Going ATI or NVIDIA... with s-video out

[Telstar]

I'm thinking that i may go with a pci-e card, if that's under 100€.
These are my needs and goals and I haven't decided between ati and nvidia:

-PQ without defects
-DVB playback (SD only) without stutter. I have a 7800 on a test machine and it DOES stutter, especially with the cable extension that i had to put to test (I hope it will be better when i will remove the extension). purevideo, MS and cyberlink decoders all suck in this respect. Update: Using Elecard mainconcept codec (that uses DXVA) is much better, but still not perfect. I need a PVR that does a few seconds buffering and that would fix it.
-DVD playback (not a problem for any card).
-S-video out and good PQ with it! I intend to use my sony 32" CRT for awhile still and this is essential.
-Vista x32. Drivers must support DVXA with EVR (this is my preferred config with theatertek +ffshow).
-Passive cooling or a fan that is under 25dBa (I dont want to spend extra money for a separate vga cooler)

In particular these cards seem suitable for me:

nvidia 8600:
-ASUS EN8600GT Silent/2DHT (about 100€) - HAS s-video out
ati hd2600:
-GigaByte Radeon HD 2600Pro (about 70€) - hdtv output: what that means?
-Sapphire Radeon HD 2600XT Ultimate (about 90€) - not sure that has s-video out
ati x1550:
-PowerColor Radeon X1550 SCS (about 40€) - not sure that has s-video out

[simbot82]

s-video and component out on nvidia cards under vista is still shaky at best. I dumped my 6600gt for a ati 1900 or something like that (not usually ati man)

At least this was still the case 4 months ago

[Telstar]

Originally Posted by simbot82

s-video and component out on nvidia cards under vista is still shaky at best. I dumped my 6600gt for a ati 1900 or something like that (not usually ati man)

At least this was still the case 4 months ago

So ati eh?

Would the old x1550 have decent performances? Is the hw acceleration the same or close to the HD2x00? I remember that the 1950XT did very well on some Anandtech tests but only the lower end are within my budget, not speaking of heat and power consumption.

So, I'm to choose between (in order of price):

x1550
HD2400pro
HD2400XT
HD2600pro
HX2600XT (a bit out of budget)

I had excluded the 2400 at first because of somewhat poorer PQ.

I have read dozens of threads and I'm still so undecided. There is no final answer, but at least with my requirements the list is pretty small.

[philzgr8]

Personally I haven't seen any problems with component out on Nvidia cards except that my panel only accepts 60Hz via component and I therefore prefer HDMI which supports 50Hz output. On the other hand I'd have to wonder why you would bother using s-video which in effect is no better than composite.

[falcc]

Originally Posted by philzgr8

On the other hand I'd have to wonder why you would bother using s-video which in effect is no better than composite.

Two wires vs one?

It is supposed to go:-

Composite
S-Video
Component
DSUB/RGB etc.
DVI/HDMI

Although some find that Component can be better than DVI/HDMI on their particular TV.

[philzgr8]

Originally Posted by falcc

Two wires vs one?

It is supposed to go:-

Composite
S-Video
Component
DSUB/RGB etc.
DVI/HDMI

Although some find that Component can be better than DVI/HDMI on their particular TV.

Yes I'd have to agree with that ranking but the notable crossover point is between s-video and component where you get support for widescreen and high definition. I was just making the observation that s-video is very limiting.

[falcc]

Originally Posted by philzgr8

I was just making the observation that s-video is very limiting.

Absolutely.

Hence my two wire comment. Surely that means it is better. More is good right?

Personally I can't see much difference between svideo and composite.

[ked]

I'm running a 68cm Panasonic CRT over composite with a passively cooled ASUS Nvidia 8500GT (512meg) (Asus EN8500GTSLN-HTD-512) and Vista Home Premium.

I have been amazed at the PQ (good!) with the drivers out of the box. Funnily enough, just after setting it up (3 weeks ago) I downloaded a vid driver update from Windows update that made it look shocking.

Could have been just the defaults - but I didn't bother mucking about with it and just reinstalled the previous drivers (applying the old "ain't broke..." rule).

Anyway... the upshot is that I would not hesitate to recommend the Nvidia it to anyone.

Cheers

[Telstar]

Never install the drivers from windows update

My TV has only s-video and composite, but no vga input. I think i wouldn't see any difference between the two.

[Telstar]

BTW my CRT supports 100hz

The asus i was considering is like yours but using the 8600gt which is a little faster.

How cool does your card run? I'm worried about heat in my tiny case. I can only leave one slot free.

mmh