Best HD graphics card for gx280?

[Kushty]

I need an HD decoding graphics card with HDMI for my Small Form Factor Dell gx280. It's a p4 2.8ghz with 2gb ram so I'm guessing a card is all that's stopping me from playing HD video in Windows 7, right?

Can anyone recommend one that will fit the case and is low enough power? It's PCI-E right?! Thanks.

Also, if I watch a surround sound movie through my HDMI, can I then route it to a surround sound system out of my TV (which has optical out)?

This is what the inside of the case looks like:



I presume the black and white slot are PCI-E and PCI. Which is which? Sorry for all the questions!

[Mickey]

Not seen many low factor cards out there that can do the job good. I wanted one for the kids HP PC one so they could play decent games and take out the onboard graphics. ill google it later at work and see what i can find out

EDIT:

found this

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...hd2600_xt.html

theese have always being a fav of my vid friends

http://www.brighthub.com/electronics...les/42965.aspx

[Kushty]

Nice one mate, thanks. I thought if a card says it can do HD video, then it generally will even if it's low-pro?

This card seems to have decent reviews and someone says it consumes 20w power. I don't know if it will fit, 1) because of the heat sink and 2) because I'm not sure which slot it should go in!

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169294

[Mickey]

i think the heatsinks will be a tad big for that case
just my thoughts as ive seen how much space you have inside the HPs

[Kushty]

Shit . Which one is the PCI-E in that picture? Let us know if you have any other recommendations please.

[Mickey]

The one you had the url too looks massive and prob wont fit due to the overhang of the heatsinks.

[Kushty]

Which slot is the PCI-E in the picture I posted?

[sanj]

The black slot.

[Kushty]

Most of them have heatsinks so am I fucked?

[pattikins]

So long as you don't want to use the PCI slot, the Asus HD 4350 should be fine.

Product Description
Low profile design with low profile bracket bundled...
HDCP Support - YesLow Profile Bracket Bundled Yes ( 2 slots )

[WRATH OF BOD]

here .low prifile with hdmi out
Under 30 quid
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/169294

the picture shows full hight but it comes with 2 new low pro brackets one for hdmi & other for the rest of the card

[Over Carl]

I would think long and hard before spending any money on one of those - at work we still have a few gx270's/280's which I consider unusable - the gx620's and optiplex 745's are the lowest I consider anyone should be using.

I remember when the dodgy win 7 came out before release I tried it on a dimension 8300 (I believe chipset was 1 generation newer then gx270, but had agp - this was filled with an fx5200). Wasn't much fun - decided to revert back to xp, and I wasn't trying to use any multimedia stuff!

[Wompastompa]

http://www.advancetec.co.uk/acatalog/info_0709103.html

[Kushty]

I would think long and hard before spending any money on one of those - at work we still have a few gx270's/280's which I consider unusable - the gx620's and optiplex 745's are the lowest I consider anyone should be using.

I remember when the dodgy win 7 came out before release I tried it on a dimension 8300 (I believe chipset was 1 generation newer then gx270, but had agp - this was filled with an fx5200). Wasn't much fun - decided to revert back to xp, and I wasn't trying to use any multimedia stuff!

Can you elaborate? Why are they not any good? It's got p4 2.8ghz, 2gb ram and soon to have an HD card. Surely that will be enough to run XBMC/Boxee on top of Windows 7 with HD video?!

[Over Carl]

Can't say I've tried to do anything with multimedia /win 7 on our gx 270's/280's, but they are so slow I wouldn't even bother trying.

[pattikins]

Can't say I've tried to do anything with multimedia /win 7 on our gx 270's/280's, but they are so slow I wouldn't even bother trying.

A few years ago your point was true, but as far as HD movies are concerned, most modern gpu's take on the bulk of the processing work.

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/graph...radeon-hd-4350
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2654/2

[Kushty]

Well I've got a clean install of Windows 7 on there and it's fast and plays normal divx fine?! Like pattikins says, hopefully the GPU of the card I buy will take care of the HD.

[Mr.James]

I've got 1080p decoding fine on a 1.3ghz Intel Atom netbook... Which has to downscale it to fit the 1366x768 screen!

Just make sure you've got the latest drivers, DirectX, Haali Media Splitter, DxVA capable codecs (Cyberlink PowerDVD codecs are actually one of the best) and Media Player Classic - Home Cinema installed and it should do all the codec rendering on the GPU while your processor idles away...