ATI Radeon HD 5750 brings HDMI bliss to HTPCs for $110
We knew that video cards that could bitstream all the latest HD codecs wouldn't always cost $380, but we certainly didn't expect a cheaper alternative in two weeks. Of course price and HDMI audio capabilities aren't the only factors when choosing a video card for your HTPC, so you might want to keep waiting -- you know another few weeks -- for a version that doesn't take up two of your card slots for a fan that is no doubt anything but quiet. Anandtech is predicting you might have to wait another year for the perfect HTPC video card in the way of the 5600 series.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brian @ Oct 14th 2009 9:45AM
HDMI bliss I think is a bad way to describe it. As you mentioned it has a fan and uses 2 slots. You also probably still have the issue with ATI cards losing the HDMI EDID when you turned your TV off and back on. I'd rather see that issue fixed before anything else.
Yo! @ Oct 14th 2009 11:50AM
I had the same EDID problem. It's a pain in the ass but I fixed it by making a monitor driver with Rivatuner. For some reason the HDTV was showing up as a generic plug n' play. It's all good now. Btw the setup is a crossfire 4770.
Roofus @ Oct 14th 2009 10:00AM
You mean Anandtech?
kevon27 @ Oct 14th 2009 10:12AM
It's AMD.. the kings of cheap. By December - Feb 2010 you will get $60 motherboards with hdmi 1.3 and bit streaming.
bull3964 @ Oct 14th 2009 10:26AM
"Of course price and HDMI auto capabilities"
I think you mean audio unless there's some new car extension of HDMI that I'm not aware of.
Kyle Zeller @ Oct 14th 2009 10:34AM
Anandtech listed that the price on the 5750 as $110, not $160 (which is the price for the 5770). Also it has been suggested that at 86W TDP, that the 5750 will be eligible for a single slot cooler once manufactures begin to distribute their own cards. The 5770 will likely remain as a dual slot cooler.
JayC @ Oct 14th 2009 11:36AM
for HTPC it needs to be fanless and also be available in Low Profile.
glenn s @ Oct 14th 2009 11:54AM
No it doesn't. That all depends on the case you choose to build the HTPC in. I've built 2 HTPC and helped a friend choose part for his. None of them required a low profile card, and one of them was even an ITX case. And the card needs to be QUIET, not fan-less. Although, I agree that fan-less is the easiest way to ensure quiet. Another way to get a quiet HTPC is to NOT try to build it so small. The 'normal' size cases allow for bigger, slower moving fans which can be nearly silent and still keep the system cool. Small cases require smaller, faster moving fans which are louder still move less air.
JayC @ Oct 14th 2009 2:05PM
A full tower case based PC is not an HTPC, it's a PC being used as an HTPC. ;)
EGo @ Oct 14th 2009 2:38PM
http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=281
Looks great next to my Onkyo receiver.
Pip @ Oct 14th 2009 5:11PM
I've tried so many silent fans and I still haven't found one that keeps the HTPC silent enough. In the end I went with one of those absolutely huge heatsinks that just barely fit the case, but hey, it's silent!
Hopefully these cards run cool enough as it is so that a heatsink can also be used as well.
glenn s @ Oct 20th 2009 1:28AM
Who said anything about a full tower case????
There are TONS of options for audio component standard sized HTPC cases that do not require low profile cards.
Stereodude @ Oct 14th 2009 12:18PM
I'm sure that's not quiet enough for any HTPC I'd build. It needs passive cooling, which is a big stretch given it's TDP.
Andrew @ Oct 14th 2009 12:33PM
The really cheap cards (5670/5650/5550/5350) are expected Q1 2010. I'm sure someone will at least release a low profile fanless 5350.
p.flynn2 @ Oct 14th 2009 1:47PM
I think what you and anandtech mean is that you must wait one year for a perfect HTPC video card according to your needs now.
In one year there will probably some other feature for us to lust over, so a perfect card by our standards now will be completely different than the standards we set in a year.
EGo @ Oct 14th 2009 4:34PM
Until the software is available that takes advantage of this how is this HTPC bliss? I will stick with my PowerColor PCS 4850 and my Xonar card until then. "Come on Arcsoft, where's that update?"
Luke @ Oct 15th 2009 1:39AM
Wow, what a dumb comment. Larger fans spinning slower are quieter than smaller fans spinning faster.
If you have the space, duel slot cards are far superior. I can understand people needing single slot solutions for HTPCs, but why trash a duel slot card before it's even tested.
Mark @ Oct 15th 2009 3:09AM
an HTPC is still too expensive/bulky when compared to something like WDTV Live and Popcorn hour.
glenn s @ Oct 20th 2009 1:37AM
That all depends on what you want to do with it. If all you want to do is stream video from a server or select web sites that your streamer supports, then I agree. BUT...if you put a blu-ray drive and a TV tuner in a medium sized HTPC case, or even squeeze it into an ITX case, it is quite a bit less bulky and less expensive than a stand-alone blu-ray player, stand alone DVR and a separate media streamer.
Lazarus Dark @ Oct 15th 2009 7:29AM
Too bad I hate ATI drivers. They always give me problems. I'll stick with Nvidia.
Joshua @ Oct 15th 2009 9:56AM
Am I understanding this correctly that if this supports TrueHD and DTSHD the card must be one the first to provide a PAP (Protected Audio Path)? If so, does that mean we no longer need to worry about down sampling of LPCM? I just bought a HD 4870 and as far as I can tell I am out of luck when it comes to full LPCM without down sampling.
adman666 @ Nov 14th 2009 9:25PM
this card might support bitstreaming but good luck getting any software that will actually provide this functionallity. Neither PowerDVD nor TMT3 support this card therefore there is still no video card that can bitstream audio correctly. DO NOT buy this card or any 5xxx series if you are looking to bitstream it DOES NOT WORK.