This is for a new system I'm planning, I want a card that will hardware
accelerate DVD and Divx/Xvid playback, especially HD, because I like to
have stuff going in the background while I watch a movie. I also might
want a TV out for my HDTV. I don't play PC games anymore but occasionally
my kids will play a Harry Potter game so gaming requirements are very
light. I would prefer to stick with Nvidia and stay inexpensive (read as
cheap) if possible. Recommendations?
My hardware familiarity is about two years out of date so any other
recommendations (i.e AMD vs intel) for a multimedia (playing, ripping,
conversion) are also welcome.
Mac Cool wrote:
> This is for a new system I'm planning, I want a card that will hardware
> accelerate DVD and Divx/Xvid playback, especially HD, because I like to
> have stuff going in the background while I watch a movie. I also might
> want a TV out for my HDTV. I don't play PC games anymore but occasionally
> my kids will play a Harry Potter game so gaming requirements are very
> light. I would prefer to stick with Nvidia and stay inexpensive (read as
> cheap) if possible. Recommendations?
>
> My hardware familiarity is about two years out of date so any other
> recommendations (i.e AMD vs intel) for a multimedia (playing, ripping,
> conversion) are also welcome.
>
The 8600 is heavily HTPC oriented. With either card, spend 20 bucks
extra and buy the PureVideo decoder from NVIDIA. It's separate only
because NV doesn't want to pay a license fee every time you download a
driver . But it's required for the accelerated MPEG-2 decoding and HD
playback. It will supersede your already installed DVD decoders (like
PowerDVD, etc).
Best card for multimedia and light gaming? 
. But it's required for the accelerated MPEG-2 decoding and HD 
Linear Mode
