I'm zeroing in on the components to build my first computer.

My system will be a multitasking unit used mainly, in order of priority, for video/photo
editing, as a Media Center PC, web surfing, word and excel and occasional game playing.

I plan on using an Asus P5K DELUXE/WIFI-AP MB, Q9450 cpu, Vista Premium 64 bit, DDR2 800 memory.
I have a Antec 900 case and 650w True Power Trio PS mod TP3-650 and two WD Caviar SE16 sata300 500gb HDs
I would like to over clock but, not to the extreme.

I'm not limited by a budget but not interested in wasting $. If spending a little more will provide a
noticeable improvement I'll do it.

Question: Which video card? I'm leaning toward the hd-3870 GPU, 512mb. Newegg shows 11 different cards from 8 manufactures priced from $150 to $223. Please make a recommendation on what to buy and or what to avoid.

I can't figure out which specs are important. HDMI out isn't common to all cards but seems to be a must for HTPC and HDTV. What is HDTV out and VIVO? TIA jmk

HDTV = High Definition TV = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television

VIVO = Video In Video Out = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_In_Video_Out


About ATi HD3870, actually, it doesn't matter which brand you buy.. The performance difference is marginal and can be neglected.

Any brand will do.. I always look for best bang for buck items, but warranty wise, I'd go for reliable brands such as ASUS, Gigabyte or MSI..

[quote name='fenzodahl512' date='May 8 2008, 02:36 PM' post='1233712']
HDTV = High Definition TV = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television

VIVO = Video In Video Out = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_In_Video_Out


Thanks for VIVO info. Some of the card specifications list "TV-Out: HDTV / S-Video Out" and include an HDTV cable. Is this standard s-video with an s-video cable?

I understand HDMI but, I'm not sure how an adapter works. I assume it allows one to use a standard HDMI cable to the HDTV and you don't need to run audio cables. I suspect all these cards have HDMI out capability but only DVI connections. Some of the specs are not clear to me. I also assume none of the cards have VIVO. Do these cards have VGA output? Thanks again.

This post has been edited by jkohm: May 8 2008, 02:15 PM

the VGA output (to your monitor) will be made by a DVI to VGA adapter. This should come with your card. If not then u can buy one on ebay or something for like 50 cents. Also the HDMI from your vid card is a DVI output, so again, you are looking for a DVI to HDMI conversion, which will most likely be included, if not.. same thing..ebay works wonders. I hope this helps.