[mythtv-users] Best graphics card choice? (HDTV and regular)

[John P. Poet]

On Mon, 8 Dec 2003, Preston Crow wrote:

> I'm selecting a video card for my new system, and my research is telling
> me that I want a GeForce 4 MX 440 SE.  Here's how I reached that
> conclusion, followed by several questions:
>
> The card has MPEG-2 support, so I won't need a terribly fast processor
> once I buy an HDTV.
>
> I'm told that the SE version doesn't require a fan on the GPU, making it
> the quieter option.
>
> I'll need the SVideo-out for my existing TV in the short run and DVI-out
> for HDTV later on.  Unfortunately, most of the cards that I've found
> don't have the DVI output.  Am I missing something here?
>
> What really is the best card for both regular and HDTV output?
>
> --PC


I have the 64MB version of the Aopen Geforce4 MX440 8X with S-Video and DVI,
which I don't think they make anymore.  NewEgg is now selling a 128MB
version:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-135-127&catalog=48&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

My 64MB version of the card has overheating problems (I don't know about the
128MB version).  The ambient temprature in my case never gets over 35C, but
the video card will occationally lock solid.  I have to turn off the
computer and wait about 5 minutes for it to cool down, before my computer
will function again.

I also have one of the pcHDTV cards.  This is all in a 2.6 GHz Pentium IV
system.  Using mplayer with the xv output driver, it can BARELY keep up when
displaying a 1080i HD stream -- and that is only if the "raw" audio is going
out the SPDIF connector.  If I have the machine decode the AC3 stream as
well, then it cannot keep up.

Because of all this, I am also in the market for a new video card.

Reading some the of mplayer documentation, I get the impression that one of
the developers uses a Matrox card.  This kinda makes me tempted to give a
Matrox card a shot....

John