What graphics card is best for high definition video h.264?

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little1

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Sep 8, 2009
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What graphics card is best for high definition video mainly h.264? I'm trying to decide between the xfx hd 4850 1gig or Sapphire HD 4770 512mb as they currently both available @ around the same price...here in the uk. I'm running q6600 with 4 gb ram...any advice would be greatly appreciated...


Tia
 
Either one would be more than you need, so take the one that looks the coolest.

On the low end, I would get at least an HD4650. If into light gaming, pay a couple bucks more for the HD4670 w/ ddr3 ram.

On the nvidia side, I think the 9500GT is the starting point for HTPC. Either way, I would wait for the new graphics cards coming out to release as they will drive down the prices on current cards.

I am sure I don't need to tell you this but look for cards with native hdmi support.
 
I already have both the HD4770 & HD4850 unopened but as i'm serverely disabled I have to pay to have one or the other installed so I really would like help in deciding which would be better to keep without having to open them both (for returns purposes) or should I return them both & buy the 4650?
 
Since you are disabled, I suspect you will not be playing games. Therefore, I recommend you keep the HD 4770 and return the HD 4850.

The HD 4850 is slightly (6% - 8%) more powerful than the HD 4770 for gaming, but the HD 4770 (50 - 55w) draws about half the power of the HD 4850 (110w). Thus, keeping the HD 4770 will lower your electricity bill (very slightly) and also generate less heat. Less heat means less potential breakdown in the long run.
 
+1 for the 4770 when you consider heat (not so sure about the realistic electric savings).

+1 for the 4850 if you just want a generally faster card (though depending on the card you might hear the whirr of the fan when you watch movies).
 
yes I definitely wont be playing games, The 4770 UVD 2.0 i'm not sure if the 4850 has it also can anyone enlighten me on this point? bare in mind that i'm more interested in the best h.264 video performance. & I'm prepared to sacrifice a little extra electricity & fan noise if im gonna get a better HD picture.
 
You won't notice the difference between the 4770 and 4850 while watching HD, since both are complete and utter overkill.
The HD 4650 is all you need.
 



Are you suggesting that I return them both & purchase a HD 4650...if so do you know if this card or even the xfx HD 4850 supports UVD 2.0?
 
All ATI HD 4xxxx video cards do support UVD 2.0. Take the HD 4550 for example:

http://www1.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=260

If you bought both video cards from the same place, then return both of them and buy the HD 4650. I recommend the HD 4650 because in a review of several "HTPC class video cards" the HD 46xx series and the GeForce 9600GT tied in 1st place offering the best video quality. The HD 4550 came in at round 3rd or 4th place. Judging image quality is subjective though.
 
thank for all your combind advixe so far...I should mention 1 more point...I want to be able to muti-task running applications on the 24in monitor while the kids watch a movie on the 42in LCD so raw power maybe an issue...I'm currently running a HD 3650 which cant cope with my multi-tasking...does the HD 4650 have the power to allow me to achieve this without x.264 stuttering?
 


That changes things a bit, and I've got no idea what kind of raw power would be needed for that, but the HD 4850 has the best chances of pulling it off.
 
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