I’ve been trying to make heads and tails of current video cards. It seems like any of the options in my title will work. I want to upgrade to HD-DVD and Bluray. I’ve read reviews from posts saying that ATI does a better job at video playback(especially in XP) but in vista both products are closer in performance.
Some people are saying that the 3850 is the better buy as you get a faster card for only a little bit more money. There don’t appear to be any 3850 heatpiped cards on the market yet. Some people on AVS were saying that these fans are only really noticeable during post, and some gaming. Am I to believe that buying a video card with a stock fan/cooler is essentially silent for average PC use and video playback?
I don’t currently do any gaming on my HTPC, and as much as I’d like to say I want to be able to game, I likely won’t every do much(if any gaming on the HTPC). Is there any reason for me to get a 3850 given that?
I’m also shopping for mobo/cpu, and thus far leaning towards intel core2duo e4500. Anyone here going to talk me into something else or is that a good choice?
Thanks
.
