Graphics card recomendation please

[admin_exported]

I would like to purchase a graphics card with HDMI output for my pc so that I can connect it to a Panasonic plasma tv not for gaming but looking at photographs. I understand I should make sure it has HDPC?

I assume that I will also be able to use the pc as normal throuhg the HDMI connection.

Any recomendations on graphics cards under £80 please.

Thanks.

 

[knacker]

I would then go against my logic and recommend you look at some of the ATI cards

 

[Vimeous]

ATi are in the middle of a range refresh now that Windows 7 with DirectX 11 has been released. This means the outgoing cards are being driven down in price.

For you I would suggest Sapphire's version of the HD 4770 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB-Sapphire-HD4770-DDR5-21149-00-20R). Sapphire's non-OEM coolers are often much quieter than their peers and therefore more appropriate for media PC use.
The other benefit vs Nvidia-based products is a tendency towards smaller and more power efficienct cards making them even more suitable for media PC's.

Convieniently that card also supports full audio via the HDMI so if you decide to view movies as well as your pics it should be ideal.

 

[aliEnRIK]

Vimeous:

ATi are in the middle of a range refresh now that Windows 7 with DirectX 11 has been released. This means the outgoing cards are being driven down in price.

For you I would suggest Sapphire's version of the HD 4770 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512MB-Sapphire-HD4770-DDR5-21149-00-20R). Sapphire's non-OEM coolers are often much quieter than their peers and therefore more appropriate for media PC use.
The other benefit vs Nvidia-based products is a tendency towards smaller and more power efficienct cards making them even more suitable for media PC's.

Convieniently that card also supports full audio via the HDMI so if you decide to view movies as well as your pics it should be ideal.

I recall when Vistas Direct 10 came out and microsoft claimed certain games couldnt run on 9b. Some guys in the XP community got them running just fine and they looked EXACTLY the same

 

[Vimeous]

aliEnRIK:I recall when Vistas Direct 10 came out and microsoft claimed certain games couldnt run on 9b. Some guys in the XP community got them running just fine and they looked EXACTLY the same

Absolutely!
Indeed ATi's new DirectX 11 5000-range are virtually no differenct in outright to performance to the DirectX 10.1 4000-range. I guess for some it's piece-of-mind enough to know their shiney new card will handle all the features of future games.

The biggest benefit of the new cards is a huge drop in idle and full-steam power consumption - more than 50% less in some cases it seems. That alone may save £30 when buying a new PSU and being able to choose a lower-powered model.

In this case the outgoing 4770, itself only released this year, is an ideal choice imho