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Resolved Question

Dual DVI graphics card under $100

Nov 2, 2011 5:17PM PDT

I have an HP Pavilion Elite HPE running Windows 7 and want to upgrade to a dual dvi graphics card.

The most intense s/w I'm running is Blu Ray movies and Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10. Not planning on gaming with it.

Suggestions/advice?

Discussion is locked

richchrono has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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Just be sure the DVI has HDCP.
Nov 3, 2011 1:20AM PDT
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HDCP does not apply
Nov 3, 2011 8:56AM PDT

Because the audio is playing from the computer output ports, there is no HDCP issue. And this is not just for BR/BD.

Second, my monitors have DVI inputs, not HDMI.

Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 renders stuff in real time in Preview mode. I do not know, however, if this is GPU or CPU intensive. So, "the usual ATI 5450" may be just fine. But I'm not sure. Which is why I'm asking all you experts.

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No HDCP, no BR?
Nov 3, 2011 9:04AM PDT

So far I'm hearing no BD/BR play for non-HDCP systems. http://www.cyberlink.com/prog/support/cs/product-faq-content.do?id=2577 and many other sites note this.

But hey, it's your money to prove them wrong.

While the usual ATI5450 would be my choice given the non-gamer use, I do have better cards ready to talk about.

Do this -> Set the price you want to pay and then pick one at that price from this link.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card-gaming-performance,3042.html

Once you pick out the card we'll check the power supply rating.
Bob

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Maybe I'm making an assumption...
Nov 3, 2011 4:41PM PDT

Because the system came with a Blu Ray burner, and I've watched Blu Ray movies on it, my assumption is that the HDCP encoding is built into the system, and separate from the video viewing/graphics card requirements.

Am I wrong?

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No. But I have to be careful.
Nov 4, 2011 2:33AM PDT

I did not read in prior posts that BD/BR was functional. Folk have systems that don't do this and I didn't know yours was OK.

Now all we have to be sure of is that the DVI ports note HDCP in the new cards.

In short, the displays must have HDCP, the video cards must have HDCP and the BD player software have it's decoder, etc.
Bob

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I ordered the Sapphire Radeon HD 5570 - 1 GB DDR3
Nov 4, 2011 11:37AM PDT

After a lot of reading, I think this card will do the trick. And I found one for $65 including tax and shipping.

Thanks for all your input.

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an amusing footnote to this story...
Nov 11, 2011 12:52PM PST

so I got the new card, and when I went to see what kind of card I was replacing I found...

a Radeon HD 5570!!

I didn't even care to check before because it didn't have the ports I needed. The one I'm replacing has an HDMI with the DVI, and I don't have a monitor with an HDMI port. And the new one has 1 GB DDR3 memory. So I replaced it anyway. But I thought you might find that an amusing ending...

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Answer
Graphic card advise
Nov 25, 2011 12:20PM PST

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When buying a cutting edge card take a close look at the
dimensions. Sometimes these are so large that they won't fit into your PC case.
With the high end models you will find that their capacity is much greater than
any current games can use. They aren't made for today's games they are made to
supply graphic resources to future games. The 2 big graphic card brands are
GeForce and Radeon. Some gamers will tell you GeForce is the way to go, while
others swear Radeon cards are the best. I recommend trying to match your needs
to the card's stats and ignoring the brand.

Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 ATI Video Card

The Sapphire uses ATI Stream technology that accelerates
even the most demanding of applications. This card is also able to fully
support Microsoft's DirectX 11. It uses cutting edge technology to enhance the
performance. This includes advanced 2GB/512-bit GDDR5 memory interface, 40nm
Processor Technology, 2nd Generation TeraScale Engine, PCI 2.0 x16 bus
interface. These features enhance the performance by providing better speed. It
also uses dynamic power management for efficient use of resources. This is done
through the ATI PowerPlay technology.

Zotac GeForce GTX 480

The Zotac is NVIDIA's
flagship video card. The Zotac uses advanced cinematic effects like motion blur
and depth of field. All these factors combine to produce a 3D world that is
very realistic. This effect is further reinforced NVIDIA PhysX effects. The
NVIDIA Phys on this card runs at twice the speed of previous models. The only
problem with this card is the heat management. What that means is that the fan
works at 100% at all times and produces a lot of noise. This can be a bit
irritating. Water cooling can be used to get rid of the problem. The combination
of excellent features delivers amazing performance and graphics. The ray traced
3D rendering enables realistic images. The high speed anti-aliasing ensures
that any and all ragged edges are smoothed out.

View more at: http://www.techyv.com/questions/nvidia-or-ati-radeon-graphic-card