Building Media Center From Old PC - Need Graphics Card

[DrGreer]

So, I need some advice. I'm building a media center PC out of an old Compaq/HP SR5210NX. Old parts are super cheap these days if you know where to look so here's what I've done so far...

• 
  Ordered 4GB RAM (Past the 2GB recommended limit but I read of other people doing it)
  Ordered a Core 2 Duo E4300 (Maximum recommended CPU)
  Ordered USB bluetooth (For the remote/Irrelevant)
  Ordered awesome bluetooth remote (Irrelevant)
  Ordered new HDD (Irrelevant)

I did all that for well under $100

Objective:
Smooth 1080p (Or better if not crazy expensive in case TV upgrade happens) video playback for torrent, netflix, etc. streaming via HDMI is the main objective here so I need a graphics card. I might run Linux (Which I'm very experienced in) and some open source media center software or I might just throw Windows on it.

Slot: PCIe2 x16
Price Range: 0 - 140$. I see many graphics cards that fit the bill all the way up to more modern graphics cards that would technically run in the machine and for really cheap prices but I don't want to max out the CPU from making a bad GFX card choice and of course using a 2015-2016 card would just be ridiculous. I really don't feel like replacing the power supply either.

All suggestions welcome. I usually search for them using Google Shopping and Amazon.

Thanks

 

[maxalge]

So, I need some advice. I'm building a media center PC out of an old Compaq/HP SR5210NX. Old parts are super cheap these days if you know where to look so here's what I've done so far...

• 
  Ordered 4GB RAM (Past the 2GB recommended limit but I read of other people doing it)
  Ordered a Core 2 Duo E4300 (Maximum recommended CPU)
  Ordered USB bluetooth (For the remote/Irrelevant)
  Ordered awesome bluetooth remote (Irrelevant)
  Ordered new HDD (Irrelevant)

I did all that for well under $100

Objective:
Smooth 1080p (Or better if not crazy expensive in case TV upgrade happens) video playback for torrent, netflix, etc. streaming via HDMI is the main objective here so I need a graphics card. I might run Linux (Which I'm very experienced in) and some open source media center software or I might just throw Windows on it.

Slot: PCIe2 x16
Price Range: 0 - 140$. I see many graphics cards that fit the bill all the way up to more modern graphics cards that would technically run in the machine and for really cheap prices but I don't want to max out the CPU from making a bad GFX card choice and of course using a 2015-2016 card would just be ridiculous. I really don't feel like replacing the power supply either.

All suggestions welcome. I usually search for them using Google Shopping and Amazon.

Thanks

wattage of the power supply?


does it have a 6-pin pcie cable?

 

[DrGreer]

As often is the case the situ is all 'arse about face'. Your motherboard will have bios code to support certain graphics cards, and your operating system will have drivers for an interleaving no.
Its a 2007 vista machine tho (assembled from old parts).
It has a (cough) 250 watt power supply.
Any a.m.d. graphics card will 'likely' work, and any Nvidia card up to 4 series 'might'.
I would suggest compaq tuning forums for experience led info.

The BIOS should be primarily responsible for the PCIe controller, not what specific graphics cards are supported, correct? Also, I prefer nvidia and if it winds up being an absolute must in order to accomplish my goal, I'll upgrade the power supply if I have to. Drivers aren't going to be a problem and I'm not going to use Vista. I'll use 7, 8.1, 10, or a Debian-based Linux distro. It's the power supply, CPU usage, and any possible bottlenecking concerning the graphics card I'm concerned with.

Edit: It's also worth noting that I'd like the graphics card to have onboard audio for hdmi.

 

[DrGreer]

I'm hoping this super cheap core2 I ordered isn't going to be broken or something, I guess I'll checkout a specialized forum for the GPU. The HP support site doesn't suggest any GPU specs. It only states the slot is there.