Graphic Cards Advice needed for converting old PC to HTPC

madhukannan

madhukannan

Forerunner
Purpose -- watching HD movies with 5.1 surround

Components in hand
processor ------------ Athlon 3000+ single core cpu ,
Motherboard --------- Asrock 939NF4G-SATA2 mother board (pci xpress 16x slot , alc 850 7.1 sound )
Ram ---------- 512 +256 DDR
Optical drive --------- dvd rw
Cabinet -------------- atx pc cabinet with smps
HDD ------------------ 80gb 7200
Monitor --------------- Sony ex300 32 inch 720p LCD

OS and software ----- Ubuntu 11.04 +XBMC

Budget --------------- Minimal :( (around 10k including 5.1 speakers )

Please suggest me a Graphic card (budget 2-3k) compatible with above motherboard and which will play 1080i . Economical cards available in my local market ( Calicut) are xfx 5450 , 4550, nvidia gs8400 nvidia 210 all around Rs. 2250 .

i don't have an AV receiver. Can the on board sound handle dolby digital and DTS ? through analog 5.1 speakers ? ,
will XBMC convert dolby/Dts HD audio to normal 5.1 ?
which 5.1 speakers will fit in this budget ?

Thanks in advance ..
 
Right now i am controlling xbmc with my wireless mouse but its not convenient if you are in a couch or bed , many wireless mini keyboards and remotes are available on ebay .Since i want to go for the most economical way am planing to make an IR receiver and a lirc compatible remote . there are some mobile phone apps which can control XBMC like "anyremote"
 
For your budget of around 10k:

GFX-ATI Radeon 6450

Speakers: Edifier DA5000 OR lOGITECH Z506

If you can extend your budget getting a sound card would improve sound quality greatly, look for Asus Xonar range
 
Check bios settings for default display device.

My suggestion is GT520 or ATI 6450.Get a sound card with SPDIF IN if you want to connect a HD DTH Receiver.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
 
tomemmanuel said:
Check bios settings for default display device.

My suggestion is GT520 or ATI 6450.Get a sound card with SPDIF IN if you want to connect a HD DTH Receiver.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

that should do the trick i suppose. select PCI express in Primary Graphics Adapter under chipset configuration.
 
So most probably problem with PCI card interface or bios..Please check for card interfaces match.Any jumper settings.Try removing ram to another slot.Check power supply.

Are you able to boot with builtin vga with card in Pci -x slot?
 
The system wont boot with the new card even if i connect the cable to on board vga.Only after removing the PCIe card it boots. Nothing except the fan works .
 
Most likely the card is dead. My advice would be to give it for RMA.

Also if you could post your config details, we could rule out the possibility of a PSU problem.
 
vivek.krishnan said:
Most likely the card is dead. My advice would be to give it for RMA.

Also if you could post your config details, we could rule out the possibility of a PSU problem.
Click to expand...

card isn't dead as its working in his main rig.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

many people had the problem of incompatibility of Asrock 939NF4G with cards like hd 5670 as these cards are PCIe 2.1 like yours. dont know y. they are supposed to be backward compatible. anyways try another card and i am sure it will work with your mobo.
 
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