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Thread ID: 94543 2008-11-03 08:23:00 Graphics Cards somebody (208) Press F1
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716912 2008-11-03 21:03:00 one component which I want to try and get the best "bang for buck" out of is the graphics card.

All I need the card to do is
- Run on Windows Vista without any issues
- Do hardware decoding of H.264 (i.e. FreeviewHD)
I don't do any gaming, 3d rendering, or anything like that.


In which case I wouldn't bother. Get a motherboard with integrated graphics (and a PCI-E slot just in case) and concentrate on getting the best CPU you can afford.
pctek (84)
716913 2008-11-03 21:22:00 In which case I wouldn't bother. Get a motherboard with integrated graphics (and a PCI-E slot just in case) and concentrate on getting the best CPU you can afford.

If my understanding is correct, having integrated graphics will mean that decoding H.264 content (i.e. FreeviewHD) will be done my the CPU?
somebody (208)
716914 2008-11-03 21:37:00 If my understanding is correct, having integrated graphics will mean that decoding H.264 content (i.e. FreeviewHD) will be done my the CPU?

No, by the integrated GPU
SolMiester (139)
716915 2008-11-04 04:01:00 so get a good one maybe a motherboard with HDMI out and onboard graphics... Silver_Blade (10144)
716916 2008-11-04 05:32:00 I thought hardware decoding is done mostly by the CPU?

In terms of drivers, I have found Nvidia's to be the worst. Granted, the last ATi card I had was an X850XT PE, but from memory I never had any problem (crash, lock up etc) with the card. Ever since the ATi card I've had Nvidia 7900GS, 7900GTX, G80 8800GTS, and 8800GT and 3 of the Nvidia cards gave me problems in one way or another. Nothing major, but they were annoying.

Now I have an ATi 4870, and will install it on Saturday. So haven't had a chance to see if the Catalyst drivers are OK.
qazwsxokmijn (102)
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