[mythtv-users] time for a new graphics card

[Brian Wood]

On May 9, 2006, at 8:23 AM, Raphael Pooser wrote:

> Hi folks,
> I've had some good advice from the list, so now I'm asking about
> graphics cards.
> I know it's been discussed to death on the list, but I want the  
> absolute
> latest up to date advice today in order to make the best decision.
> The fan in my 9600pro is dying out, and so it seems to me a good  
> excuse
> to replace the graphics card rather than the fan itself since I can
> probably get a low end fanless card for about the same price as a
> "silent" fan for the 9600pro (sadly it does need a fan, or a new  
> bigger
> heatsink which probably would run me $10-$20 anyway).
> A while back, it seemed like everyone was saying a geforce FX 5200 or
> 5600 were the best cards you could get for TV out.  Basically, has  
> that
> changed recently, what condition are the latest Nvidia drivers, as in
> does resizing the image and adjusting over/underscan actually work?
> This post I guess is really about "Nvidia card to get", because
> essentially I don't plan on getting another ATI card until they fix
> their linux driver problems, end of story - the TV out problem is a
> ridiculous travesty.  They're great for gaming in windows; I've only
> used one nvidia card in windows, but that same card was the best  
> display
> adaptor I've ever used in linux.
>
> What I plan to do with it: use XV not XVMC because I think XV keeps  
> the
> processor time low enough (on a 2400+), no HD content either, just
> straight forward SD.
> It needs to be able to output 640x480 and 480x480 both on the TV  
> screen
> properly sized so that the TV overscans it properly.  I will be using
> the svideo output port exclusively.
> Thanks for all the help folks.
> Raphael


Personally I don't see how you could do any better than a 5200 if the  
machine is a dedicated Myth box. "Better" cards might help with  
gaming or even CAD work, but not Myth.

Just my opinion though, and if somebody has a better card to suggest  
I'm willing to try one.