whichever is on sale for the best price.  For nVidia folks, the 240 is adequate, though the 430 is supposed to be a better choice. |
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Reviews:
·RoadRunner Cable
·Fairpoint Commun..
| reply to xQim
Thanks. I was just going to use it for my Hulu Plus account and things similar as such. I just wanted to make sure that a Radeon HD 128-bit 1GB DDR3 would be able to handle full resolution with no issues on a 40" Sony Bravia 120Hz LCD TV via HDMI. Is a 256-bit memory bus really necessary? I'm not going to be playing blue ray discs, just streaming HD like I mentioned on say Hulu Plus and Netflix. Am I all set or do I need a better card? |
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| I think you are fine. If you were concerned about 3D or 120hz issues then I would have to defer to others. The radeon 5550 is hdmi 1.3, the 6xxx 1.4.
If doesn't sound like this is an area that concerns you. |
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rusdiAmerican VPremium,MVM
join:2001-04-28
Flippin, AR
kudos:1 | reply to xQim
said by xQim: ........Is a 256-bit memory bus really necessary? I'm not going to be playing blue ray discs, just streaming HD like I mentioned on say Hulu Plus and Netflix. Am I all set or do I need a better card?
No, it's not absolutely necessary. Only if your video exhibits freezing, or artifacts frequently.
Try the 128bit 5550 card, and see how it performs. I have used 128bit cards in the past with no problems on some movies. Others, (Avatar) for example would produce freezing periodically. I changed to a 256bit 2GB card, and all that stopped.
YMMV.
Good luck!
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Come fold for a cure with us @ Team Helix.
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| reply to xQim
Thanks everyone! |
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Reviews:
·RoadRunner Cable
·Fairpoint Commun..
| reply to xQim
So, just for my purposes, one more question if I may... Nvidia or ATI? I have a preference for ATI for some reason. I also read that ATI HD cards can do sound through the HDMI whereas Nvidia cannot. It seems like Nvidia is cheaper though in price. I don't really need digital sound. |
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| I think either is fine. If you have a preference for ati/amd then I see no reason to change over to nvidia. |
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| reply to xQim
Thanks all! I think I'm going with a Sapphire Radeon HD6570 for $59 as that seems to suit my needs well.
Again, I appreciated all the input. |
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| reply to xQim
I use the HIS 6870 Fan Turbo 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI/2xDVI/2xMini DP »www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-575.shtml. Works great for viewing 1080p Blu-ray video. |
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