What video card to get?

[highstandardz]

I am a person somewhat into the details of the computer stuff. I just bought a new HP Envy 710-210 computer that had Windows 8.1 and converted it back to Windows 7. My goal is to run two HP Pavilion 23xi monitors for my normal computer use and another Smart TV for my movies or tv shows from my computer and tv tuner, if I want to watch them while I work at the computer. The two monitors will be my primary but the tv will only be if I want to watch a recorded tv show or movie if nothing is on cable. The two primary monitors will be for my CAD drawings and spreadsheet programs and not big graphics gaming stuff. HP and MSI has no communication together and give me many different answers. I like AMD Radeon cards and would like something that is in a home users price range. I know I will have to upgrade my PS 450W to something bigger like a 750W. What would you recommend?

 

[thenoobie243]

What is a home users price rangear exactly

 

[highstandardz]

What is a home users price rangear exactly

Sorry, never got a reply email that someone replied to my question.

I am budgeted for something $100-150 dollars. I have picked my PSU. Antec HCG M HCG-750M 750W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular.

I do now have two HP 23xi monitors working great, running one VGA and the other DVI on the factory mother motherboard outputs. But for my build, I wand to run these plus a smart tv occasionally.

I was looking at the MSI R7 260 1GD5 OC 1GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card.

 

[TofuLion]

well isn't the point of having a smart tv so you can have access to your home network or internet streaming? perhaps you could just configure it to be used on your LAN instead of running it from the PC. and the PSU is a bit overkill. its a very nice PSU, but you shouldn't that much power to run the r7 260 (you could run two of them on 750 Watts).

in any case, if it's not too graphically demanding, you're running an APU. adding a GPU will disable your integrated graphics, therefore wasting it. the APU should be enough for what you're doing and if it isn't i would suggest just upgrading it instead of adding a new component that you don't necessarily need.

 

[highstandardz]

well isn't the point of having a smart tv so you can have access to your home network or internet streaming? perhaps you could just configure it to be used on your LAN instead of running it from the PC. and the PSU is a bit overkill. its a very nice PSU, but you shouldn't that much power to run the r7 260 (you could run two of them on 750 Watts).

in any case, if it's not too graphically demanding, you're running an APU. adding a GPU will disable your integrated graphics, therefore wasting it. the APU should be enough for what you're doing and if it isn't i would suggest just upgrading it instead of adding a new component that you don't necessarily need.

I didn't think about the lan setup with the tv. That's an idea I will look into. I selected that PSU for anything I want to do in the future. The graphics card is because HP and MSI told me it would only support two monitors and since I want three I had to add a GPU. I want to make sure I can play the media center on the tv from the computer. I will look into it, thank you.

 

[TofuLion]

you're welcome. let me know how you make out, if it doesn't work i can help you find the best alternative.

 

[Miles Crystal]

you're welcome. let me know how you make out, if it doesn't work i can help you find the best alternative.

I have tried many ways to get the smart tv to talk to the computer and play media center recordings. The only thing I can do is view pictures and windows media player files, but not windows media center files, but its a big pain.

What difference would there be if I went with a video card to run the tv as a monitor with my two actual monitors, or a Windows Media Center Extender on the tv? Is the video card a better way or the extender?

 

[TofuLion]

can you install apps on the tv? if so, try using Plex. that's what i do with my tv in a separate room. my tv isn't smart but i have a chromecast that works the same way.

 

[Miles Crystal]

Tried to install Plex on this tv, but it won't install and the tv is slow doing anything over the wifi. I won't buy another Tobisha tv again. Their support after you purchased is crap since I bought this thing, and its slow with anything but normal video input use.

I just purchased a Linksys DMA 2100 that the person said they used it for media center on their tv, they've changed their setup so don't need it. For $40, I don't think I could go wrong. If it works like the reviews on the media extender great, that's what I want. Worst case, I spent $40 bucks and still need a video card to run three screens.

 

[TofuLion]

check out chromecast. it enables the functionality of a smart tv, but with limited capabilities: you actually have to stream the content from a device. i use my smartphones and tablets, since the device has to have wifi to stream to the chromecast, and i haven't bothered with a wifi adapter for my PC. hence, i just use the Plex app on my device and then stream to the tv. it sounds complicated, but it's very simple really. even my 2 year old son is figuring out how to stream from his samsung galaxy tab 3 kids edition tablet. he just browses youtube, netflix, and plex app and i don't think he's made the distinction that you just click the little icon in the top right, but it's as easy as that.

i got mine for like $35 i think so it's not an expensive piece of equipment and has great functionality, but has somewhat specific application that could be annoying at first. for the price i think it's worth it and will get another one when i need it.