Graphics card for movies and streaming

[dofin]

For the past 2 weeks, I've read a lot of good references for a gamer but rather shy for non-gamer like me, although I have overkill components (Sabertooth 2.0, 16GB Vengeance Corsair, 8 cores AMD+3 8350, 700 OCZ PSU).
I've noted some recomended cards on this forum, like, AMD 7750, GTX 460, Sapphire 6670, etc. Mainly, I want to get the best displayed picture. Would it be easy to help me ? Thanks in advance.

 

[samuelohagan]

Well, if you have components like that, I think you should top out this setup with a radeon hd 7850, after all it is only $80 more then the 7750 and way more powerful.

 

[Hazle]

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100292ddr3l

whether or not you want to use hardware acceleration like DXVA, the likes of AMD's 5450 (which is going for $16+ above) or Nvidia's GT610 will do fine. the more cpu instensive features like MadVR or 10bit X264/H264 playback shouldn't be much of a problem for the 8350

EDIT: some idea on the 5450's DXVA performance. old article, but it should still hold true for files that supports hardware acceleration;

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/radeon_hd_5450_review,8.html

 

[Bromeh]

If you plan ONLY to watch movies and stream, any card in the 100-200$ price range will be more than enough. 7750 is a great choice but you should rather take the 7850 (highly rated card for it's price).


- The Brownie

 

[zander1983]

What is your budget?
If you are looking for a home theater video card a 7750 or GTX460 would be just fine if not over kill.
If you want to play games at 1080p on your TV then you will have to aim a bit higher depending on your budget again AMD 7850+ or GTX660+

 

[dofin]

Budget speaking I'd like to keep it around 150$ US, more or less. I've forgot to mention HDMI 1.4a is a must because 1080P, TRue HD or DTS-HD. Is the more memory the better, like 4G in the GT 640 ? What is important to look for ? Core clock, CUDA ?
Should 7750 be from specific manufacturer ? there is an Asus one here: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121633
Thank you all for your prompt responses, it is really appreciated.

 

[maestro0428]

If you don't game, get a 7750. It will work just fine for what you want.

 

[dofin]

If you don't game, get a 7750. It will work just fine for what you want.

Thanks for your support. Would the manufacturer make a difference ? There's a Gigabyte 2GB there http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125453. Should I stay with 1GB ?

 

[dofin]

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100292ddr3l

whether or not you want to use hardware acceleration like DXVA, the likes of AMD's 5450 (which is going for $16+ above) or Nvidia's GT610 will do fine. the more cpu instensive features like MadVR or 10bit X264/H264 playback shouldn't be much of a problem for the 8350

EDIT: some idea on the 5450's DXVA performance. old article, but it should still hold true for files that supports hardware acceleration;

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/radeon_hd_5450_review,8.html

I really love this interesting article on DXVA, which has lead me to Guru3D; I 've learned something new, again. Thanks a lot.

 

[maestro0428]

On lower end cards, the memory size doesn't matter that much, especially if you don't game. 1GB is plenty. For AMD cards, I prefer Sapphire as they are the largest AMD gpu manufacturer and I have owned many of their cards without issue.

 

[dofin]

Thanks Maestro0428 for these precious informations. Really appreciated.